[psuibmw]

Lots of discussion about steering so I'll steer this in a different direction when will we see an M340? It's almost mid Nov and not much info about it I need a test drive now

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by alex2364

I'm surprised everyone is clamoring for E90 steering. I had a E90 335i RWD with 704 M Sport suspension and remember everyone complaining about the pothole explosions. It just goes to show that no one is ever happy with they have.

Stock e90 steering sucked, it had too much feel and too much resistance, it also came with a very slow rack... yeah it was better than F30 335i, but god damn if thats your point of comparo...

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by psuibmw

Lots of discussion about steering so I'll steer this in a different direction when will we see an M340? It's almost mid Nov and not much info about it I need a test drive now

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...76&postcount=1

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by Thavash

I remember being active on these forums when the E90 came out ( I bought a new 320 in 2005 and was on here almost every day ). At the time , the E90 steering was criticized for not having any feel off center ( when you start turning it ). I'm sure you'll find some posts about it.

Anyway the point is that even the E90 was criticized heavily compared to the E46 ( dont' even started about the run flats ), and it seems like any new model will get criticism. I've learnt not to get too stressed about it until I drive the car.

Some criticism is valid - the first E90s had a terrible ride with the run flats , and the early F30s had much worse steering than later ( and not as good as E90 ) , but overall the 3 Series remains the standard.

Everybody from the press to the BMW faithful have agreed though that the E90 still drove like a proper BMW. The steering was still heads and shoulders above any of the competition. The F30 was a truly mediocre car. The article outlines it well.

I understand everything you are saying though.

[6ixSpd]

Originally Posted by rjd598

it's because a lot of people can't think for themselves and just copy and paste what the person before them said. the e9x was garbage if you ask me. between myself and a few friends we've had almost every iteration and none of us have ever looked bad.

e9x: 1/10 things right and it happened to be steering
f3x: 9/10 thing right and the one thing it didn't do is steering

that's the whole argument summed up.

Yeah... No.

You've got it entirely backwards. The only thing the F30 does better is technology. Build quality, driving dynamics, feel & feedback, etc etc are all a step down from the E90 generation and this isn't even debatable. Virtually every single automotive journalist publication claims the exact same thing when comparing the two, along with tonnes of individuals from their own experiences as well - myself included.

[cfm56d7b]

The article had no information about any possible improvements in M Adaptive suspension. The new purely mechanical lift related damper is of course an improvement. But no mechanical setup can respond to the entire spectrum of road surface variations. And that's the issue.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by alex2364

I'm surprised everyone is clamoring for E90 steering. I had a E90 335i RWD with 704 M Sport suspension and remember everyone complaining about the pothole explosions. It just goes to show that no one is ever happy with they have.

Ya. However back then the tyres were lower profile

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by alex2364

I'm surprised everyone is clamoring for E90 steering. I had a E90 335i RWD with 704 M Sport suspension and remember everyone complaining about the pothole explosions. It just goes to show that no one is ever happy with they have.

That BS was mostly due to First Generation Run Flats !

[SanchoDivine]

All this talk about steering is taking away from the true horror of BMWs atrocious wheel gaps.

BMW must be moving into the crossover market with their cars sitting on SUV suspensions!

[Big boi m5]

Originally Posted by bimmer456

So the 800 pound gorilla in the room says how does the g20 compare to the benchmark e90 with hydraulic power steering? Also, next years g30 will need to be updated with the same geometry as the new 3 series to benefit from it.

By my math, if the torque correction is the correct metric the f gen lost 64% of steering feel and the G20 has gained 10% back of the f. Thus, you're looking at a 4% improvement from e92 to g20.

It seems it would be easier to slap a force feedback system on to the rack and record it and have the feedback add the input to match like a racing sim set up would use.

[psuibmw]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...38;postcount=1

[Flying Ace]

this is a good article. Of particular interest is the adjustments they made to the electric steering's sensitivity which I felt was a major issue in many of the F cars.

[goj]

Originally Posted by bimmer456

So the 800 pound gorilla in the room says how does the g20 compare to the benchmark e90 with hydraulic power steering? Also, next years g30 will need to be updated with the same geometry as the new 3 series to benefit from it.

