Quote:
Originally Posted by solstice
I had adaptive suspension on my F10 and passive on my E60. Both had ARS. The F10 was very smooth ( which I strongly disliked ) in all modes compared to the E60. With ARS disabled the F10 rolled like a ship on open seas. So in my experience BMW adaptive does smooth the ride while doing little for roll stabilization ( except the added stiffness from the mode ). The beefy roll bars on the F8X and the springs are mainly to be attributed to the flat cornering not the dampers ( again the mode adds stiffness but not so much the adaptive part ). Adaptive's biggest advantage is likely that it does make the car more planted and contributes to more grip and higher speeds on the track by smoothing out irregularities better than the passive dampers and their job is not so much increased roll stabilization. I.e they are not really a substitution for roll bars.
Maybe it's different for the F8X I don't know but what I do know is that I don't like the feel of adaptive dampers and I mourn the day it will be our only choice. That day will come  |
You aren't really making much sense here. Adaptive dampers contribute a lot to controlling roll motion. They react to steering wheel inputs and lateral acceleration and adjust the damping appropriately to reduce body roll to the level that the engineers deem appropriate. Sport+ allows minimal roll, Sport, a bit more, and comfort a bit more.
Dampers are NEVER a substitute for a roll bar (stabar) on a production car. Stabars involve a trade off between ride and handling just like everything else, and having ARS allows the engineers to have the best of both worlds with their stabar stiffness as well as the shocks.