E89 steering feel vs. E85

S

Storini

Member
Thinking of changing to an E89 3.0i or 3.5i from E85 shown in sig below. I am pretty happy with the feel and quick response of the steering on the E85 with the changed Michelins, and would hope it's not any worse with the E89. Unfortunately no test drives appear practical currently.

Views? Also between the two E89 variants above?
 
Much weightier, response is just as quick if not quicker, whilst you can still tell its electronic steering its a much improved version of the the e85 steering with better feel all round imho
 
Never had any BMW before this car, but i would say the worst steering feel of any car i have owned.
It's not a vehicle you can steer on autopilot, the rft need to be got rid of for starts.
You can't feel the wheels as the electric steering damps any of that out.
I always thought it might benefit from narrower front wheels.
Hydraulic steering would have been nicer, it's tiring to drive over say two hours.
But i accept that's it's character and put up with it.
I think later vehicles were improved.
 
Ha, you haven't driven a BMW X3 E83 (which I also own) - it's comfortable and reassuringly solid on the road, but the steering is basically like driving a bus or a truck.

I have seen some YT videos that hint that getting the Z4 steering geometry right does make a difference.
 
flybobbie said:
But i accept that's it's character and put up with it.
I think later vehicles were improved.
Click to expand...

They must be because the 3.0si is not bad at all. You would certainly never point it out as a big weakness in the driving experience, and that’s coming from an E46 M3 which is considered very good indeed.
 
For me the steering is better in my E85 than our E89, although E85's do tend to tramline alot more. The E85 steering is the best purely electric steering I've experienced in a BMW this side of the recent Gx generation cars. The G20 is a definitely an improvement over the E85 but I thought Fx gen cars were actually worse. Im hoping that the addition of the E9x M3 arms coupled to running a bit of extra camber (that have received good reviews on here and 3 series forums) will make things more akin to the E85.
 
well this makes things clear as mud eh :D I guess its another one of those "feel" things that we all experience differently, I thought the steering in my 3.0si was its weakest point, just felt too light and lifeless with a bit of free play before the first input was felt. For me personally it feels a substantial improvement in the e89
 
Whilst not top of the class (maybe that accolade belongs to the Boxster) I think my E89 30i drives just fine, in all aspects ride handling and steering feel maybe I am just not so fussy or am easily pleased :scratchhead: Saying that I found the steering on the newer 28i I test drove didn't feel as good as on my 30i, it felt way too light and with less feel, the steering on my 30i doesn't actually feel like it's electric, to me it feels more like what I had in my old E46 coupe.
 
Hello! I créate a account today only to. search about swap the eps of my 35i for an hydraulic one. in my opinion the feel of the steering is the worst of the car.

regards f
 
I've no experience of an E89, but being a newer generation of model I would hope it would have a better EPAS installation.

The EPAS on my facelift E87 1 Series was certainly better than what was fitted to my first 2 E86s. :roll:

But I much prefer the HPAS on my 2005 330i and Z4MC. :D

Franbr said:
Hello! I créate a account today only to. search about swap the eps of my 35i for an hydraulic one. in my opinion the feel of the steering is the worst of the car.

regards f
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Welcome by the way - I suspect fitting HPAS to a 35i might be a challenge as I don't think any E89s or twin-turbo 6 cylinder models had it as standard.
 
The main idea was swap the 1m steering rack/pump to the Z4, but i have to see how to manage the electronic parts. I think too to swap for a older version -for example E46 rack- to not waste a lot of money.

Saludos desde españa
 
The steering is definitely better/different on my 35iS compared to my 23i.

When I mentioned this after getting the 35 I was told they had a different coding/flash for the steering on that model only and that might be why.

I don’t know much about that or what the difference is but it feels better
 
Argyll Andy said:
The steering is definitely better/different on my 35iS compared to my 23i.

When I mentioned this after getting the 35 I was told they had a different coding/flash for the steering on that model only and that might be why.

I don’t know much about that or what the difference is but it feels better
Click to expand...

I tried to find out about this a while ago. All the hardware between the different models is the same. If its true or myth I'm not sure but its certainly in the coding if it is
 
MACK said:
Argyll Andy said:
The steering is definitely better/different on my 35iS compared to my 23i.

When I mentioned this after getting the 35 I was told they had a different coding/flash for the steering on that model only and that might be why.

I don’t know much about that or what the difference is but it feels better
Click to expand...

I tried to find out about this a while ago. All the hardware between the different models is the same. If its true or myth I'm not sure but its certainly in the coding if it is
Click to expand...

Tbh, I never knew anything about it and it was only when I mentioned it in a post someone came back said there’s a different flash for the 35iS steering that’s why I’d feel the difference.

Unfortunately, other than that I’ve got no additional information
 
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