znod

Who would want sport package WITHOUT AS?
[/quote]

The question should be: "Who would want sport package WITH AS?". AS acts as a rubbery connection between the steering wheel and the road. It decreases the fun of driving.

I would not imagine myself accelerating in a corner and having to readjust the steering wheel angle in my hands to keep the same radius of curvature!

The AS is a good tool for driving in town, but for real sporty driving I don't think it is the best option.

Maybe that is the reason why they took the AS out of the sport package and also the reason that the M5 doesn't come with AS.
[/quote]

I like AS fine, but I am not much of a sporty curve driver although I have taken several Bounderant courses. I am more of sporty straight-line driver. What I don't like is that one can't turn traction control completely off without also deactivating stability control. I think that really good drivers would turn both off and would not want AS on a road course.

UUronL

Who would want sport package WITHOUT AS?
[/quote]

The question should be: "Who would want sport package WITH AS?". AS acts as a rubbery connection between the steering wheel and the road. It decreases the fun of driving.

I would not imagine myself accelerating in a corner and having to readjust the steering wheel angle in my hands to keep the same radius of curvature!

The AS is a good tool for driving in town, but for real sporty driving I don't think it is the best option.

Maybe that is the reason why they took the AS out of the sport package and also the reason that the M5 doesn't come with AS.
[/quote]

I like AS fine, but I am not much of a sporty curve driver although I have taken several Bounderant courses. I am more of sporty straight-line driver. What I don't like is that one can't turn traction control completely off without also deactivating stability control. I think that really good drivers would turn both off and would not want AS on a road course.
[/quote]


I value the opinions on this matter from people who have driven AS-DD vs. non-AS DD cars. Most drivers here who have experienced AS and non-AS cars didn't experience a Dynamic Drive non-AS car. Dynamic Drive measurably decreases the amount of steering angle required for a given amount of lateral acceleration (this is the self-steering advantages of Dynamic Drive). So, driving a car without AS -and- without Dynamic Drive gives an exaggerated impression of how much more steering angle is required in a non-AS "sport" configuration.

I can't imagine using less input to drive my car. It requires mere twitches to change course.


I'd be willing to bet the new 550i will be approaching E39 M5 performance levels.

znod

It will be very interesting to see. Above, someone posted the following:

0 - 60 MPH
man/SMG step
545i 5.7 5.8
550i 5.4 5.5

The Table I posted above shows 0 to 60 times for the 545i of 5.2 (step) and 5.4 (not sure). Extrapolating, we might expect (loosely) the 0 to 60 time of the 550i to be 4.9 to 5.1. How do these compare with the E39 M5? They compare favorable with the following specific test results from above.

Chrysler SRT-8 R&T 3/05 425 4.9 13.3 108.2
Chrysler SRT-8 MT 2/05 425 4.9 13.2 108.1
Crossfire SRT-6 MT 8/04 330 4.9 13.3 107.4
Maserati Quattroporte C&D 8/03 ? 4.9 13.2 ?
Mercedes AMG C55 MT 11/04 362 4.9 13.2 107.3
Subaru WRX Sti R&T 6/03 300 4.9 13.3 103
Subaru WRX Sti C&D 2/05 ? 4.9 13.4 ?
Audi S4 MT 8/03 340 5 13.4 105.1
Cadallic CTS-V R&T 2/04 400 5 13.4 109
Ford Mustang GT Conv C&D 6/05 300 5 13.7 103
Maserati Coupe Cambio. R&T 11/02 390 5 13.4 109.6
Maserati Spyder GT R&T 9/03 390 5 13.5 106.3
Mercedes AMG C55 R&T 11/04 362 5 13.5 106.6
Pontiac GTO R&T 7/05 400 5 13.5 107.1
Pontiac GTO MT 2/05 400 5 13.3 107.5
Porsche Boxster S R&T 3/05 280 5 13.4 105
Porsche Boxster S MT 4/05 280 5 13.4 103.9
Porsche Cayenne Turbo R&T 11/03 450 5 13.5 103.3
Porsche Cayenne Turbo C&D 8/03 ? 5 13.5 ?
Saleen Mustang MT 4/05 325 ? 5 13.5 103.9
Ford Mustang GT C&D 1/05 300 5.1 13.8 103
Ford Mustang GT MT 1/05 300 5.1 13.5 103.6
Jaguar XJR R&T 6/04 390 5.1 13.5 105.9
Lotus Elise MT 8/04 190 5.1 13.5 102.9
Maserati Quattroporte R&T 12/04 394 5.1 13.6 103.6
Porsche Boxster S C&D 3/05 ? 5.1 13.6 ?
Porsche Boxster S C&D 3/05 276 5.1 13.6 103
Porsche Cayenne Turbo MT 4/05 450 5.1 13.6 101.8
BMW 545i R&T 6/05 325 5.2 13.7 104

UUronL

Car and Driver's last E39 M5 went 0-60 in 4.9 - quarter mile in 13.4 @ 108mph. The first one they tested was 4.8 13.3 @108. Either way I think those sound reasonable for the 550i. I think 35hp is good for 3-tenths of a second 0-60.

Roadholding for the M5 was .90g, which is what the US sport package does - the M sport may do better - I've never seen test figures on it.

znod

Car and Driver's last E39 M5 went 0-60 in 4.9 - quarter mile in 13.4 @ 108mph. The first one they tested was 4.8 13.3 @108. Either way I think those sound reasonable for the 550i. I think 35hp is good for 3-tenths of a second 0-60.

Roadholding for the M5 was .90g, which is what the US sport package does - the M sport may do better - I've never seen test figures on it.
[/quote]

What you said earlier now makes perfect sense. The E39 M5 fits right into the group posted above--toward the faster end, of course. I always think, similar to you, of about 10 good HP as yielding about .1 improvement.

Shebs

Who would want sport package WITHOUT AS?
[/quote]

The question should be: "Who would want sport package WITH AS?". AS acts as a rubbery connection between the steering wheel and the road. It decreases the fun of driving.

I would not imagine myself accelerating in a corner and having to readjust the steering wheel angle in my hands to keep the same radius of curvature!

The AS is a good tool for driving in town, but for real sporty driving I don't think it is the best option.

Maybe that is the reason why they took the AS out of the sport package and also the reason that the M5 doesn't come with AS.
[/quote]

Let's not start this again. The 2nd paragraph illustrates the misconceptions. If the radius doesn't change, the steering wheel does not need to change (unless you are sliding....)
[/quote]

I stated that if I am accelerating through a corner (i.e. I am increasing my speed), the steering ratio would change during the same corner.