Any 530e owners out there?

Kramer · 20-04-2021 01:05PM

jaggiebunnet wrote: »

Has anyone bought an XDrive model?

Personally, I'd avoid an XDrive. Unnecessary here & the 530e is docile enough not to need it. As you said, heavier, slightly less efficient, even more complexity & more expensive.

If the car I wanted came with XDrive though & it otherwise suited me, it wouldn't put me off, if you get my drift. I just wouldn't seek one out.

Best of luck anyway

.

bmwfan · 20-04-2021 02:47PM

Kramer wrote: »

Not really, just the factory privacy/comfort glass, split folding rear seats, upgraded front speakers (Eton front door mids & A-pillar tweeters), hardwired/covert front/rear dashcams, service pack.

Just being curious what dashcam did you use

Kramer · 20-04-2021 02:58PM

bmwfan wrote: »

Just being curious what dashcam did you use

https://www.amazon.co.uk/VIOFO-A129

.........with the voltage monitoring cable, the polarised filter & bluetooth button (handy to save clips). No complaints with it to be honest.
The rear cam is completely invisible with the privacy glass but records perfectly. The front one sits behind the (large & frameless) rear view mirror so is all but unnoticeable from inside & would have to be looked for, from outside at the front.
All hardwired in back to the fusebox, all cables clipped/fitted behind the panels, very stealthy & the first thing I fit to every new car I get.

If you ever see someone in a blue 530e with a tinfoil hat on - that's me

.

Kramer · 20-04-2021 03:02PM

Short recent clip from the front cam.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5_yfsdLLGc

OmegaRed · 29-04-2021 09:18AM

Wondering has anyone done some real world testing on how to be as economical as possible on long drives?

Head to west Cork at the weekend now that we can travel within our county (soon to be inter county) and I was wondering how I can drive to get the best range / lowest fuel consumption from my 530.

A full charge wont get you very far on a 2 hour drive but I was thinking am I betting off switching to battery control 100% when on motorways and especially on long winding country roads where you're on and off the accelerator a good bit. My thinking is those parts of the drive aren't the most fuel efficient parts anyway so why not charge the battery too and then go back into full electric when charged.... repeat through journey...

Thoughts?

mickdw · 29-04-2021 09:47AM

OmegaRed wrote: »

Wondering has anyone done some real world testing on how to be as economical as possible on long drives?

Head to west Cork at the weekend now that we can travel within our county (soon to be inter county) and I was wondering how I can drive to get the best range / lowest fuel consumption from my 530.

A full charge wont get you very far on a 2 hour drive but I was thinking am I betting off switching to battery control 100% when on motorways and especially on long winding country roads where you're on and off the accelerator a good bit. My thinking is those parts of the drive aren't the most fuel efficient parts anyway so why not charge the battery too and then go back into full electric when charged.... repeat through journey...

Thoughts?

The car will do a pretty good job itself if you tell it where you are going- it will then use electric where it thinks best.
Just blinding using the petrol engine to charge battery cannot be very efficient but making the most of energy recovery can be - charge the battery with energy that would typically be wasted.
If it was mine, id forget about the efficiency stuff on this type of journey and look at it as an ev for the short daily runs and a 250 bhp petrol for the occasional trips and drive it on.

OmegaRed · 29-04-2021 10:35AM

mickdw wrote: »

The car will do a pretty good job itself if you tell it where you are going- it will then use electric where it thinks best.
Just blinding using the petrol engine to charge battery cannot be very efficient but making the most of energy recovery can be - charge the battery with energy that would typically be wasted.
If it was mine, id forget about the efficiency stuff on this type of journey and look at it as an ev for the short daily runs and a 250 bhp petrol for the occasional trips and drive it on.

Fair point. My 182 doesn't have the Active Route Guidance (Unless its turned on by a specific setting).

coolisin · 29-04-2021 10:44AM

Battery Control is great, but it will use a fair bit more petrol.
I've only used it when I know for the last bit I will be slowly moving or when I know im on a motorway for awhile.