Benchmark e90? E90 was way too heavy. E46 was much better

[bimmer456]

Originally Posted by goj

Benchmark e90? E90 was way too heavy. E46 was much better

E36 was better still, and 2002 the legendary lightweight. Drop an s55 in one of those.

[goj]

Originally Posted by bimmer456

E36 was better still, and 2002 the legendary lightweight. Drop an s55 in one of those.

Having driven every three series from e36 to f30, the e46 steering is the best is what I am saying. The previous comment made it seem you are focused on more recent generations

[upsidedownfunnel]

Originally Posted by Alden_88M

This picture makes me shiver this in Sweden with our winters just gives me the creeps. This is just gonna get torn apart by all the road salt in Sweden.

That's mostly aluminum though and looks like pretty much every 3 series front suspension for the past few generations. That won't be the problem. The problem will be with the stamped steel control arms in the rear of the car. The aluminum control arms will just look a bit corroded.

[Remonster]

Originally Posted by Mo@BMWofFairfax

I wonder if the M Sport diff still as the same 30% locking or if it has been increased?

The new rear diff is an active diff like the F80 M3 currently has. Lockup is variable depending on what the car is doing at that moment. This is an extremely interesting addition to a non-M BMW and should be absolutely fantastic as it gives the engineers a lot of freedom to influence how the car feels and behaves in various conditions (braking, acceleration, turn-in, corner exit, etc. )

[akhter]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Stock e90 steering sucked, it had too much feel and too much resistance, it also came with a very slow rack... yeah it was better than F30 335i, but god damn if thats your point of comparo...

I disagree. My e90 335i came with active steering and it was perfect. And spent a lot of trackdays in that car.

[kpgray]

Originally Posted by otay

Not sure electric assist can ever feel like hydraulic steering. But if it's 10% better than F30, I'm OK with that.

But the F30 was 64% less feel so a partial gain. Although I liked the E9x, I have grown accustomed to the F30 and the ease in grocery parking lots and gas stations.

Originally Posted by alex2364

I’m surprised everyone is clamoring for E90 steering. I had a E90 335i RWD with 704 M Sport suspension and remember everyone complaining about the pothole explosions. It just goes to show that no one is ever happy with they have.

The E9x was great at forward driving speeds but too stiff in parking lot. or turning into my driveway.

Originally Posted by SleepingBMW

By my math, if the torque correction is the correct metric the f gen lost 64% of steering feel and the G20 has gained 10% back of the f. Thus, you're looking at a 4% improvement from e92 to g20.

It seems it would be easier to slap a force feedback system on to the rack and record it and have the feedback add the input to match like a racing sim set up would use.

I think in simpler terms:
F30 has 64% less steering feel than E9x
G20 has 60% less steering feel than E9x
Hmmmm, I suppose it is tracking in the right direction...

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Remonster

The new rear diff is an active diff like the F80 M3 currently has. Lockup is variable depending on what the car is doing at that moment. This is an extremely interesting addition to a non-M BMW and should be absolutely fantastic as it gives the engineers a lot of freedom to influence how the car feels and behaves in various conditions (braking, acceleration, turn-in, corner exit, etc. )

That is absolutely fantastic news. Thank you.

[raysspl]

Very good thorough report by the Jalopnik team

[Nahlem]

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

That's mostly aluminum though and looks like pretty much every 3 series front suspension for the past few generations. That won't be the problem. The problem will be with the stamped steel control arms in the rear of the car. The aluminum control arms will just look a bit corroded.

We have these controllers here in Sweden after three year you have to go and inspect your car to be approved for driving on the roads otherwise you ain't allowed to drive if you don't inspect the car and get it approved by official authority or the car won't be road legal.

And they all say the same thing all that protection under new cars especially the cars from Asian parts of the world that protection when removed for inspections is just a horror show after three years loads of cars are damaged by the winter so heavily that they are considered a road hazard.

Sometimes those skid bars can cover up a lot of damage that is done during winter time because that's the part you cant reach to clean when washing the underneath of the car.

When i get my new car after this X1 the first thing i will do is go for a complete rust treatment beneath the car so it can withstand the winters a lot better.

The picture below is the picture of my former work car, now imagine the underside of the car and the parts you can't reach.