netjazz

Took delivery last week on my April 05 buid 545ia sport. Put 700 miles on it so far, and it runs and handles like a dream. My hope was it would be equipped with Bridestone run-flats, but no way. Dunlop run flats again, but so far very quiet and great cornering as expected. The ride is very firm, I guess typical of all brands of run-flats. Went back to using a throw pillow as a shock absorber to sit on. Not to cool, but it really helps. Unfortunatly they still cause the new car to tramline on older worn roads.On 287 in NY State the middle lane is so groved it is very difficult to control the car, so you must change lanes. The biggest contributor to this is the rear tires being wider than the front on the sport. When I put my Dunlop 17" non run-flat snows on last year this did not occur. Guess I will live with it till winter. The biggest difference I find is in the Active Steering. The quick turning is of course still there at low speeds, but the wheel is much tighter than last years car. Road feel is better. The feature has really been perfected. If you buy an E60 it is a must IMHO to get. Actually the whole sport package with roll stabilization really makes the handling fantastic. BMW has always had that ability to improve and hone their cars from year to year. Other little touches; the Feb 05 Nav disk updated a lot of the changes made in the roads, and of course the 16.2 softwear with the new perspective view and side Icons is neat. Notice the armrest can now slide forward. Don't remember the other car doing that. Added factory Sirius to this car. Sound is almost CD like, but on tree lined country roads, the sound cuts in and out when passing under tree limbs. Very annoying. Does anyone know if this is typical being that it is picking up signals from the satellite above? It works fine on highways.By the way, try channel 72, PURE JAZZ for some great music. (what do you expect with my ID of Netjazz). Voice Control works great with Sirius. Just call it up and set your 12 favorite channels and run through them with your steering wheel buttons. (can't call up individual channels with voice control yet). Fun feature. Bluetooth is also great. Got the Verizon V710. Sound is much better than my V60 phone in other car. No echos or distortion. Party at other end can now hear me fine. Waiting for cradle to arrive for installation to use outside antenna and for charging. Once again my thanks to BMW for standing by me, and doing the right thing. First class company. I will never own any other brand of car.
YOU GOTTA LOVE THESE BMWs!

netjazz

My serius radio is constantly cutting in and out on tree lined roads. Is this normal? Can't seem to get a logical answer on this.

UUronL

Yes, this is normal depending on where the trees are in relation to the satellites. Sirius has three satellites in non-geosynchronous orbit, providing coverage to the US at all times.

I had XM for nearly three years - they operate two birds in geosynchronous orbit (Rock and Roll), one over Atlanta and one over Las Vegas. They augment the coverage with terrestrial antennas in each market. I've driven through Manhattan with very little drop.


I also seem to recall that there is a difference in the height of the Sirius birds compared to the XM birds that helps a great deal with the issue of coverage.


In practice, I get far fewer cut outs with Sirius, but it will inevitably happen once and a while.

cobradav

You are right on the mark. It is the difference in height that makes the Sirius satellites non-geosynchronous. They run in a odd shaped figure 8.

Go here to see an animation of the XM and Sirius satellite orbits.

http://www.tiger-usa.com/xmsr.html#