[huggy509]

Well I hope I have done the right thing

I am changing my 2017 G30 530D Xdrive for a 2019 X3 M40D, alpine white with tech pack, comfort pack and MSport plus so should be best car I have ever owned I hope

Had a bit of a conundrum with taking a car now or waiting for the new live cockpit but I do like the version 6 in my 5 so it will be familiar and I am not sure about those funny shaped LED dials, I quite like my current mix of hardware and screen.

I was... and still am concerned about the Cerian Grey mirror caps and trim seeing the finish but I guess these could be replaced with black to go with the alpine White colour.

Are the Cerian coloured 21" wheels good ?

Well heres to joining the X3 group and I hope to see plenty of good posts on here soon

[clivem2]

I think the 21s may not be great to keep clean. You can swap them for 20s with non-RFTs. Personally, and it is a very personal view, the 21s are a bit busy looking.

[X3M40i_Nev]

LOVE my 21"s, and have no issue keeping them clean. Personal tastes do differ

[teaston]

Originally Posted by huggy509

Well I hope I have done the right thing

I am changing my 2017 G30 530D Xdrive for a 2019 X3 M40D, alpine white with tech pack, comfort pack and MSport plus so should be best car I have ever owned I hope

Had a bit of a conundrum with taking a car now or waiting for the new live cockpit but I do like the version 6 in my 5 so it will be familiar and I am not sure about those funny shaped LED dials, I quite like my current mix of hardware and screen.

I was... and still am concerned about the Cerian Grey mirror caps and trim seeing the finish but I guess these could be replaced with black to go with the alpine White colour.

Are the Cerian coloured 21" wheels good ?

Well heres to joining the X3 group and I hope to see plenty of good posts on here soon

Great choice!

I agree on the ID7 and new dials, much prefer the current ones. But then a MY2020 would come with black trim instead of cerium, mine was a pain in arse to change to black!

[clivem2]

Originally Posted by X3M40i_Nev

LOVE my 21"s, and have no issue keeping them clean. Personal tastes do differ

It's a fine difference, I don't dislike the 21s. My taste is no doubt influenced by my getting away from RFTs after 11 years, ironically with suspension that at last can cope with them.

[willjames]

530d is great car but a change to M40d will be awesome, you won't regret it!

[huggy509]

Originally Posted by teaston

Great choice!

I agree on the ID7 and new dials, much prefer the current ones. But then a MY2020 would come with black trim instead of cerium, mine was a pain in arse to change to black!

Thanks, yeah I did think of that - possible to coat the parts though right ? or do they need replacing ?
The fact they changed them to black as standard makes me think they had a lot of complaints about them - dealer offered to paint them black but I think maybe he only meant the mirror caps ?

[teaston]

Originally Posted by huggy509

Thanks, yeah I did think of that - possible to coat the parts though right ? or do they need replacing ?
The fact they changed them to black as standard makes me think they had a lot of complaints about them - dealer offered to paint them black but I think maybe he only meant the mirror caps ?

I'd say it's worth getting them painted black, much happier with mine now:

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/3xZswSc3/270-DC...29-EB90307.jpg[/img]

[Supa Koopa]

In a minority but I like the cerium grey bits and have no trouble with keeping them clean and don't suffer from the usual complaints of water spotting.

I love the 21's as they really suit the car and match the cerium grey bits. The only down side is the finish on them is matt rather than gloss so the dirt tends to stick a bit more than normal. They still clean up well, but I've found it takes me a bit longer than it would do if they were gloss. However every time I see a X3 without the 21's it just reinforces that I made the correct decision. JMHO obviously.

[huggy509]

I keep looking at the video of the V7 live cockpit and cannot decide whether to wait or take the car as it is now with same dash, idrive and HUD as my 530, at least I know I like that and I cant decide if the V7 is too fussy and more of a look at what this does but then not actually use it

[clivem2]

Originally Posted by huggy509

I keep looking at the video of the V7 live cockpit and cannot decide whether to wait or take the car as it is now with same dash, idrive and HUD as my 530, at least I know I like that and I cant decide if the V7 is too fussy and more of a look at what this does but then not actually use it

It is tricky. All I can add is to factor in knowing that ID7 is the latest. You may or may not think at this point it's preferable to ID6. It's a bit like I think my F25 X3 rear-end looks better than the G01 X3 I have coming but - I'm now starting to feel it looks old fashioned because I see the G)1 around more often.

