General Car Conversation 2024 - part 1
#5251
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2...U8oaoN65UPwn4Q
Getting anywhere quickly in the X2 xDrive28i is something of a process, though, mainly because of the 2.0-liter turbo-four’s fuel-saving auto stop/start system. It’s the default with Comfort drive mode, and its calibration isn’t the most confidence-inspiring when you really need to boogie. The engine seemingly doesn’t refire until your foot is practically fully off the brake pedal, which results in an initial pause off the line if you move to quickly mat the throttle.
BMW gods are spinning. You could not hand me that thing, I'd sell it before even sitting in it.
Getting anywhere quickly in the X2 xDrive28i is something of a process, though, mainly because of the 2.0-liter turbo-four’s fuel-saving auto stop/start system. It’s the default with Comfort drive mode, and its calibration isn’t the most confidence-inspiring when you really need to boogie. The engine seemingly doesn’t refire until your foot is practically fully off the brake pedal, which results in an initial pause off the line if you move to quickly mat the throttle.
BMW gods are spinning. You could not hand me that thing, I'd sell it before even sitting in it.
You never hear similar complaints about anything from the 2-series coupe on up. The MT models in particular are set up such that it's literally not possible to get in your way. Engine is only eligible to be shut off when the car is not moving, the gearshift is in neutral, and the clutch is not depressed. As soon as you start to clutch in, the engine re-fires, before you can possibly get it into gear. And of course, if you're planning on taking off quickly, you're already in gear so the engine is always running.
#5252
Lexus Fanatic
In the Pacifica for instance CarPlay it will be lol
Spent some time this weekend working on the car a bit. BMW put a lot of foam insulation inside the center front air vents that basically blocks most of the air from coming out of them. It's a known issue with a service bulletin. I'm not in warranty of course, so I just pulled the dash apart yesterday and removed as much of that foam as I could by hand. Seems to blow a good bit better now, though the driver side vent remains stronger than the passenger side.
Also took the time to replace the cabin air filters. Per the recorded service history, the last time they were changed was 30k miles ago in 2021. They looked fairly dirty, but the other notable issue is that they were installed backwards. Got the new ones and facing the right direction and it seems much better now. Tomorrow will be the test of how the AC performs. Definitely hasn't done as well as the truck, Germany seems allergic to real cooling. It was a lot trickier to get these filters changed out than the one filter in my truck. Being a sedan automatically makes it harder to mess around in the passenger footwell, but I had to do some real yoga to get into a position where I could actually twist and move things. All while it was 100+ in my garage.
#5253
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Most obnoxious is the Nissan we inherited from my FIL. The filter is a standard flat squarish panel, roughly 10 inches wide. But the opening it needs to go into under the dash is curved and 7 inches wide....
#5254
Lexus Champion
I hate the filter location on the A8s, they are huge filters (3x the capacity of my Lexus cars, easily...) but you need to contort under the dash and remove two panels and a layer of sound deadening and the panel is so tight of a fit the floor mat needs to come out lol!
#5255
Pole Position
CarPlay supports lossless audio, either via USB or wireless, and wireless CarPlay uses a dedicated wifi network, not Bluetooth. All CarPlay does is deliver the digital stream, the DAC in the headunit handles the analog conversion.
#5256
Lexus Fanatic
I can tell you for sure though the sound quality through Apple Music within the MBUX system is dramatically better than through CarPlay. Even on tracks without Atmos. It’s night and day.
#5257
Lexus Fanatic
You are correct. Mercedes-Benz, Apple Music and Universal have an agreement. Music is now mixed for Mercedes Benz cars or "approved for use in Mercedes". Using Dolby Atmos
#5258
Lexus Fanatic
Its impossible to believe the music is coming from the same source on the same system. Plus it uses the car's wifi so it doesn't use your phone data and doesn't run your phone dead.
I have noticed that where my phone was never dead because it always charged plugged into CarPlay I get to the evening and its dead now.
I have noticed that where my phone was never dead because it always charged plugged into CarPlay I get to the evening and its dead now.
#5259
Lexus Fanatic
Its impossible to believe the music is coming from the same source on the same system. Plus it uses the car's wifi so it doesn't use your phone data and doesn't run your phone dead.
I have noticed that where my phone was never dead because it always charged plugged into CarPlay I get to the evening and its dead now.
I have noticed that where my phone was never dead because it always charged plugged into CarPlay I get to the evening and its dead now.
#5260
Lexus Champion
1000% agree, I also strongly feel it cheapens the experience of a high end by being the same interface that's in a civic.
#5261
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
There is definitely a built in cellular connection. Looks like the associated service is included for 3 years, and then $150/year after that. My car is similar, though Spotify is the music partner rather than Apple (doesn't matter as I don't use either), and BMW includes 4 years rather than 3. But it's the same $150/year after that.
#5262
Lexus Test Driver
There is definitely a built in cellular connection. Looks like the associated service is included for 3 years, and then $150/year after that. My car is similar, though Spotify is the music partner rather than Apple (doesn't matter as I don't use either), and BMW includes 4 years rather than 3. But it's the same $150/year after that.
I won't pay for subscriptions. Lol
#5263
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
So it's either FLAC files on USB, or high-res streaming via Android Auto.
*in this context, this is a technical term, coined by the inventor of the standalone Digital to Analog Converter (DAC).
Last edited by geko29; 07-01-24 at 09:03 AM.
#5264
Pole Position
I was just responding to the statement that CarPlay kills audio. It doesn't, because all CarPlay delivers is 1's and 0's. Your car does the rest. What happens after it serves up the bitstream is nothing to do with CarPlay, but CarPlay will serve up bit-perfect streams identical to the source if you have it set to do that. Not everyone has their iPhone set to stream losslessly over cellular by the way, so do check that.
edit - in your specific case it’s Dolby Atmos that’s creating the difference. You have native support for Atmos via Apple Music in your S Class, most cars don’t have that. If you were playing stereo, your MBUX and CarPlay would sound identical for the reasons above. CarPlay, for the time being, doesn’t Atmos even if set to do so. It did, it got pulled. It should come back and when it does you should have the same sound from either source.
Last edited by swajames; 07-01-24 at 10:25 AM.
#5265
Lexus Champion