Passive Suspension.. lets hear from you guys that have it

[JoeFromPA]

Originally Posted by kitesurfer

I believe the fact that the Head M Division Engineer has publically stated he prefers the passive is a VERY BIG STATEMENT. This Coming from a Man who certainly understands the capabilities and limits of both suspension systems better than ANYONE on this forum and SHOULD NOT BE DISMISSED. (supposedly his #2 in charge also prefers the Passive I don't have the source on that).
He obviously prefers the passive system for the "Performance" over the adaptive. I think his preference says it all and punches holes in some of the Fanboy posts on this forum that the Adaptive suspension is "superior" and "performance enhancer". If all the adjustments per milliseconds as Kaursell reported (40,000 x per minute or whatever) are so fantastic why is the system not perfered by the engineers who over saw its development?? You said it yourself that sport+ is a waste and that comfort mode is the only real "gain"
I think it raises the question is adaptive on the F80 a bit of " ///Marketing Gimmick" with the real gain being a Comfort button (IMO as was on the e92)?


IMO e92 edc system sport+ was a waste, overly damped and my experience would unsettle the car when using curbing at the track.

Kite,

Like I said before, the passive suspension is an excellently tuned system and I don't think you can go wrong with it.

I think you are borderline trolling here, and your statements are definitely inferring things into others thinking.

There is no doubt Bierman said he prefers the passive suspension. But you are inferring WHY he prefers the passive suspension, that his preference indicates some sort of superiority or superior set of traits and that YOU will find those same traits to be superior.

I've tried to make this clear: My preference is that the "sport" setting on the EDC system is slightly too firm for my daily driving roads. So I'm looking at this car first and foremost as a daily driver. Bierman said that the passive suspension is dialed in between sport and sport plus in terms of firmness.

So what he said is the reason I chose EDC - because what he said indicates that it is not MY preference. It would be slightly too firm for me, a good amount of the time.

Perhaps Bierman likes it really firm. Perhaps he likes a ride bordering on jarring (as sport plus really achieves...it's jarring, though not harsh - there's no crashing).

Or perhaps, as Karussell said, Bierman simply likes as much pure mechanical/non-computerized driving as he can get.

We don't know, so all I can tell you is that you should DISCOUNT the man's preferences because he didn't say why he preferred it and you giving weight to his preference simply implies that you want to agree with his preference regardless of the driving factors behind that preference. And that means you are a blind fanboy (Said with love! )

Like I said before, the EDC suspension - based upon my own experience and from what I've read - is superior to the passive suspension. But it's not superior in performance as far as I've read, it's superior in comfort. It's superior in softening the car on broken road, because it CAN soften the car on broken road.

I literally paid $1k so I could get a slightly softer ride on crappy highways (which is what I drive 60% of the time) and then stiffen it up when driving aggressively or for the 1% of the time I'll be on a track.

But that's my preference and I was willing to pay that somewhat hefty price for a bit of comfort in an otherwise close-to-hardcore car.

[SakhirM4]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

Kite,

Like I said before, the passive suspension is an excellently tuned system and I don't think you can go wrong with it.

Like I said before, the EDC suspension - based upon my own experience and from what I've read - is superior to the passive suspension. But it's not superior in performance as far as I've read, it's superior in comfort. It's superior in softening the car on broken road, because it CAN soften the car on broken road.

Joe, I don't want to discount your post as I respect it as all your posts. I would just add a personal viewpoint - based on my own experience. I have the passive suspension and am very happy with it. I do not find it too harsh. Despite what people might think, Austin TX, does not have roads made out of glass. In fact, many of our Hill Country roads were built many decades ago and have deteriorated over time. My M4 has been just fine for all road conditions and is better than my E46 M3 was. I am sure that the adaptive is great and well worth the cost, but life is also good with the passive. Just my opinion based on my experience.