Leaving it do its thing in ECO-PRO/Comfort is fairly efficient, then it just runs like a hybrid

wcooba · 29-04-2021 10:58AM

Don’t use battery control at 100%. With battery full, regen braking is not working. Keeping it at 80% would be much more efficient.

Paul Kiernan · 30-04-2021 02:21PM

coolisin wrote: »

Battery Control is great, but it will use a fair bit more petrol.
I've only used it when I know for the last bit I will be slowly moving or when I know im on a motorway for awhile.

Leaving it do its thing in ECO-PRO/Comfort is fairly efficient, then it just runs like a hybrid

I'm not sure I agree. Mine just runs on battery until it's used up and then switches to petrol. Not much good if I'm on the motorway and know I've 30 minutes (10km) in heavy traffic between exiting the motorway and getting home.

I'd prefer if there was a setting that would force it to use petrol.

wcooba · 30-04-2021 02:32PM

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I'm not sure I agree. Mine just runs on battery until it's used up and then switches to petrol. Not much good if I'm on the motorway and know I've 30 minutes (10km) in heavy traffic between exiting the motorway and getting home.

I'd prefer if there was a setting that would force it to use petrol.

There is - it’s called sport button ðŸ˜‚

Kramer · 30-04-2021 03:10PM

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I'm not sure I agree. Mine just runs on battery until it's used up and then switches to petrol. Not much good if I'm on the motorway and know I've 30 minutes (10km) in heavy traffic between exiting the motorway and getting home.

I'd prefer if there was a setting that would force it to use petrol.

There is, eDrive, battery save. Its minimum setting is 30%, which is ideal for me actually, as I've a usual 8/9km trip across the city when I get back from a long run on the motorway etc.

If I'm travelling from Limerick to Dublin, I start out on 100% charged battery, select eDrive/battery save, as I enter the motorway & set it to just below where it's at then - usually 80%.
I'll use battery then when in traffic & keep the 30% for crossing the city later.

It's just a habit. There's little point using the battery on the motorway & crossing a city later then, with a depleted battery.
That's the worst case use scenario for a PHEV.

Kramer · 30-04-2021 03:12PM

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I'd prefer if there was a setting that would force it to use petrol.

wcooba wrote: »

There is - it’s called sport button &#55357;&#56834;

Hooligan

.

Paul Kiernan · 30-04-2021 03:55PM

Kramer wrote: »

There is, eDrive, battery save. Its minimum setting is 30%, which is ideal for me actually, as I've a usual 8/9km trip across the city when I get back from a long run on the motorway etc.

If I'm travelling from Limerick to Dublin, I start out on 100% charged battery, select eDrive/battery save, as I enter the motorway & set it to just below where it's at then - usually 80%.
I'll use battery then when in traffic & keep the 30% for crossing the city later.

It's just a habit. There's little point using the battery on the motorway & crossing a city later then, with a depleted battery.
That's the worst case use scenario for a PHEV.

Does putting it in "Sport" mode force it to run on petrol? I'm sure I tried that and it was still depleting the battery!

It's not helped by the fact that the engine is so quiet I find it very difficult to know whether it's running or not!

eggerb · 30-04-2021 04:00PM

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I'd prefer if there was a setting that would force it to use petrol.

wcooba wrote: »

There is - it’s called sport button ðŸ˜‚

That’s what I’ve been using the sport button for; to switch to petrol without having to mess with the battery reserve settings. Like PK above, I would prefer a button that can just switch to petrol. In individual sport mode, I can change the suspension and the steering to comfort but the engine needs to stay at sport, and well, it’s sporty when I’m just looking for petrol in comfort mode. I’m assuming sport is a killer for consumption?!

Kramer · 30-04-2021 04:37PM

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

Does putting it in "Sport" mode force it to run on petrol? I'm sure I tried that and it was still depleting the battery!

Almost invariably yes, unless stopped. I don't think it will even start the engine, in sports mode, on occasion. It's too clever :eek:.

