[cyam]

I am looking to use a skidpad to hone my skills.
Just get a feel of when and how the car loses traction and controlling it.

Levels of grip in cars today are so high that to break traction on the street, esp with xdrive, you need a lot of speed and so little room for error.

So I am renting a wet down skidpad to practice kicking the car sideways and even practice a little awd drifting.

How bad is this on the drivertrain, in as far as wear is concerned. Not worried about tires and brakes, but nore the gearbox and drive train.

[G30M]

no issues on the gearbox or the rear diff but you will wear out the plastic (sorry can't remember specific part) in the transfer case. i don't think it will cost too much to replace that part. maybe replace it with the X5/X7 transfer case part when it dies (if it fits).

these things are not made to drift unfortunately but fortunately the gearbox will be fine.

[G30M]

re learning to drift, you don't want to drift in a part time 4WD (aka AWD) car.

this car is most of the time RWD only, sometimes the transfer case engages 4WD, and sometimes the rear diff engages LSD lock.

so you have 4 variables that you can't control.

one moment you're in RWD with open rear diff, suddenly the car decides to lock the rear diff, suddenly the car decides to power the front wheels, suddenly the car decides to change the torque distribution between the front and rear wheels.

you will start drifting in one direction and end up in a place where the computer takes you.

on the skid pan the computer will lock everything up into one mode (unlike on the road with the 4 variables) and then you will have AWD drifting and it does not bode well for your skills or your transfer case, and you haven't learnt anything about the unexpected drift on the road. you can still do expected drifts in a carpark with no other car once you get practiced, but don't be overconfident on the road with pedestrians cyclists and other cars - it won't end well.

i suggest RWD. which is why if I had access to a track or skid pan I'd get a M3. but i don't, i end up with a M340i and i tell you when i try tricks in a car park on a rainy day, the car will start pointing one direction and end up somewhere i don't want to be. it's just how AWD (computer controlled 4WD) works.

[cyam]

Ok, didn't realize the transfer case was the weak point.
Yes, regarding all the computerized shifting of torque, it does make it more difficult at the point you lose traction and managing that. Kind of why I wanted to get a feel on the skidpad, certainly not something I'd ever do on the street. Just something to hone my skills and be more aware of where the limts are.

I will probably do an xDelete (will be released this year) before doing any drifting and do any drifting exercise RWD only. For the rest I'll keep it AWD as I want the feel of how it is normally.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by cyam

Ok, didn't realize the transfer case was the weak point.
Yes, regarding all the computerized shifting of torque, it does make it more difficult at the point you lose traction and managing that. Kind of why I wanted to get a feel on the skidpad, certainly not something I'd ever do on the street. Just something to hone my skills and be more aware of where the limts are.

I will probably do an xDelete (will be released this year) before doing any drifting and do any drifting exercise RWD only. For the rest I'll keep it AWD as I want the feel of how it is normally.

Are you sure about the x delete?

The car has been around for years now, they haven't managed to x delete it for years.

[cyam]

Originally Posted by g21

Are you sure about the x delete?

The car has been around for years now, they haven't managed to x delete it for years.

I spoke with XHP yesterday, they told me this year they will release xdelete for this car. Quote from XHP ("xAutomotive"):

"xDelete is in development for them(M340iX) and should come during 2024."

[G30M]

ok thanks, i'll believe it when i see it

[cyam]

Xdelete is now released.
I have it, works great.
Total control now.
For the street I have it set to the "Sport" setting.
But on the skidpan I will set it to RWD only so no wear on the transfer case.

[helmet91]

https://www.xautomotive.com/products/xdelete

Plugged in my 2019 G20 330ix VIN and xDelete is compatible apparently.

[cyam]

Originally Posted by helmet91

Plugged in my 2019 G20 330ix VIN and xDelete is compatible apparently.

Does a 330ix have an LSD? If not, I wouldn't bother with xdelete. That's just me.

[G30M]

WOW i might start to like my M340i now

[G30M]

Originally Posted by cyam

Xdelete is now released.
I have it, works great.
Total control now.
For the street I have it set to the "Sport" setting.
But on the skidpan I will set it to RWD only so no wear on the transfer case.

wow now we have the 4WD Sport just like the M3!
are you able to play with the 3 levels of traction control (full, MDM, Off) with 4WD Sport?

what dongle do you need to connect to the car? just any OBD plug?

[G30M]

wait ... you can have RWD with MDM?!!!

[cyam]

Originally Posted by g21

wait ... you can have RWD with MDM?!!!

It only controls the xdrive system. Meaning how much the FWD part is used. Anything from 0% (RWD only) to 50%.

MDM - no, but we have DTC which is a reduced version of DSC, it allows the car some movement, like MDM, and it will intervene if excessive movement is detected, like MDM. So it is similar, but maybe not the same.

But xdelete does not modify the DEC switch settings, just the xdrive.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by cyam

It only controls the xdrive system. Meaning how much the FWD part is used. Anything from 0% (RWD only) to 50%.

MDM - no, but we have DTC which is a reduced version of DSC, it allows the car some movement, like MDM, and it will intervene if excessive movement is detected, like MDM. So it is similar, but maybe not the same.

But xdelete does not modify the DEC switch settings, just the xdrive.

i have a M550i, the dash displays both DTC and MDM together

from correlating with M car people, DTC and MDM behaviour is exactly the same. possible the thresholds are different but the behaviour is the same.

[cyam]

Originally Posted by g21

wow now we have the 4WD Sport just like the M3!
are you able to play with the 3 levels of traction control (full, MDM, Off) with 4WD Sport?

what dongle do you need to connect to the car? just any OBD plug?

Nope, only adjust the xdrive system. Nothing to do with levels of traction control of other settings.

I have MHD and a MHD dongle, that worked fine with both XHP and xdelete.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by cyam

Nope, only adjust the xdrive system. Nothing to do with levels of traction control of other settings.

I have MHD and a MHD dongle, that worked fine with both XHP and xdelete.

this thing is no joke! the car is now sideways everywhere i go with DTC and AWD Sport.

also most likely placebo but the throttle response is better (comfort mode!) and the adaptive dampers and more supple

the sad news is someone made an offer on the car that i cannot refuse. so maybe it won't see any drifting action.

to be honest, i took it to a carpark and i can't really control the car in drifting. the steering wheel is too big for me to grab and too heavy for me to wrestle.

if this deal goes ahead I will be cruising around in my old man 550.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by cyam

Nope, only adjust the xdrive system. Nothing to do with levels of traction control of other settings.

I have MHD and a MHD dongle, that worked fine with both XHP and xdelete.

so i did a test on this

AWD Sport is not the same as the M3 AWD Sport. The front wheels do not get power when needed. When i try to launch the car, instead of moving forwards the car is completely stationary spinning the the rear wheels. I would not want to be driving this thing in DTC AWD Sport as I have a feeling you'd skid into a tree.

So I flashed back to "Stock" which is designated as "4WD" on the app. My goodness in sport plus when I was trying to launch, the car was spinning all 4 wheels and going nowhere.

I do not recall having this behaviour prior. Luckily you can still trust sport and comfort modes. But I will warn you do not use sport plus in slippery conditions once you flash back to "stock" because it is not "stock" anymore.

So the best mode seems to be "stock" and DTC. the car is wild as heck already. do not use 4WD Sport is my warning to y'all.

[G22b58]

Originally Posted by cyam

Xdelete is now released.
I have it, works great.
...But on the skidpan I will set it to RWD only so no wear on the transfer case.

So, what do you think of the wear of the "M Sport Diff" in our cars.
Does it have a weaker clutch or comparable to the G8x?