Any recommendations?

[alexey21]

Finally the time has come!!!
I have ordered my 2013 M5 back in August for a May 22nd European Delivery and just 12 days away from my flight from Newark. A big thanks to this M5 bimmerpost community for all the help.

I will be traveling with my family from Germany to Italy, around the boot of Italy and back.

My biggest question, any recommendations for ED? Any words of wisdom?

Thanks!

[chudak18]

Munich is going to be one of the best cities to explore imho. Been to France, czech, Switzerland, Austria. Munich was my favorite.

[stealth.pilot]

One piece of advice - don't try to do too much. It's tiring to be driving every day. Spend some quality time in the places you visit.

We did 2 days Vienna, 2 days in Salzburg area (including trips to GrossGlockner and Berchtesgaden), 2 days in Switzerland, and 3 days in Munich. It was an excellent trip. My original itinerary which took us down to Genoa and Monte Carlo would have been a pain.

[jmh]

As Stealth said just don't try to overachieve and put too much on your agenda.
Be flexible and play it by ear (where possible)
You should also visit the ED board at http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25
as it has lots of good advice and knowledable folks on it .

Given the time of year you might be lucky and some of the passes are already open etc

I have a few pointers/maps from my ED archived at
Basically we drove from Munich to Zell am See, Grossglockner, Lake Garda,
Stelvio, Umbria, Reschen, Silvretta, Garmisch, Kochelsee etc
The routes on Google Maps will show that we probably did 85% alp road/backroad driving.
This should make for a great break-in tour as the constant change in revs and up and down the mountains helps quite a bit to aid in oil distribution and settling in

However May is a little early for many of the passes...

ED Pointers / Resources
http://jmh.titanpad.com/10
Various Tours around Munich
http://jmh.titanpad.com/14
Day 1 (Munich ED Delivery / M Studio Tour / Dingolfing Plant Tour)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/3
Day 2 (Munich to Zell am See via Thierbach/Kitzbuehel)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/5
Day 3 (Zell am See / Grossglockner / Lake Garda)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/4
Day 4 (Lake Garda to Silvretta via Stelvio/Umbria/Reschen)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/6
Day 5 (Silvretta to Garmisch)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/7

- Jan

[nugent]

uh...drive it like you stole it.

[alexey21]

I will be following the break in procedure very carefully and make sure the car lasts long. As for the traveling tips thank you very much! I did reserve a hotel in Rome for 2 nights. I was told you cant see Italy without being to Rome. Original plan was to travel down to Bari, and then slowly work my way up back to Munich, through Rome, Florence and Verona.

Only downside of the trip is that I can not do the break in service as planned in Italy. They apparently want about 600 Euros for the service.

[Scott_in_FL]

We just got back March 31st and still waiting on car to be re-delivered

Anyway, if we did it again, we would stay in Munich just long enough to grab the car and run down to Italy. It was cold and dreary when we were there and the food is a bit tough to get used to (unless you just love sausages and potato salad with every meal). We stayed at the Sofitel just outisde the Hauptanhof train station which was ideal.

As for Italy, if you love food and wine, you can't go wrong. We were in Bologna, Florence, Cortona, Siena, and Venice.

When we go back (and we certainly will, very soon), we will spend less time in cities like Bologna and Florence, and more time in small towns in the Tuscan wine region (such as Corton, Siena, Montepulciano, etc.). We would probably split our time there, and then a couple days around Lake Como.

Venice is a must see but, once you've spent a couple days there, you don't need to go back. It's mainy walking and sightseeing -- but again, it is awesome to see if you've never done it.

Eat fresh, homemade pasta every night, and be sure to always take the house wine (it's generally $3 per glass... an awesome deal and each restaurant typically makes their own).

You will have a blast!!!!

[M54ccibo]

Congrats! Wish I was heading back to Europe...miss driving my M5 on the roads there (both Autobahn and Autostrada).

Fantastic words of wisdom from the previous posts. And there is a ton of vacation/travel advice on this and other BMW forums. My advice:

- If you can swing it don't try to put more in on delivery day than necessary. If you want to do the factory tour, check out the welt, etc., do it before delivery day. Savor the delivery, maybe go back and hang for a bit and contemplate what just transpired at the premium lounge and then head on your way. It goes by WAY too fast.

- Don't baby the car too much while driving the Autobahn...you will certainly be deprived of one of the best experiences EVER. The car is unreal over 100MPH. It just gets better and better as the speedo climbs. Sure, you can follow the break in but don't let it keep you from experiencing REAL autobahn speeds...there will be opportunities to let it go and you don't have to do 150+ for an hour (not likely anyway). You are buying an Autobahn destroyer...let it GOOOO! See the next point.

- Obey the speed limits. There are speed cameras everywhere and you may get tickets sent to you. SO, get your high-speed runs out of the way early and be content to not speed elsewhere!

- Don't forget your tolls for Austria and Switzerland if you plan on driving through...they are strict about having them, even for a short distance traveled.

- Kinda goes without saying, above all, savor the moments and enjoy!

If you are in for some reading, here is my blog entry from our 9/7/12 M5 ED:

http://www.ccibophoto.com/2012/10/2012-ed-review.html

[RPiM5]

Dude, what your plans for music? I highly recommend either filling up your iPhone/iPod with music and using the bluetooth or taking a USB stick with music on it and then downloading that music onto the M5's hard drive. You can download it before they stick in the USB stick with the European Maps on it. Just ask the delivery person to help you with it. I'ts pretty easy actually. But having the proper music for the journey was one of my top priority's for my Euro Delivery trip. Made the whole experience that much better!

