m630

as well as extensive use of aluminium in fabrication...


...pss, nice avatar, love those nite launches!!!
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Thats right and the composite trunk lid that allows the antennas to be mounted there rather than have the shark fin.

Isn't that a hoot. It almost looks like the other end of a MM3 or Trident (Polaris, Posideon) reentry. I was on the receiving end of many of those over the years as well. Some with multiple reentry bodies aimed right at my head (well I thought so)
This was one of the soothest countdowns ever for a Delta II booster. No more this year. 4 months on station checkout for this new modernized GPS before the go ahead to launch the rest of the birds.
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...nice... ahh, i envy you, what a job you have there,

... years ago i lived in orlando during college and was lucky enough to witness 2 shuttle launches, and one was a nite launch!... absolutely one the best experiences of my life....if only I could get up there one day.
..well, im hoping this attempt by 'virgin galatic' will one day allow commercial sub-orbital flights, but i thought we were supposed to be livin' on the moon by now!!! ...i know that i will somehow find my way to get up there at least once in my life if its trully made available... ( i hope )

wolverine

Where did you hear there was a different gear ratio? Same SMG, same differential, same wheel/tire diameters.

cobradav

Where did you hear there was a different gear ratio? Same SMG, same differential, same wheel/tire diameters.
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Well, let me tell ya, verified and validated by spec sheets, magazine test, dealer and complaints by other 6er owners that their RPMs are higher than their 545 buddies (not me - no complaints here). My RPMs match the chart:

MarkCarson

I drove an E-60 530 for week (while they were getting a fuel pump for my 745i) last winter (it only looks like summer in Hawaii) and I drove my ED 645Ci for 15 days on vacation in July. Otherwise I have 36,000 on my 745i so I'm spoiled by the soft ride and irrated by the slow steering.

I think the 645Ci rides very nicely, close to the 745 but offers a lot better steering and snapier handling but its not twitchy. I seem to recall the ride in the 530i as being if anything a bit worse than the 645, perhaps because I drove it unladen (only me in it) and it may be sprung for a passenger load - the unladen pickup truck syndrome. Not that the 5er was a bad ride, but you would not confuse it for riding in a 7er. The 645Ci feels planted on the road. No doubt the 6er rides better than a Z4 and also ANY 3er I'm ever driven.

I may revise my thinking (5 vs 6) when my ED 645Ci get off the boat on monday but then I don't get 5 rides much.

alohalc

am i seeing "hawaii" ? markcarson, are you in hawaii ?

spinedoc

I definitely agree. The 745 ride is soft and there is much more roll than my 545, and then there is that speed thing...