[CAETANOM5]

Dear friends.. Let me know you ideas..

I have this new F10 535d in Portugal with full extras... in Portugal the base price is 70.000 EUROS and I pay 48.000 EUROS for Options... This is only for to drive this car just one baby M5 F10... this system in conjunction with all the others systems for helping this car making curves just no other in is segment..

In Portugal I was following one Porsche 911 S with on friend ( and is a very good driver ) on one curve I pass this Porsche on 220 Km/H... was amazing... because all this technology makes possible to desafie the gravity law..

Believe me this car with this weight curves so well and fast.. I have my M5 E60 and I have some suspicious if this F10 550i with all this systems make the curves better... I really don´t know... and i have the to cars.. and i have this Porsche 911 Turbo S and i make curves with theme and I every time I try one car, I feel this F10 special with this " INTEGRAL ACTIVE STEERING " and the others systems, like suspension with 4 modes, and others...

This F10 is a special car... in resume I expect to receive my M5 F10 on the first units.. because is all ready in place my name for one in Angola and other for Lisbon..

wait and wait...

Thank you.

CaetanoM5.

 

[gh342000]

I can't imagine them putting the active steering on the M5. Did you read this in a press release?

 

[CAETANOM5]

Friends.

I make one reflection.. Only that..

I wont opinions if is possible friends..

Thank you.

Caetanom5.

 

[Mark Carson]

I had Active Steering on my 2006 645Ci (which I drove on a European Delivery) and while it was OK around town, at Autobahn/Autostrada speeds, it was crap. Over 100 mph you wish it was just not there. Doing a lane change at 120 mph, the car thinks for split second that you are losing control and it "corrects" for your input and then stops and lets you steer as normal. So, it is sort of like a twitch for less than a second which occurs when you first turn the wheel. It very unsettling at first and then annoying after that.

I'm very glad they did not put it on the E60/E61/E63/E63 cars and I hope the F series M cars don't have it either.

 

[gh342000]

I have Active Steering on my 2006 645Ci (which I drove on a European Delivery) and while it was OK around town, at Autobahn/Autostrada speeds, it was crap. Over 100 mph you wish it was just not there. Doing a lane change at 120 mph, the car thinks for split second that you are losing control and it "corrects" for your input and then stops and lets you steer as normal. So, it is sort of like a twitch for less than a second which occurs when you first turn the wheel. It very unsettling at first and then annoying after that.

I'm very glad they did not put it on the E60/E61/E63/E63 cars and I hope the F series M cars don't have it either.

While it sounds great in concept the idea of having different ratios of steering at different speeds seems awkward to me. Hearing anything that sounds like "twitch" at speed scares me.

 

[Mark Carson]

Its is progressive (via a set of in-line planetary gears in the steering column) rather than a different set of gears per se. The planetary set is turned by an electric motor as I recall for more or less or even counter steering effect based on what DSC thinks you need. Really a cool technology in and of itself. But it has no place in an M car and I did not like it at over 100 mph for sure.

 

[Wolverine]

While it sounds great in concept the idea of having different ratios of steering at different speeds seems awkward to me. Hearing anything that sounds like "twitch" at speed scares me.

I suppose they could offer it as an option, but I'd be very surprised. If you're on the track with the car, and the ratio changes as you brake into a turn, it is virtually impossible to set your steering input. It just doesn't jive with the "M philosophy" of having a 'sports car' when you press a button.

 

[Mark Carson]

I suppose they could offer it as an option, but I'd be very surprised. If you're on the track with the car, and the ratio changes as you brake into a turn, it is virtually impossible to set your steering input. It just doesn't jive with the "M philosophy" of having a 'sports car' when you press a button.

Exactly, while the progressive ratio is convenient for 90 degree in town corners, it makes the car less predictable during spirited driving at any speed. The "connected" feeling is reduced with Active Steering. I'm not opposed to BMW offering it on some models but the M cars should avoid it. I hope they do NOT offer it as an option as that indicates they are moving more toward convenience and away from the Ultimate Driving Machine ethos on M cars.

 

[gh342000]

I suppose they could offer it as an option, but I'd be very surprised. If you're on the track with the car, and the ratio changes as you brake into a turn, it is virtually impossible to set your steering input. It just doesn't jive with the "M philosophy" of having a 'sports car' when you press a button.

You pointed out the biggest issue with this technology. Not having an instinctive understanding of what the front wheels will do when you turn the wheel. I imagine that they could mask a lot of this with the computer, still no place for it on this car.

The day that I see it on a Formula 1 car, then I may change my mind.

 

[Mark Carson]

@gh342000

I agree. If the progressive ratio was fixed (the same under all condtions) then I might be OK with it as it would be predictable as you said . But as it is, it is "dynamic" according to DSC computations. The silly thing can counter steer for gosh sakes! How to you "predict" that when you turn the wheel the wheels may turn the other direction when the car thinks you are about to drift the rear end?

Sort of like those annoying Benz adds I keep seeing on Top Gear, "I drove like an idiot, but my Mercedes saved me". Active Steering tries to "help you" even when you didn't ask it to do so. And it adds more weight which the porky F10 does not need more of.

 

[CSBM5]

I suppose they could offer it as an option, but I'd be very surprised. If you're on the track with the car, and the ratio changes as you brake into a turn, it is virtually impossible to set your steering input. It just doesn't jive with the "M philosophy" of having a 'sports car' when you press a button.

Definitely agree. Years ago when the E60 5-series was first out, I was at an event at the PC driving the 545i sport pkg with active steering. Through a rather high-speed slalom down the main straight, I didn't have an issue, but after the slalom there was a straight where I got up to about 80mph. This was followed by a major braking zone for a 90 degree left turn into the infield section down to probably around 30mph. When I provided the proper amount of steering wheel movement while trail-braking the turn-in, the real amount of steering input was hugely magnified by Active Steering. I was "used" to the response just moments before in the high-speed slalom; now it was responding massively differently -- the net was I almost spun the car and required every bit of my ability to correct and collect the car w/o going off course.

One of the PC guys was telling me not to overcook it so hard until I explained to him what happened...then he was like, oh yeah, you're right, it's really hard to predict what input you need in changing conditions. Just take it slower so we don't have any issues out here. :sad1: I have been autocrossing since 1975 and running track events/time trials/etc since 1981 in many different cars, but I have to say that Active Steering 545i was the most diabolical car I've ever driven on a track.

I was blown away after that experience at how in the bell BMW could ever put such an atrocity into a car that is meant to be driven. If the thing is going to owned by prior owners of 1971 Country Squire wagons, perhaps it was a good idea, but for any competent driver it is a disaster waiting to happen in my opinion.

Cheers,
Chuck

P.S. No chance that AS will appear in the F10 M5...no possible way. If it does however, we'll definitely know for sure where BMW is headed.

 

[Sorena]

Active steering is a joke , never liked it.
if they gonna put it in M5 , i should say Bye Bye BMW !
marketing almost killed everything good in BMW.