[M54ccibo]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

Dude, what your plans for music? I highly recommend either filling up your iPhone/iPod with music and using the bluetooth or taking a USB stick with music on it and then downloading that music onto the M5's hard drive. You can download it before they stick in the USB stick with the European Maps on it. Just ask the delivery person to help you with it. I'ts pretty easy actually. But having the proper music for the journey was one of my top priority's for my Euro Delivery trip. Made the whole experience that much better!

^ This * 1M. Forgot about having the Autobahn music, which is different than the Swiss pass music, which is different than the Italian lake district music, and vastly different than the French Rivera music.

[alexey21]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

Dude, what your plans for music? I highly recommend either filling up your iPhone/iPod with music and using the bluetooth or taking a USB stick with music on it and then downloading that music onto the M5's hard drive. You can download it before they stick in the USB stick with the European Maps on it. Just ask the delivery person to help you with it. I'ts pretty easy actually. But having the proper music for the journey was one of my top priority's for my Euro Delivery trip. Made the whole experience that much better!

Since there will be 3 of us on this journey we all have agreed to individually pick out the music we want to take with us. I was thinking of either an MP3 CD with all the songs on there, or taking my iPod. Now that you mention the use of a USB stick, that might make life a lot easier. I did not know that was possible. I will have to check into this.

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by alexey21

Since there will be 3 of us on this journey we all have agreed to individually pick out the music we want to take with us. I was thinking of either an MP3 CD with all the songs on there, or taking my iPod. Now that you mention the use of a USB stick, that might make life a lot easier. I did not know that was possible. I will have to check into this.

Yeah here's what I recommend. Have each of the 3 of you have your own USB stick with your own music on it. Then when you get to the Welt and pick up your car, download each USB stick onto the hard drive one at a time. When you "Browse Directory" on the iDrive screen, each USB stick will show up in the hard drive and will be seperate from each others music. Like I said it's super easy, and I only learned about how to do this literally the other day. I had no idea that you can organize your music with different USB sticks downloaded onto the hard drive, but you can.

[alexey21]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

Yeah here's what I recommend. Have each of the 3 of you have your own USB stick with your own music on it. Then when you get to the Welt and pick up your car, download each USB stick onto the hard drive one at a time. When you "Browse Directory" on the iDrive screen, each USB stick will show up in the hard drive and will be seperate from each others music. Like I said it's super easy, and I only learned about how to do this literally the other day. I had no idea that you can organize your music with different USB sticks downloaded onto the hard drive, but you can.

Will all the song titles and albums show up once I do this, or will it say Track #.

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by alexey21

Will all the song titles and albums show up once I do this, or will it say Track #.

The song titles will, but I'm not sure about the albums. Just organize your music on each USB stick with subfolders for playlists. The hard drive will recognize each sub folder and you can navigate through them easily with the iDrive.

I could shoot a short video for you if you want me to.

I'll probably do it anyways just to help people out who don't know how to do it.

[suvankarroy]

"Has anyone heard any updated news about Dinan products for the F10 M5. In particular an ECU tune or anything else? It's not like the m5 hasn't been out for a little bit and the 550i seems to be getting all of the products."....

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by suvankarroy

"Has anyone heard any updated news about Dinan products for the F10 M5. In particular an ECU tune or anything else? It's not like the m5 hasn't been out for a little bit and the 550i seems to be getting all of the products."....

Dinan has nothing coming out for the F10 M5 for the foreseeable future as far as I know.

[cmhsam]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

Dude, what your plans for music? I highly recommend either filling up your iPhone/iPod with music and using the bluetooth or taking a USB stick with music on it and then downloading that music onto the M5's hard drive. You can download it before they stick in the USB stick with the European Maps on it. Just ask the delivery person to help you with it. I'ts pretty easy actually. But having the proper music for the journey was one of my top priority's for my Euro Delivery trip. Made the whole experience that much better!

Dave, still remember you rocking out to chris brown taking your victory lap around The Welt...

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by cmhsam

Dave, still remember you rocking out to chris brown taking your victory lap around The Welt...

...cause I've been waiting my whooole life for this one niiiight!!!

[mdevil]

Post all your experiences I will be flying for ED two weeks after yours.. .. good luck .. have fun

[alexey21]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

The song titles will, but I'm not sure about the albums. Just organize your music on each USB stick with subfolders for playlists. The hard drive will recognize each sub folder and you can navigate through them easily with the iDrive.

I could shoot a short video for you if you want me to.

I'll probably do it anyways just to help people out who don't know how to do it.

That would be nice Thank you Dave.

M54ccibo, I am picking up the car at 5PM, so I can do the factory tour probably before on the same day. At first I was not very happy about the pick up time, but maybe its for the better.

[alexey21]

Oh yeah... is the food at welt free?

[jmh]

Originally Posted by alexey21

Since there will be 3 of us on this journey we all have agreed to individually pick out the music we want to take with us. I was thinking of either an MP3 CD with all the songs on there, or taking my iPod. Now that you mention the use of a USB stick, that might make life a lot easier. I did not know that was possible. I will have to check into this.

Just remember that you only have one USB connector in the M5 (under the center armrest) and it's the same one which is used for the USB stick holding the euro navigation maps. If you unplug it and plug in your music USB stick you won't have NAV for Europe.
Another option is to bring your iPod Touch or iPhone with you and buy a media adapter to plug it into the snap-in adapter.
Or you can use Bluetooth audio streaming in your car