[mob17]

Agree 100% with mowflow

[mob17]

Agree 100% with mowflow

[ahmedb]

I drove an E90 320d for approx 10k miles with hydraulic steering. Feedback was great but the steering was too heavy at low speeds when parking etc.

My E90 330d now has servotronic which is by far my favourite, much preferred to F range and my old 320d

[OGM2LCI]

Each to their own, my Mrs' mu drives a 123d that looks like it has the EPS and she loves the light steering

[ahmedb]

Originally Posted by James-B93

Each to their own, my Mrs' mu drives a 123d that looks like it has the EPS and she loves the light steering

Just to clarify, my 330d has servotronic hydraulic steering

[FieldingMellish]

Electric steering was standard on E9x moidels for a while, from the introduction of the Effecient DYnamics models (maybe 2007) through to when they 'de-specced' those models a couple of years later.

I had a 318i, then a 320d, then a 330i (58 plate, '09 model), all with electric steering.

[Dopeslope]

Originally Posted by FieldingMellish

Electric steering was standard on E9x moidels for a while, from the introduction of the Effecient DYnamics models (maybe 2007) through to when they 'de-specced' those models a couple of years later.

I had a 318i, then a 320d, then a 330i (58 plate, '09 model), all with electric steering.

58 plate here with electric steering,
It confused the hell out of me when I couldn't find the fluid reservoir !!! especially when you can clearly see where its 'supposed' to go lol

I think it feels alright, no problems as such :-)

[doughboy]

335i and d kept hydraulic as there was no room to fit the Epas rack behind the engine.

All other e9x went electric AFAIK.

[Abax335]

Picture on the first page is absolutely an electric rack though. I've replaced enough to know. Not active steering that is an electric rack. Never seen an e9x with one must be a European thing.

See if it list a pump, hydraulic lines or reservoir

[mob17]

Originally Posted by doughboy

335i and d kept hydraulic as there was no room to fit the Epas rack behind the engine.

At least BMW got something right on the 335, albeit unintentially

[OGM2LCI]

Originally Posted by Abax335

Picture on the first page is absolutely an electric rack though. I've replaced enough to know. Not active steering that is an electric rack. Never seen an e9x with one must be a European thing.

See if it list a pump, hydraulic lines or reservoir

Correct, I have no lines, pump or reservoir in my engine bay at all

[Somerset Jim]

I have hydraulic steering on the E91 and electric on the E93. Rally wish it was the other way round because the e93 is the car I want to be able to feel more. The hydraulic steering feels positively heavy if I've been driving the e93 for a few days and then jump into the e91 even though they are running the same size wheels.

[ny325]

Hate the electronic steering on the newer BMWs. Wish they brought back hydraulic steering.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by ahmedb

...Feedback was great but the steering was too heavy at low speeds when parking etc...

An early E90 - heavy? who are you kidding? This is why we have shit over assisted steering nowadays.

Folks expect to be able to casually spin the wheel with one finger (whilst facebooking on their phone with the other hand usually).

World's gone mad.

[ahmedb]

Originally Posted by doughboy

An early E90 - heavy? who are you kidding? This is why we have shit over assisted steering nowadays.

Folks expect to be able to casually spin the wheel with one finger (whilst facebooking on their phone with the other hand usually).

World's gone mad.

I wouldn't say it was an early E90, it was a 2010.

Try driving a new Toyota Auris, that's what you call light steering. I'm not saying that I would prefer steering to be this light but the E90 without servotronic was definitely too heavy.

My current setup feels spot on, hydraulic steering with servotronic. My brother in law also has an E92 M3 LCI DCT. Again, the steering on that feels spot on and it's lighter than my old E90 was. If BMW feel the need to spec their M cars that way, that's saying something.

My father in law previously had an E70 X5 and that didn't have servotronic. Parking that beast was a workout!

BMW know what they are doing, they wouldn't make lighter steering an optional extra if they thought it was worse than standard!

[mob17]

Originally Posted by doughboy

An early E90 - heavy? who are you kidding? This is why we have shit over assisted steering nowadays.

Folks expect to be able to casually spin the wheel with one finger (whilst facebooking on their phone with the other hand usually).

World's gone mad.

Have to agree with Doughboy. I detest the newer electronic steering, or whatever they call them. I had a few loaners whilst my 335D was in the dealer, and it was not good. I had no feedback, totally disconnected with the road.

Regarding the comment about BMW knowing what they are doing, thats what you would think. But these days the friggin EU has so much control of car manufacturers. I'm sure the electric steering is a side effect. I think it actually saves some weight as there's no hydraulic pump. It also helps with MPG.

The steering in my car has no electronic aids and is hydraulically powered. It feels so much better than the electric assisted ones. More feedback and control. At the end of the day that's whats important to me.

[Aragorn30d]

I think a lot of people misunderstand steering feel.

When you ask people they often talk about the weight of the steering, heavy/light etc, or the speed of the rack but thats not what feel is at all.

Feel is when you turn the car into a corner and can actaully feel, thru the steering wheel, what the tyres are doing.

Also, its not related to steering precision or turns lock-to-lock.

You can have a very precise rack, that provides little or no feedback.
You can have a very short fast rack, that provieds little or no feedback.
You can also have a very heavy steering system, that also provides little or no feedback.

The problem is your "typical" car owners (rather than petrolheads who actually like an involving drive) dont actually know this, and arent paying enough attention to the car to notice the feel. For them a medium weight, fast ratio and lots of precision feels "good" and "sporty" and thus thats what we end up with.

[mob17]

Well explained by aragorn.

The electronic assisted steering I experienced was slow to react to inputs as well, it just felt like I turned the wheel and it responded a bit later.

Im sure there are loads of people that prefer it, but for me it takes away some control.

[un1eash]

I haven't driven an E9X with hydraulic steering but really don't mind my E92 with electronic steering, I find it precise enough and gives me plenty of feedback when pushing on. I've never really took to much notice and thought it's lacking and wanting more. Maybe I expect this from the BMW as it is a little muted which makes it comfy and easy to drive.
My weekend toy is a 2005 111S Elise and I use this as a benchmark for feedback and control.

[Vish8895]

Do you have the "Servotronic" option? You can use this site to check all the options specced on your car from Factory:

http://www.bmwvin.com/