Observations about M3's iDrive

zieglerc · 04-05-2008, 02:58 AM

I'm not sure if these comments hold true across the board for all 2008 3 series, but here are my quick comments coming from a 2007 E92 335:

- No more force feedback on the knob. This is actually a bigger deal than it sounds like, because there is no longer any way to quickly scroll through long lists (like when you're looking at all the artists on your iPod, for example). I'm really disappointed they nixed this feature, and I'm curious why it was done.

- The whole system is WAY faster. There's almost zero lag when navigating between Sirius stations, for example, and nav routing seems to be quite a bit snappier as well. The slowness was the single biggest complaint I had about my 07's iDrive, so I'm glad to see it was addressed.

One step forward and one step back, it seems

kamichael · 04-05-2008, 03:40 AM

Yes, iDrive improved greatly in late '07 and '08. I have an '07 550i and it has the force feedback as you call it and also moves much slower than the '08 335 cv I just sold and 08 M3 I just got. Great improvements to the overall speed and response, as well it does not require click on the initial discolser anymore and goes back to where you last used it when you start the car again. I have not used them much but you can also program the memory keys now to get directly to areas. Once you get used to it, it really is a good interface, I wish everyone (car reviewers) would stop complaining. The trualy great thing about it is how you can comfortably operate it while driving the car, unlike many of the touch screens (Lexus) I have used.

Leg · 04-05-2008, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zieglerc

- No more force feedback on the knob. This is actually a bigger deal than it sounds like, because there is no longer any way to quickly scroll through long lists (like when you're looking at all the artists on your iPod, for example). I'm really disappointed they nixed this feature, and I'm curious why it was done.

Just select your audio source (I'm using a Corsair USB stick) and spin the I Drive controller. Scrolls very quickly and after a while you learn how much to spin it to hit roughly what you want.

I've just added a figure '1' in front of the directories containing my favourite top 10 albums too. That way they all appear at the top of the list.

rvacha · 04-05-2008, 08:20 AM

The two issues - speed and force feedback - are related. the force feedback, known formally as haptic feedback, used a lot of the computational horsepower in iDrive so removing it improved the speed greatly. BMW may eventually design iDrive with a more powerful processor and bring the haptic feature back.

zieglerc · 04-05-2008, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvacha

The two issues - speed and force feedback - are related. the force feedback, known formally as haptic feedback, used a lot of the computational horsepower in iDrive so removing it improved the speed greatly. BMW may eventually design iDrive with a more powerful processor and bring the haptic feature back.

Interesting, makes sense. I guess if I had to choose one or the other, it'd be the snappy interface.

04-05-2008, 02:58 AM	#1
zieglerc Private First Class Drives: 2008 E92 M3 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 183 iTrader: (0)	Observations about M3's iDrive I'm not sure if these comments hold true across the board for all 2008 3 series, but here are my quick comments coming from a 2007 E92 335: - No more force feedback on the knob. This is actually a bigger deal than it sounds like, because there is no longer any way to quickly scroll through long lists (like when you're looking at all the artists on your iPod, for example). I'm really disappointed they nixed this feature, and I'm curious why it was done. - The whole system is WAY faster. There's almost zero lag when navigating between Sirius stations, for example, and nav routing seems to be quite a bit snappier as well. The slowness was the single biggest complaint I had about my 07's iDrive, so I'm glad to see it was addressed. One step forward and one step back, it seems
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04-05-2008, 03:40 AM	#2
kamichael BMW on my mind Drives: '10 E90 M3 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Irvine, CA Posts: 65 iTrader: (0) Garage List 2010 VW GTI (4 door) [0.00] 2010 X5M [0.00] 2009 E70 X5 4.8 [0.00] 2009 E92 335 (coupe) [0.00] 2008 M3 E90/sedan [0.00]	Yes, iDrive improved greatly in late '07 and '08. I have an '07 550i and it has the force feedback as you call it and also moves much slower than the '08 335 cv I just sold and 08 M3 I just got. Great improvements to the overall speed and response, as well it does not require click on the initial discolser anymore and goes back to where you last used it when you start the car again. I have not used them much but you can also program the memory keys now to get directly to areas. Once you get used to it, it really is a good interface, I wish everyone (car reviewers) would stop complaining. The trualy great thing about it is how you can comfortably operate it while driving the car, unlike many of the touch screens (Lexus) I have used. __________________ Now: '10 E90 M3 Then: '00 BMW 328i, '01 Merc E430, '03 Lexus IS 300, '05 Lexus IS 300, '06 350Z, '06 G35 Sedan/Sport, '06 Lexus IS 350, '07 BMW 550i, '08 BMW E93 335 cv, '08 BMW E90 M3, '08 BMW E90 335i, '09 BMW E92 335i, '09 BMW E70 4.8 X5 MSport, '10 BMW E70 X5M, '10 VW GTI, '10 E90 335d

04-05-2008, 08:20 AM	#4
rvacha Captain Drives: '08 E92 M3 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 745 iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 E92 M3 [0.00]	The two issues - speed and force feedback - are related. the force feedback, known formally as haptic feedback, used a lot of the computational horsepower in iDrive so removing it improved the speed greatly. BMW may eventually design iDrive with a more powerful processor and bring the haptic feature back. __________________ '03 X5 4.4i Blue/Tan '06 E90 330Xi 6MT Sparkling Graphite/Terra '08 E92 M3 6MT Jerez/Speed Cloth <-- Evil Twin