Sports mode increases the engine revs & holds them longer in gear, so it's actually pretty bad for fuel economy - no free lunch.
If the battery is low, it also constantly tries to charge it in sports mode, so wrecklessly inefficient in terms of l/100km.

eggerb wrote: »

In individual sport mode, I can change the suspension and the steering to comfort but the engine needs to stay at sport, and well, it’s sporty when I’m just looking for petrol in comfort mode. I’m assuming sport is a killer for consumption?!

I don't think the 530e came with adaptive suspension or steering so it just changes throttle response/regen/gear changing speed/revs, but yes, sports mode wouldn't be the best idea for efficiency.
Fun on occasion though, especially with the traction control off & using the paddles, plenty of enjoyment to be had.

Paul Kiernan · 30-04-2021 05:29PM

Using the engine to charge the battery is incredibly inefficient AFAIK so you never really want to be in BATT CONTROL with the % set higher than the current level! So it looks like if you want to save x% for the final part of your journey you start with higher than x, set it to Batt Contr. x% and then switch back to Auto eDrive when you want it to go back on battery, which is exactly what Kramer outlined earlier.

eggerb · 30-04-2021 07:09PM

Thanks for that. Back to easily switching between petrol and electric, I tried this evening just pushing the gear lever to the left to force the petrol engine. Am I correct in understanding that the effect of that is that it only puts the transmission into sport mode. Gears are held onto longer but I can force the gears up using the paddles. Unfortunately, using the paddles forces it into manual transmission so I ended up in a very low gear and high revs the odd time in moderate traffic. Auto dropping of gears seems to work in manual sports transmission but not auto increasing gears ..

SummerK · 30-04-2021 08:35PM

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

Does putting it in "Sport" mode force it to run on petrol? I'm sure I tried that and it was still depleting the battery!

It's not helped by the fact that the engine is so quiet I find it very difficult to know whether it's running or not!

If Max e-drive mode is enabled, then switching to Sport mode will not start ICE.

Put car in Auto-edrive mode and then pressing sport mode or paddles will start ICE.

SummerK · 30-04-2021 08:45PM

eggerb wrote: »

Am I correct in understanding that the effect of that is that it only puts the transmission into sport mode. Gears are held onto longer but I can force the gears up using the paddles.

Car has 3 ecu maps - one for Sport/Comfort/Eco mode. Power delivery, regen, gear shift changes are different for Sport/Comfort incl when you move gear lever to left.
Sport mode is more aggressive in power delivery as well as regen compared to Comfort whether the lever is left or right.

Car is very intelligent - It switches to comfort mode automatically if you don't drive sportily in sport mode

Unfortunately, using the paddles forces it into manual transmission so I ended up in a very low gear and high revs the odd time in moderate traffic. Auto dropping of gears seems to work in manual sports transmission but not auto increasing gears ..

If you want to drive the car using petrol then best option I have seen is to put it in Sport mode (Auto-edrive) and car drives fine with moderate upshift.
I have got constant 15kmpl @ 120kmph which is phenomenal IMO for a car of this size.

eggerb · 30-04-2021 09:35PM

SummerK wrote: »

If you want to drive the car using petrol then best option I have seen is to put it in Sport mode (Auto-edrive) and car drives fine with moderate upshift.
I have got constant 15kmpl @ 120kmph which is phenomenal IMO for a car of this size.

Thanks for that. I’m coming down on sport mode also. It’s the easiest / least distracting whilst driving also. I’ve changed the ‘sport individual’ to comfort steering and comfort transmission. Changing the engine to comfort seems to allow the eDrive to kick in defeating the purpose of changing to sport. (I suppose changing all three has the effect of selecting comfort?)

irishgrover · 30-04-2021 09:55PM

Paul Kiernan wrote:

Using the engine to charge the battery is incredibly inefficient AFAIK so you never really want to be in BATT CONTROL with the % set higher than the current level! So it looks like if you want to save x% for the final part of your journey you start with higher than x, set it to Batt Contr. x% and then switch back to Auto eDrive when you want it to go back on battery, which is exactly what Kramer outlined earlier.

