Quote:
Originally Posted by remvs
I have been driving my F30 320D for 4000 KM's now. i can not get used to the EPS /steering characteristics.
1. The F30 steers much lighter then my E90. On its own, thats not so much of a problem
2. The artificial feel close to the centre is what bothers me. I get the feeling the EPS provides road/ride feedback actively in some way. It makes for a vague steering sensation, especially at higher speeds
3. also what i do not like is that the car has a slower 'return to a straight line' response. I really think they reduced the KPI on the steering setup compared to the E90.
For me this takes away at least 30% of the 'Freude am fahren'...
I have the standard powersteering and i notice hardly any difference in steering when i go to sport or sport+ mode.
I wonder if i can do anything to improve the steering. any suggestions?
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I've tested two F30 328i models, and, in addition to the complete lack of road feel, this was my impression of the steering. (And yes, I tried both in sport mode.) These characteristics are common in EPS systems, including my Acura TSX's, which provides little feel and is especially numb on center. It provides more feedback than the 328i's steering though, and it's also much heavier, which I'm not crazy about in the parking lot.
Car and Driver explained some of this in its recent article about EPS, which used two 5 Series cars:
http://www.caranddriver.com/features...n-test-feature
While they preferred EPS in some important respects, they noted the highway stability problem, which comes from very little resistance just off center. Ford has figured this out, so the Focus ST's steering has loads of resistance just off center, and also a strong return-to-center. This isn't the same as feedback, and it's a little artificial, but it does produce a more confident, secure feeling on the highway, which is great for high speed lane changes. I preferred its steering over that in my Acura and the F30.
Other than the steering, I loved the F30, so I hope BMW makes meaningful improvements to its EPS.