If you truly prefer ID6 then go with it. For myself the rev counter direction will take some adaptation but I relish that tiny challenge.

[huggy509]

Originally Posted by clivem2

It is tricky. All I can add is to factor in knowing that ID7 is the latest. You may or may not think at this point it's preferable to ID6. It's a bit like I think my F25 X3 rear-end looks better than the G01 X3 I have coming but - I'm now starting to feel it looks old fashioned because I see the G)1 around more often.

If you truly prefer ID6 then go with it. For myself the rev counter direction will take some adaptation but I relish that tiny challenge.

thank you, done now - decided to just go for it so hopefully within 2 weeks it'll be here

[X3M40i_Nev]

Originally Posted by Supa Koopa

In a minority but I like the cerium grey bits and have no trouble with keeping them clean and don't suffer from the usual complaints of water spotting.

I love the 21's as they really suit the car and match the cerium grey bits. The only down side is the finish on them is matt rather than gloss so the dirt tends to stick a bit more than normal. They still clean up well, but I've found it takes me a bit longer than it would do if they were gloss. However every time I see a X3 without the 21's it just reinforces that I made the correct decision. JMHO obviously.

+1 - I am another in the minority that does not want to do a "Cerium Delete", and absolutely LOVE the look of the 21"s, but agree, they take longer than gloss to clean, but nothing like the good old BBS years ago

What are your plans for winter, any thoughts of going with winters? or just sticking with summer tyres?

Still mulling it all over, but if I do go winters and wheels, I will ceramic coat the 21"s, as did not do that when I did the new car detail and coating.

[Mike72uk]

Originally Posted by X3M40i_Nev

Still mulling it all over, but if I do go winters and wheels, I will ceramic coat the 21"s, as did not do that when I did the new car detail and coating.

Have you ceramic coated the 21's yet? I'm planning on doing the, as part of the car direct from dealer to detailer when I collect in a week or so (hopefully). Hopefully they behave the same as my last set of ceramic coated alloys...doddle to wash and looked brand new after 2 years!

[X3M40i_Nev]

I haven't yet, as above still mulling over winter set. I am sure will make cleaning a lot easier.

Go for it I say 👍

[Mike72uk]

Originally Posted by X3M40i_Nev

I haven't yet, as above still mulling over winter set. I am sure will make cleaning a lot easier.

Go for it I say 👍

Oh they're getting coated for sure....

[Supa Koopa]

Originally Posted by X3M40i_Nev

+1 - I am another in the minority that does not want to do a "Cerium Delete", and absolutely LOVE the look of the 21"s, but agree, they take longer than gloss to clean, but nothing like the good old BBS years ago

What are your plans for winter, any thoughts of going with winters? or just sticking with summer tyres?

Still mulling it all over, but if I do go winters and wheels, I will ceramic coat the 21"s, as did not do that when I did the new car detail and coating.

No plans at the moment for winters. To be honest this is more of a toy, weekend and special trip car. The day to day trudge to work is in the wife's mini so it would be a lot of money for not a lot of use. Although I do like the idea of a second set of winters.

I ceramic coated the 21's but it was only a rush job. I had just enough CQ dlux left to do one thin coat on the front face only. I didn't do a proper job as I just didn't have the resources. There was an improvement to cleaning and the water does bead on the wheels, but the brake dust still sticks. Hard to judge if they made a big difference or not as I just didn't apply it correctly so it's not a fair test.

The wheels just have a strange surface that seems to hold on to grime. I clean them with BH auto wheel, let it sit for a while, agitate with a brush, clean with a wheel woolie, then a wash mitt and give a good final rinse. You can then rub the wheel with your finger and you can still see grime lifting off sometimes. Basically this is the same routine as I used to do with the S3 and they cleaned up fine every time. If you look at the 21's they look clean and most people probably wouldn't see the difference but sometimes there is just a slight brown tinge to them after cleaning that takes more effort to get rid of. This all sounds negative but I wouldn't change them for anything as they just look the dogs.