[JoeFromPA]

Originally Posted by gmcconn535

Joe, I don't want to discount your post as I respect it as all your posts. I would just add a personal viewpoint - based on my own experience. I have the passive suspension and am very happy with it. I do not find it too harsh. Despite what people might think, Austin TX, does not have roads made out of glass. In fact, many of our Hill Country roads were built many decades ago and have deteriorated over time. My M4 has been just fine for all road conditions and is better than my E46 M3 was. I am sure that the adaptive is great and well worth the cost, but life is also good with the passive. Just my opinion based on my experience.

Sorry, I tried to stress not that I found the passive suspension too harsh, because I haven't driven it, but that I put a premium on being able to dial-down the M3 a tad and Alfred Bierman's comments - the man Kite Surfer was putting so much weight on - indicated that the passive suspension was actually setup MORE firmly than the sport-setting on the EDC suspension.

Like I said, I paid $1,000 for a modest amount more comfort. It's still a tightly sprung sedan with minimal rubber between road and driver, a bit of damping isn't going to change much. So I can't sit here and say "It's worth $1k to everyone"

However, there is an aspect Karussel mentioned that I can't quantify either. By all accounts, this thing should have a superior tire patch over rough roads due to real-time damping adjustment. But like I said, I can't quantify it so I'm not arguing it.

[karussell]

Originally Posted by kitesurfer

Haha...Chill out...I'll give you pass for being a little grumpy as I see by your posts your now based down in "Disgusta", GA (as some like to call it). I'm down there a lot for work and it makes me grumpy too when I'm there .
Clearly you have been one of biggest supporters of the adaptive, you believe its the only "Only Must Have Option" according to your post and that's fine.
http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1035244

Clearly M Division Chief Engineer sees it differently and that really is the point of my last post, and maybe it makes me feel a little better that it supports my choice

The only thing i can summarize from this response is you seem to be closed to differing opinions. Its not possible to add water to a full cup. On my home town I happen to enjoy it very much. I'm opening a shop here so when you are in town pm me and we can have a more detailed discussion/demonstration about the merits of passive and adaptive suspension.

[Rude Boy]

NYC streets = Adaptive for me.. you won't be disappointed either way it handles great regardless

[nasdaq100]

I didn't take the Adaptive because in Europe it costs 1800 €. But I definitely regrets, not because it is not good just because in Paris there is a lot streets with cobblestones and I can tell that its really not comfortable. Even worse, I have more and more noises in the cabin because the suspension doesn't absorbs the road when is not flat as a track.

[tt20]

In Singapore it cost 10k

[karussell]

he raced touring cars in the 70's. how is it trolling saying he is an old school touring car racer. its a good thing.

btw i didn't pick the m4 with adaptives originally. it was decided with the team that was in charge of prepping the car for this years N24. had production delays not pushed us a month back it probably would have had a nice finish this year. instead i finished P2 in our class in a Z4 this year. i kept the suspension and dropped dct. i'm a hybrid. old school and new school touring car racer. happy with it.

enjoy your car. i'm sure i will see you at a track someday.

[kitesurfer]

Originally Posted by karussell

he raced touring cars in the 70's. how is it trolling saying he is an old school touring car racer. its a good thing.

enjoy your car. i'm sure i will see you at a track someday.

You misunderstood I said nothing about you trolling...I said you were "Inferring" he was and old school racer, which I agree its a good thing + manual trans + less nannies is a good thing

I was just busting PA Joes Balls about being the "infer/Troll police" and giving me a hard time because I was "Inferring" Biermann preferred the Passive for Performance, and PA JOE not commenting on the "infer" you made. while he also likend me to a troll

Im sure I see you at CMP or VIR . likewise enjoy your car

[JoeFromPA]

Kitesurfer,

Dude, you are trolling now. You cut and pasted multiple of my comments and took them out of context and sometimes actually made the opposite inference of what I was saying.

You've deliberately mis-represented multiple responders now.

I like to joke around a bit and bust some stones, while offering some insight. You aren't interested in either friendly joking or insights - and you've made clear your opinion is fixed in your mind.

You've been called out on this behavior by 3 seperate long-time posters on this forum, and yet respond as if it's all some big mis-understanding.