Quote:
Originally Posted by bodonx
How do you like your 535 compared to your 02 M3? Did you lose much in term of fun factor especially the steering feel?
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Well, to be clear I was coming off a 335i E93 to the 535i. I actually got the E46 M3 *after* I got the 535i because I realized I wanted to try some auto-crossing. The 535i is not really appropriate for that.
I took the 535i to an auto-cross event once when the M3 was in the shop just to see what it would be like. I have IAS and DHP on the 535i, so that's putting the 535i in the best possible light. The 535i did... uh... admirably. The best it could do under the circumstances. But the handling wasn't anything like the M3. Nor would I expect it to be.
As mentioned in an earlier post, there is no comparison in the steering feel of an E46 M3 to an F10 535i. The M3 is a raw-feeling race car. Very direct and communicative steering. The 535i is not close in the "feel" department. It doesn't even play the same game.
Having said that, I don't think the 535i is necessarily bad... just different. I really like IAS and would highly recommend it. I have driven a 550i and 535i GT without IAS and I like the steering feel of my car with IAS much better. In a sense, I'm glad my 535i has IAS over the feel of the M3. If my 535i had steering like the M3, I think it would be more difficult to handle. The IAS does a lot of work to make the 535i more nimble and easier to handle. The steering needs less input to get the car to do what you want. But it comes at the expense of less steering "feel".
I'm OK with the tradeoff. Others are not amused; I understand this is a personal decision. The M3 is an occasional car for me, certainly not a daily driver. It's much too raw to be a DD for me. The 535i is much more comfortable.