Videos: BMW X6 xDrive35i and xDrive50i in action
Monday, April 21st, 2008
Sponsored links:Driving dynamics with intelligent control: Integrated Chassis Management.
The vehicle’s drivetrain and suspension systems interact perfectly with BMW’s Integrated Chassis Management. This high-performance electronic control ensures perfect harmony of drivetrain and suspension functions within fractions of a second, spelling out maximum driver control and supreme performance wherever you go and at all times.
Even under a sudden change in driving conditions for example, on varying surfaces, in panic steering maneuvers, when accelerating or applying the brake abruptly, ICM reacts with the utmost precision to the xDrive, DSC and Dynamic Performance Control actuators and to Active Steering when fitted as an option. In all cases, the nature and scope of such intervention is appropriately controled to ensure not just maximum driving stability, but also optimum dynamics.
BMW’s X models already available today owe their outstanding agility largely to the supreme performance and qualities of ICM. Now the central control unit has an even greater and more progressive influence on driving dynamics in the new BMW X6, since it is also able to use the actuators serving for BMW’s new Dynamic Performance Control. Depending on driving conditions and with fully variable management, the power of the engine is no longer split “just” between the front and rear axle, but also – through Dynamic Performance Control – between the left and right rear wheel, feeding additional power to the most appropriate point where it can be conveyed best to the road.
This drive technology, quite unique in the market enhances the agility, steering precision and tracking stability of the vehicle in corners as well as its traction on slippery surfaces, significantly improving driving dynamics in all cases and under all conditions.
As a result, Dynamic Stability Control is only required to cut in by applying the brakes electively on the appropriate wheel or wheels when the vehicle really reaches the extreme limits of driving physics. The world’s first Sports Activity Coupe thus offers the driver the truly superb experience of being able to handle even the most demanding driving situations with sporting style and dynamic performance never seen before.
The drivetrain and suspension technology of the BMW X6 ensures the highest conceivable level of safety, precision and driving pleasure on all surfaces whether rough or smooth. The foundation of this purpose is provided by suspension technology quite unique in the segment of BMW X models. The front axle, for example, is a double wishbone control arm configuration applying the double joint principle for dynamic lateral acceleration, superior tracking stability and minimization of forces acting on the steering wheel. Appropriate front axle kinematics, in turn, ensure optimum front wheel camber on the road at all times, the BMW X6 thus maintains supreme grip and road-holding even under the most dynamic conditions.
At the rear, the BMW X6 features BMW’s patented Integral IV axle serving to harmonize superior comfort with equally superior dynamics. And now this lightweight construction has been specifically optimized for the Sports Activity Coupe in many respects, with the entire rear axle configuration being appropriately adjusted to the specific demands of this model, for supreme sportiness and performance.
The wheel mounts, rear axle sub frame and four track arms efficiently take up the dynamic and drive forces flowing into the suspension, reducing any elastic distortion of the wheel mounts, while soft swinging mounts provide appropriate longitudinal suspension and optimize the roll quality of the wheels. Effectively separating the road surface from the drivetrain, finally, the rear axle helps to ensure first-class noise control and ride comfort.
The BMW X6 comes as standard with 19-inch light-alloy wheels. Also featured as standard are run-flat tires, which enable continued driving even after a complete loss of pressure in the tires. Furthermore, the Tire Pressure Monitor system constantly monitors air pressure and warns the driver as soon as the air pressure in the tires drops more than 30 percent below the ideal level.
BMW xDrive: intelligent all-wheel drive for enhanced dynamics and optimum traction.
Permanent all-wheel drive with electronically controlled, variable distribution of drive power between the front and rear axles gives all BMW X models not only superior traction, but also enhanced driving dynamics. Indeed, BMW xDrive gains its superiority as an intelligent all-wheel-drive system by distributing drive power front to rear by way of an electronically controlled multiple-plate clutch according to driving conditions, in exactly the right dosage and to the axle with grip.
In normal driving situations BMW xDrive distributes drive power in a 40:60 split front-to-rear, with sensors consistently measuring wheel slip. Hence, the system is able within a fraction of a second to vary the distribution of drive forces, anticipating the upcoming situation and not just responding once a wheel has started to spin. This serves to stabilize the vehicle even before the driver notices any need for action.
On the new X6 with Dynamic Performance Control, handling and stability are enhanced to an even higher level with the ability to multiply torque to an individual rear wheel for yaw control. With the combination of xDrive and Dynamic Performance Control, the X6 is able to counteract even the slightest trend to over- or under-steer right from the start, at the earliest conceivable point, benefiting the driver’s sense of driving dynamics.
Unparalleled agility and tracking stability thanks to xDrive and Dynamic Performance Control.
The positive effect of Dynamic Performance Control on the agility of the BMW X6 is clearly seen right from the start. In conventional everyday traffic, the vehicle steers into corners with significantly enhanced precision at any speeds.
Dynamic Performance Control likewise enhances the handling and, indeed, the overall control of the BMW X6 in sudden steering maneuvers and at particularly high speeds in corners. If the vehicle begins to understeer or push to the outside of a corner BMW xDrive and Dynamic Performance Control will dynamically shift torque to the outside rear wheel in order to counteract the understeer. On the other hand, if the vehicle threatens to over-steer, xDrive reduces the transmission of power to the rear wheels then the Dynamic Performance Control transfers torque and drive forces from the outer rear wheel and diverts these forces to the inner rear wheel.
This intervention in the interest of greater stability is so quick and finely controlled that the driver will not even notice what is happening. What the driver will notice, however, is that the BMW X6 has exceptional steering precision and vehicle balance all the way to the extreme limit.
Unique: Dynamic Performance Control enhances steering precision also when the driver takes his foot off the gas pedal.
A further unique feature of Dynamic Performance Control is that engine power and torque are split variably between the rear wheels not only when the engine is “pulling” the vehicle, but also on overrun. This is made possible by the addition of a planetary gear set and a multiple-plate clutch operated by an electric motor on both output sides of the rear differential. With this configuration Dynamic Performance Control is able to vary the distribution of drive power also when the driver takes his foot off the accelerator.
The BMW X6 is the first vehicle in the world to offer such a stabilizing effect independent of engine load and drive power.
Dynamic Performance Control also serves to optimize traction on a slippery surface. With its ability to vary the transmission of engine power specifically as required between the two rear wheels, Dynamic Performance Control serves to improve traction and pulling force whenever the vehicle is running on different surfaces from one side to the other, for instance, with asphalt on one side and a snowy surface on the other. Any differences in the frictional coefficient between the wheels on the left and right (modal split) are offset by Dynamic Performance Control specifically controlling drive forces on the rear axle.
The driver can observe the interaction of xDrive and Dynamic Performance Control in an instrument cluster pictogram. By simply pressing the lever on the steering column, the driver is informed of the current distribution of drive power via a bar diagram showing how much power is going to each of the four drive wheels at any given point in time.
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