Edmunds Inside Line: 2011 BMW 550i vs. 2011 Infiniti M56 Comparison Test

[cawimmer430]

Not a fan of those rims.

They're the winter rims and they look pretty good (and are a brand new MB design to) for winter rims. I convinced my dad not to get any ugly winter rims like we had on the E320.

I can't wait until the summer rims are back on. They look like this.  

[CJ]

What winter rims did you have on the old car?

[MrH]

It wasn't perfect perfect, but from what I understand all new BMWs use R&Ps, and yet the steering feel is worse. Granted, obviously, there's a lot going on besides the steering rack type, but I remember hearing the RB setup being less precise/ nice overall than the R&P

The electric steering assist is what killed the steering feel, not the R&P setup.  Recirculating ball steering is widely considered less precise, and in general much shitter than R&P.  They're usually sloppier than R&P, and only get worse with age.

[cawimmer430]

What winter rims did you have on the old car?

[CJ]

Those are from a W210, aren't they?  They're not too bad.

[the Teuton]

The electric steering assist is what killed the steering feel, not the R&P setup.  Recirculating ball steering is widely considered less precise, and in general much shitter than R&P.  They're usually sloppier than R&P, and only get worse with age.

But the M5 was frickin awesome.

[sportyaccordy]

My blog.

WHERE'S YOUR BLOG?

[cawimmer430]

Those are from a W210, aren't they?  They're not too bad.

Yeah, they're originally from the W210. I believe they were even the standard rims on a US-spec E320 W210.

I never liked them though. I mean they just don't suit the W211 at all.

[CJ]

Yeah, they're originally from the W210. I believe they were even the standard rims on a US-spec E320 W210.

I never liked them though. I mean they just don't suit the W211 at all.

Standard on later W210 models.

[hotrodalex]

The electric steering assist is what killed the steering feel, not the R&P setup.  Recirculating ball steering is widely considered less precise, and in general much shitter than R&P.  They're usually sloppier than R&P, and only get worse with age.

I can attest to this. There was 2-3 inches of play in my El Camino's old steering box (got a newer one from a Monte Carlo SS which is the same style, but no where near as sloppy)

[sportyaccordy]

The electric steering assist is what killed the steering feel, not the R&P setup.  Recirculating ball steering is widely considered less precise, and in general much shitter than R&P.  They're usually sloppier than R&P, and only get worse with age.

Yep, I think we're agreeing here. My overall point was, E39 M5 had the RB setup, but was several times better steering-wise than the current R&P system.

Electric power steering is not the culprit though. Many great cars, including the 2nd gen MR2 & the S2000 had EPS applications that worked phenomenally. It's BMW's needless "experience customization" initiatives that seem to be ruining everything

[Tave]

why is this thread stickied?

[Secret Chimp]

I was about to ask the same thing.

[CALL_911]

So future generations can be enlightened by our banter....? Durrrrrrrr

[Xer0]

Can we get this unstuck already?  It feel strange.

[68_427]

No because this thread shows how awesome the new M56 is and how shitty the new 5er is.

[cawimmer430]

Man, the M56 is so awesome. 0-60 in just 5.0 seconds. The new BMW 5-Series on the other hand is so underpowered and can't hold a candle to the Infiniti M. 0-60 in 5.1 seconds? SLOW!!!

[the Teuton]

For reference, the E39 M5 that had a little less power and a lot less torque than the new 550i could hit 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

I just thought I'd share that fact.