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chefwong 06-12-2009 06:30 PM

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....

themoth 06-12-2009 08:03 PM

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.

Weasel 06-12-2009 08:33 PM

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.


AzNMpower32 06-12-2009 11:08 PM

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.

ravenheart 06-13-2009 05:18 PM

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.

Weasel 06-13-2009 05:51 PM

I pulled this excerpt from another forum, who pulled from a car magazine test article.


Quote:

"Active Steering is perhaps the most significant new technical achievement. This system, part of the optional Sport package, electromechanically adds a positive or negative steering angle to the setting chosen by the driver, via a planetary gearset integrated into the steering column. This reduces steering motion at low speeds (say, while parking) and when negotiating tight turns on curvy roads, requiring only two turns lock-to-lock rather than three. It also makes the steering much more direct at high speeds. Driving two 5-series-one equipped with Active Steering and one without-back-to-back on an autocross course, we found the car equipped with Active Steering allowed us to hustle through much more quickly and with far less understeer than the car with BMW's conventional, but still excellent, rack-and-pinion setup. (The 540i's recirculating-ball steering is history.) On twisty seaside roads, it takes a little getting used to, because you're expecting to have to cross your arms a lot more than is actually necessary, but the results are noteworthy. Philip Köhn, Active Steering project manager, maintains that the system "is such a huge leap in technology, it's comparable to the introduction of ABS."

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:

chefwong 06-15-2009 04:54 PM

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.

vinuneuro 06-15-2009 05:34 PM

If it was the holy grail of vehicle dynamics, it'd be used in M vehicles [but it isn't].

/


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