Saying Goodbye

[Bill Glasheen]

Here's the BMW 530 xi.



Here's its competition from Infiniti (the M35x). All the auto mags will be comparing one against the other in their reviews for the next few years.



It's a personal thing, no? For most, either the German or the Japanese vehicle grabs them. The German vehicle has more schizzle. The Japanese better reliability.

Most people would rather rave about the M45, which has the bigger engine but no AWD. The M35x comes with the same 3.5 liter V6 engine that's in the entire Nissan line and in my last 2 vans.

Where you live, I would stick with a car that has AWD capabilities. These cars will go fast in ways that won't make you lose your license.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

why the change of heart for the "Mini"?

The mini has a near cult following here in Florida.

George, I can tell you why I'd get a Bimmer x or Infiniti x vehicle over a Mini:

1) He lives in New England; you live in Florida. The AWD system is eminently more practical and safer due to bad weather.

2) A Bimmer is a Bimmer. 'Nuff said...

3) The Mini has all the flaws inherent in a nose-heavy, FWD car. A good, well-balanced RWD or RWD-biased AWD car will beat the pants off any FWD vehicle in cornering any day of the week. The AWD cars just have this understeer flaw that makes them less safe and less fun when cornering hard.

If Van is a driver, he will leave the nose-heavy cars behind and never look back. I don't blame him. If Van wants a vehicle that "looks cute" or "looks interesting", well that's another story altogether.

Different strokes...

- Bill

[Van Canna]

Bill,

Thanks for the response and information. You have an automobile encyclopedic mind.

Ø Originally posted by George
why the change of heart for the "Mini"? <

George, the MINI was like buying a toy to play with.

The Acura is now an ‘old lady’ at 50K_ out of warranty and soon needing brakes etc.

Acura and MINI not AWD_something I want.

Acura’s emergency response is a joke. You call, have to give vehicle VIN and location which sometimes eludes.

Once I left lights on at my mother’s grave and battery ran down. Acura told me they don’t service that area. Go figure.!@#$%

BMW_ you just push a button, and through the GPS, they locate your position exactly, a live voice comes over the speakers to talk to you and to tell you help is on the way. If in an accident, same thing automatically.

Acura and Infinity expensive for scheduled maintenance. BMW is free for 4 years/50K_

Ø Oh no.....and I never even got the ride and the cappuccino, Van.
Easy come, easy go.<

A bummer, Vicky_No? Boots are nice but dangerous to drive with.

Bill, true. The new engine is very smooth and very quick and lots of low end torque.
Smoothest idling car ever experienced.

Ø The "X" system has roughly a 70/30 torque bias to the rear wheels, giving it AWD traction but retaining the RWD feel on cornering and off the line. <

Correct_ this car feels like Sugar Ray Robinson on wheels. It is a driver’s car.

Ø Most people bitch about the i-Drive system.<

True, Bill_ so did I until I got a chance to use it. The bad name comes from the 745 _

The new I drive is much easier to work with. I don’t mind it because the main controls I use for driving are on the dash and steering wheel and are voice activated as the GPS is.

Ø Bluetooth < Yes, Need to buy a new phone.

>the best competition out there IMO is the new Infiniti M35x. Check it out. It's a VERY smooth car and has Infiniti reliability. <

I test-drove it. Did not like it. Nav screen gets glared out_ graphics not very clear.
In comparison to the BMW X > it feels like a plodder.

And you have to pay for maintenance. Not good.

And the BMW has a great resale value. Plus it evokes adrenaline response in the driver and onlookers.

[Bill Glasheen]

Hey Van! Maybe we both can visit Bruce's Regensburg dojos some time. Then you can go see the BMW manufacturing plant.



Bavaria is a special place on God's earth. No wonder they make great cars; how else are you going to enjoy all that open space and those fast roads?



- Bill

[Van Canna]

Yes, God's country.

One look at the factory and you know why they make the 'ultimate driving machine'_

Can’t go wrong with these looks.

Notice the cat's eyes at the headlights' rims _ lights swivel into your turns.

[Bill Glasheen]

lights swivel into your turns

I thought that was the "babe tracker" feature...

