Active Steering - Yay or Nay
Stopped by a dealership today but they did not have any SAVS equipped with Active Steering to test drive.
However, I thought it kicked in more during low speeds vs. high speeds. The sales rep advised it's a 1:8 ratio when active steering kicks in, and it kicks in generally during HIGH speeds, not low. Anyone care to shed some light.... |
in my 545i it made a world of difference in handleing and overall performance, one of the must have options in my mind on a sport model.
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At low speeds, like in a parking lot, it turns the wheels faster. It only takes about 3/4 turn to go to end lock in one direction. At higher speeds it goes the other way for heightned stability. It also acts to help keep the vehicle stable in quick manuvers, helps counteract oversteer/understeer.
Here's a quick boring-ass video I found on youtube describing it. |
It largely depends on the vehicle and the type of driving one usually encounters. I will warn you, due to its rarity and complexity, salesmen don't know jacksh*t about how it works.
Active Steering alters the steering ratio from 10:1 (fast) at low speeds to 18:1 (stable) at higher speeds. If the main purpose of AS is to make parking easier, don't get it. You've missed the point of the technology. It's best if you drive predominately in rural areas with bends, kind of like Germany. It provides better stability and driving enjoyment in those ideal situations with higher speeds. BMW provides a description here. There's also a video on the right hand side menu that you can download. |
By now everyone is probably tired of hearing me hark on about this - but I really dont like Active Steering - in my experience it makes the steering feel numb and unpredictable. Kinda like steering a big boat. That is not to say its useless - just clashes with everything I personally like about driving.
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I pulled this excerpt from another forum, who pulled from a car magazine test article.
Quote:
It is a great system, and I like it, but not everyone does. As I recommended earlier, go and drive a vehicle with it, even if it is not the model car you are trying to buy. You just need to feel it yourself. You will either love it or hate it once you feel it yourself. :thumbup: |
called around to a couple of suspect dealerships I would use. None have any stock with AS in their demo and or CPO fleet......
Hard to make a blind decision. |
If it was the holy grail of vehicle dynamics, it'd be used in M vehicles [but it isn't].
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