I do remember (being a nerd) doing analysis of all the combinations of driving modes whilst at motorway speeds when we 1st got the car. I can't remember the specific results but I did promise to myself to never ever use Batt crtl mode again, unless I knew that the last 10km of a journey was in an urban setting where there was an asthma convention having a parade simultaneously upon my arrival.

eggerb · 30-04-2021 10:10PM

irishgrover wrote: »

I do remember (being a nerd) doing analysis of all the combinations of driving modes whilst at motorway speeds when we 1st got the car. I can't remember the specific results but I did promise to myself to never ever use Batt crtl mode again, unless I knew that the last 10km of a journey was in an urban setting where there was an asthma convention having a parade simultaneously upon my arrival.

lol, I’m not feeling any love on this thread for the battery control.

coolisin · 30-04-2021 11:16PM

eggerb wrote: »

lol, I’m not feeling any love on this thread for the battery control.

I wouldn't say that! I've used a good bit.
But it's far from fuel efficient.

Paul Kiernan · 01-05-2021 09:35AM

SummerK wrote: »

If Max e-drive mode is enabled, then switching to Sport mode will not start ICE.

Ah, that was my mistake! I was in Max EDrive. I usually keep it in Max EDrive all the time as I mainly do short journeys.

AidenL · 01-05-2021 12:09PM

jaggiebunnet wrote: »

Has anyone bought an XDrive model? I see a nice one for sale but not sure I would need XDrive for the 2 or 3 days a year of bad weather we might get here and I have read it makes the car heavier and thus less efficient so interested if anyone has any views on it.

SummerK wrote: »

I think Aiden has got LCI xDrive and may be he can pitch in with his views on it. Yes it would make car more heavy and if you're looking to use it for just 2-3 days a year then I would say avoid getting xdrive.

Sorry for the delay in replying.

Yep, I have a 211 X Drive.

It may make the car a little heavier, but I can't feel it in practice, its quite heavy already of course with the batteries.

Regarding the usefulness of it, all I can ay is, Ive had a lot of rear wheel drive cars in my time, and when it suddenly snows, you are in a world of trouble. They simply, in many cases, will not move off a camber if you have to stop for example.

I know that 20" runflats, 275 wide aren't optimal in snow, and X Drive won't necessarily solve the problem totally, but if it helps me, or my wife get home safely in a sudden snow shower, even if its one day in three years, personally I'd rather have X Drive.

AidenL · 01-05-2021 12:43PM

coolisin wrote: »

I wouldn't say that! I've used a good bit.
But it's far from fuel efficient.

Ive turned mine down to the minimum. 30% I think.

eggerb · 02-05-2021 11:12AM

AidenL wrote: »

Ive turned mine down to the minimum. 30% I think.

If I’m reading this thread right here, it’ll still look to maintain battery at 30% so it’ll still be heavy on consumption when you get to that level. There must be a smarter way for BMW to maintain battery power if that’s what the driver is after e.g. forcing petrol over a set km/h or over a certain kw/h power demand. I tried the BMW way of setting the navigation so that it would use battery power where the car thought best but sure it just ran most of the way on battery ..

I think I’ll be using sport individual and auto eDrive and see how I get on ..

Paul Kiernan · 02-05-2021 12:50PM

eggerb wrote: »

If I’m reading this thread right here, it’ll still look to maintain battery at 30% so it’ll still be heavy on consumption when you get to that level.

I think (and hope!) you're wrong here. My understanding is that once it gets to 30% it just stops charging the battery from the engine. It'll still use regen if it's available.

eggerb wrote: »

I tried the BMW way of setting the navigation so that it would use battery power where the car thought best but sure it just ran most of the way on battery ..

I agree, it's utterly useless.

Paul Kiernan · 02-05-2021 12:55PM

I recently got a rear mounted cycle carrier and need to fit a Light Board like this one from Halfords - https://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bike-racks/rear-mounted-bike-racks/halfords-cycle-carrier-lighting-board-910612.html

Does anyone know what I plug this into? Is it on the car or does it have to be retrofitted? I don't have a towbar.

Any 530e owners out there?

Comments