- Bill

[Van Canna]

lights swivel into your turns

I thought that was the "babe tracker" feature...

- Bill

Ha..so that's what they are for



That car will turn heads for sure. Besides it is the 'look of money'

[Stryke]

Some Cars just fit there owners ... Vans got it right

the style, the dependability, the power , finesse ....

Not to mention a Uechi Shark

[Van Canna]

Marcus,

You are being very kind, my man The feeling is mutual.

[Van Canna]

The low-end torque question.

Not clear on this, Bill.

The claim is that Asian cars, even with lots of HP and torque, cannot use this as efficiently as the BMW can, even with less ‘numbers’_

I.E., the claim is that the 530XI_ has much more low-end torque and higher engine ‘revs’ from the ‘get go’ _ something that Asian high HP engines, like the Acura RL [300 HP] cannot match.

And this is the reason why I read that the Bimmer’s 255 HP/220 lb torque_ pulls like a ‘freight train’_

Can you enlighten?

[Van Canna]

Bill,

Here is what I found

Revving even faster and more smoothly than before: second-generation VALVETRONIC.
Over and above the extremely low weight, BMW’s new six-cylinder engines offer superior output and performance on the road: Providing output per liter of 63 kW or 86 bhp, the three-liter engine in the 530i comes right at the top of its segment.

This is largely attributable to BMW’s unique VALVETRONIC valve control, an innovation introduced by BMW for infinite variation of valve opening times and management as a function of the gas pedal position.

BMW VALVETRONIC therefore ensures largely throttle-free valve control for particularly efficient use of fuel and far better engine response.

BMW’s inline-six is the first engine to feature BMW’s second-generation VALVETRONIC allowing even higher engine speeds. This is made possible by a significant increase in engine stiffness and stability ensuring even faster acceleration in operating the valves.


On the road, this gives the driver even more sporting performance and speed reserves in the individual gears, with nominal engine speed of the inline-six being increased by 400 and 600 rpm respectively, on the 525i/530i to 6,400 and 6,500 rpm respectively. For the first time the engine cuts off at 7,000 rpm (+500 rpm) in both cases as opposed to a cut-off speed of 6,750 rpm (+250 rpm) on the 523i.




All-wheel drive without any drawbacks in the 525i and 530i.

Introducing xDrive as an option on the 525i and 530i Sedan and Touring, BMW is enlarging the wide range of choice within the 5 Series. Now xDrive with enhanced traction for special requirements supplements the sporting performance and motoring comfort, roominess and versatility already so typical of the 5 Series.


With BMW’s intelligent xDrive system, the driver has the advantage whenever required of four drive wheels without the disadvantages of many all-wheel-drive systems the rest of the time:

In terms of their everyday driving characteristics, the new 5 Series with xDrive are just as agile and dynamic as their “sister” models with rear-wheel drive.


On the road xDrive offers a significant increase in agility and driving pleasure, as well as extra safety over a conventional all-wheel-drive system.

Stability enhancement functions such as DSC only have to intervene much later. And at the same time xDrive ensures much smoother transition of drive power on loose or slippery surfaces, drive power being immediately fed to the wheels with sufficient grip whenever one of the wheels starts to spin and therefore lose traction.


The benefits of xDrive are always available, since the flow of power is consistently adjusted to the respective situation on the road.

A few examples:

· When setting off under normal conditions the multiple-plate clutch remains closed until the car reaches a speed of approximately 12 mph or 20 km/h. This ensures maximum traction in the start-up phase. Then the system distributes engine power fully variably between the front and rear axle as a function of driving conditions.

· In bends the instantaneous re-distribution of power reduces any under- or oversteer. As soon as the rear end of the car threatens to break loose in a bend, xDrive closes the multiple-plate clutch and feeds more power to the front wheels. This allows the rear wheels to build up more lateral force and the car is able to regain stability.


Being combined with Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), the system recognizes any tendency to oversteer at a very early point and intervenes before the driver even becomes aware of the change in driving conditions. As a result, the 5 Series literally glides round the bend as if it were running on rails, DSC not cutting in until the variable distribution of power alone is no longer able to avoid the risk of oversteer.


