Active Steering Answer
#11
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Location: Dallas, TX USA
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I have to check every now and then to make sure AS is working. The only way to test is to observe how little the steering wheel turns on cornering at slower speeds as in traffic. It is seamless to me, but I never have tracked this car.
#12
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Location: New Orleans, LA USA
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My Ride: E90 M3
Model Year: 2011
Originally Posted by Hormazd' date='Mar 17 2005, 11:58 PM
[quote name='subterFUSE' date='Mar 17 2005, 09:46 PM']I just don't understand what's not to like about Active Steering.
I never really noticed the AS until I drove a car without it....?? and then I couldn't stand not having it.? It took so much more wheel movement to make a turn.? With AS I never take my hands off of the wheel....? I just keep them at 9 & 3 o'clock.... the way they teach race drivers.
I never really noticed the AS until I drove a car without it....?? and then I couldn't stand not having it.? It took so much more wheel movement to make a turn.? With AS I never take my hands off of the wheel....? I just keep them at 9 & 3 o'clock.... the way they teach race drivers.
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[/quote]Bingo! We have a winner! Indeed my test drive was in December 2003 and the feel of the AS was just not right. Yes, it was helpful in low speed turning situations, minimizing the need for the driver to turn the wheel, but highway speeds, I just didn't like the feel of it. I'm sure it has been much improved, as others have noted by more recent software updates. Kind of late for me though. Maybe in 10 years when I'm ready for a new car I'll give it another try...
#13
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My Ride: 2006 530i Sport
Silver Gray - Black Leather - Anthracite Maple
Manual Transmission
Premium Audio
Cold Weather Package
Rear sunshade
Sirius Radio
Autobahnd Roadblock (3M) film kit
As a general rule, I'm not convinced it's smart to train yourself to drive in such a fundamentally different manner - something AS most certainly does. Just as it's a danger to jump from a sports car into an SUV and throw it into a turn, I'd imagine the first few minutes after getting into a non-AS car are going to be "interesting".
Car and Driver had this to say about Active Steering in their recent 3-Series test
"...feels more intuitive in this car than it does in the 5 and has the advantage of providing a small amount of automatic opposite lock when the electronics detect that the car is oversteering. That said, we are still not entirely convinced it is better to drive than the regular linear power steering we tried in a Euro-spec 320d diesel."
I'd bet the software changes since their initial 530i Sport test might close or eliminate the perceived gap between 5 and 3, but it's interesting to note their thoughts comparing what they perceive to be the 3's better AS system against its traditional counterpart.
Car and Driver had this to say about Active Steering in their recent 3-Series test
"...feels more intuitive in this car than it does in the 5 and has the advantage of providing a small amount of automatic opposite lock when the electronics detect that the car is oversteering. That said, we are still not entirely convinced it is better to drive than the regular linear power steering we tried in a Euro-spec 320d diesel."
I'd bet the software changes since their initial 530i Sport test might close or eliminate the perceived gap between 5 and 3, but it's interesting to note their thoughts comparing what they perceive to be the 3's better AS system against its traditional counterpart.
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