· Whenever the car threatens to “push” out of a bend, information provided by the DSC system indicates this risk of understeer and the flow of power to the front axle is reduced in order to compensate for this effect.


Hence, up to 100 per cent of the engine power may be fed to the rear wheels in an extreme case – and if this is not sufficient, DSC cuts in once again. As a result, the driver is able to drive the all-wheel-drive 5 Series on winding roads and serpentines with virtually the same smoothness and agility as in a 5 Series with rear-wheel drive, xDrive easily compensating even an abrupt change in engine power:

While the time “lag” between pressing down the gas pedal and building up engine power is at least 200 milliseconds, the multiple-plate clutch opens or closes completely within just 100 milliseconds.

· When driving with a large steering angle but with low power – the typical situation when parking – power is shifted off the front wheels to give the car the usual rear-wheel-drive effect. This avoids any unpleasant tension in the drivetrain as well as any effects on the steering.


· On grads with a slippery road surface, in particular on snow, shifting power back and forth between the front and rear axles prevents the wheels from spinning. Hence, DSC is only required to reduce engine power or apply the brakes on the wheels under far more difficult road conditions in order to reduce the flow of power.


And then, when continuing once again, the locking action significantly reduces the risk of individual wheels losing their longitudinal or lateral grip, thus giving the driver far greater agility and safety on the road.

[Bill Glasheen]

The ratings of engines generally are given as the PEAK horsepower and the PEAK torque. That horsepower and that torque exist at a single RPM, or speed of the engine.

Meanwhile we drive an engine through its entire range of speeds. We start engaging the clutch (automatically or manually) at lower RPM, and stay within a gear long enough to take advantage of the "sweet spot" in an engine's RMP band.

Here's some examples of plots that show the entire performance of various engines.

This is the plot for the Acura 3.5L DOHC V-6



That's not bad for a V6, which generally has a shorter, fatter cylinder, and so often is a bit "peaky" on the torque curve. Note how hp goes up almost linearly. Horsepower is basically torque*RMP, so that makes sense when you multiply that relatively flat torque curve by the values on the X axis.

As they say, torque pulls your from a dead start; horsepower allows you to go fast.

Here's a plot for the General Motors Vortec 4.2L DOHC I-6



Note how much better torque the inline 6 engine gets at the very low end (1000 RPM). This means you'll be feeling that sweet pull at a much lower revving of the engine. You won't feel compelled to beat the snot out of the engine to hit the sweet spot. (Turbocharged engines are the worst in that category).

The extreme example of great torque at low end is a diesel. Here is the DaimlerChrysler Mercedes 3.2L DOHC I-6 Turbodiesel



The combination of an inline 6 in a turbodiesel format gives you peak torque way the hell down at 1800 RPM, with a half-decent tug (at least 230 lb-ft) going all the way up to 4000 RPM. The real sweet spot is way down in the throaty 2000 RPM range. Because of that, the driver (and the automatic transmission) spends all his time in the low RPM range. While this engine isn't meant to go at high speeds on the Autobahn, it'll give you kick-ass driving characteristics in commuter traffic, and last forever. (Engines have a certain number of revolutions - not miles - in their life.)

So for most of the way a person normally drives, the inline 6 configuration has some really sweet characteristics down in an RPM range where you don't feel like you aren't flogging the engine - because you aren't. It quite literally delivers right from the start.

Sorry I couldn't find any plots for the Bimmer engines. They'll probably make Ward's 10-best next year along with your Bimmer's engine.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

By the way, it's worth mentioning that the Society of Mechanical Engineers in this country has started independently testing engines. It turns out that certain Japanese manufacturers (Honda being the worst) are giving inflated ratings on their engines. That Honda engine I had above didn't deliver at 300 hp. The truth was closer I believe to about 270. Meanwhile, the GM engines all turned out to be a smidge better than what they advertized.

Germans tend to be conservative in their ratings of things. I would believe a performance curve coming out of BMW or Mercedes, and not necessarily one coming out of Honda.

- Bill

[Van Canna]

WOW...

This is an education.Thanks Bill.

[Van Canna]

___



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https://oc.bmwusa.com/publications/orde ... ID=1430573