1998 BMW 5 SERIES: STATE OF THE
ART IN MIDSIZE SPORTS SEDANS, WITH NEW SAFETY FEATURES,
Upon its debut in 1997 the All new BMW 5 Series set a new milestone in the history of sports sedans. While remaining true to BMW tradition in every respect, this new line significantly advanced BMW’s pioneering sports-sedan concept- namely, a tightly dimensioned, high-quality 4-door sedan embodying brilliant performance, precise and enjoyable handling, active and passive safety engineering, appealing and tasteful design, and a high level of luxury. AWARDS - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here Within the first year after this new Series was launched, it garnered glowing reviews and numerous "best" awards from critics around the world. In the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, for example, a reader survey named it simply "the best car in the world." Car and Driver magazine named the Series to its Ten Best Cars list. Motor Trend declared it Import Car of the Year. New Zealand's Motoring Writers' Guild named the 5 Series Car of the Year, and Australia’s Automotive Safety Award was also awarded to the 5 Series. MODELS - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here For 1998, the 5 Series continues in two models, the 6-cylinder 528i and the V8 540i. And yet even these fresh and dynamic new cars have experienced considerable evolution since that 1997 introduction. Front-seat side-impact airbags were standardized soon thereafter, and the BMW On-Board Navigation System became available as an option. SAFETY - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here Now, for the Series' second model year, the new Head Protection System (HPS) also becomes standard, further enhancing the level of protection for front-seat occupants in serious side impacts. Rear-seat side-impact airbags become available as an option. The 1998 540i includes a new driving-stability system. New option packages are added for 1998, and evolutionary refinements further enhance the capabilities and appeal of these state-of-the art BMWs. AIRBAGS AND HEAD PROTECTION SYSTEM - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here BMW pioneered the introduction of side-impact airbags in the Prestige Sedan segment with the 1996 7 Series. Now, with the 1998 5 and 7 Series, the Bavarian automaker adds two further elements to its side-impact protection system: for the driver and front passenger, the revolutionary Head Protection System (HPS); for rear passengers, optionally available side-impact airbags in the rear doors. An automobile has virtually no crumple zone at its sides, so providing inflatable protection in side impacts presents quite different challenges from those in front impacts. Front-impact airbags, for example, are designed primarily to –
By contrast, an inflatable side restraint must come into contact absolutely as soon as possible with the occupant, which calls for faster deployment. The side device must then "push" on the occupant in what engineers call "hard contact" as the vehicle is impacted and deformed from the side. It is practical for the inflatable side restraint to stay inflated longer, and indeed BMW's side airbags are designed to do so. The side-impact airbags in the 5 Series' front doors provide welcome protection in the area of an occupant's upper torso, shoulder and arm. Now, with the addition of the Head Protection System, BMW provides comparable protection for occupants' heads in side impacts. To grasp the concept of the Head Protection System, imagine a hollow, flexible tube about 5 feet long and 1.5 inches in diameter. At its forward end, this tube is anchored inside the car's "A-pillar" (windshield pillar), near the bottom. At its other end, it is anchored in the roof just above the rear door. Its inflator unit, located below the instrument panel, is similar to that which fills a front airbag with an inert gas, but more compact. The entire system is concealed by cladding and upholstery above the doors and within the A-pillar. HEAD PROTECTION CONTINUED - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here The tube has two elements: a relatively airtight, polyurethane inner tube to manage the inflation, and a woven polyester outer tube to control its shape. Upon side impact, the inflator is triggered electronically, filling the inner tube with the inert gas. As the inner tube inflates, the woven tube, with inflation forcing its diameter to increase, shortens in length. No longer fitting inside the area where it is stored, the assembly pops out to form a straight tube 5.1 in. in diameter and stretched in an angled straight line from the lower windshield pillar to the roof. Now the inflated tube is in just the area where an occupant's head could contact the side of the car - windshield pillar, window, center pillar (B-pillar). Because of the sloping position of the inflated HPS, it protects persons of small or large stature equally. And because of its own structural stability once inflated, the tube can retain much of its effectiveness even if the window is broken or popped out by the impact. A severe side impact, with little crush space to absorb its energy, is potentially much more lethal than an equivalent front impact. In BMW tests, a simulated side-on collision against a tree with head contact resulted in a head-acceleration factor of 2500, which generally would mean fatal head injury. In the same test of an HPS-equipped vehicle, this was dramatically reduced to an uncritical 330 points. To date, only BMW offers a head protection system. Thus the BMW 5 Series, with HPS plus standard front side-impact airbags plus an effective interlocking door anchoring system (which structurally links the doors with the body sides in a side impact), offers a truly impressive level of side-impact protection for front-seat occupants. OPTIONAL REAR SIDE AIRBAGS - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here A further safety refinement for the 1998 BMW 5 Series is the optional availability of side-impact airbags in the rear doors. Positioned and functioning similarly to those in the front doors, these airbags add protection in the area of each outboard rear passenger's upper torso, shoulder and arm. Equipped with rear side airbags, the 5 Series offers a level of equipment for all-around occupant protection in side impacts presently unmatched by other vehicle manufacturers. The front-impact restraint system that is standard in not only the 5 Series, but all other current BMW models, also embodies advanced thinking in occupant protection - and in the moderation of vehicle damage in severe collisions. These restraints are controlled by the BMW Differentiated Deployment System. This system employs "smart" technology to choose the appropriate deployment threshold, depending upon whether the occupant is belted or unbelted ' and whether or not the front passenger seat is occupied. There are two thresholds of frontal-impact severity. If the safety belt is in use, the airbag will deploy only at the higher, more severe threshold; at the lower, less severe threshold, only the automatic safety-belt tensioner deploys to reduce belt slack and enhance the belt's effectiveness. If the safety belt is not in use, then the airbag will deploy at the lower severity threshold. Finally, if the passenger seat is unoccupied, neither the passenger-side airbag nor tensioner will deploy - a feature that is recognized and rewarded by certain insurance companies in setting rates. All these features - side-impact airbags, HPS, automatic front safety-belt tensioners, differentiated deployment - are part of BMW's F.I.R.S.T. system (Fully Integrated Road Safety Technology), which helps confirm BMW as one of today's most safety-conscious vehicle manufacturers. BATTERY SAFETY TERMINAL - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here Another BMW first is the new Battery Safety Terminal, which in case of a severe impact fires a tiny pyrotechnic charge to break the connection between the battery and starter cable. This helps prevent a possible short circuit at a critical point: Because of the high voltage carried by the starter cable, unlike most electrical circuits in the vehicle this connection is not protected by a fuse or circuit breaker. Once the connection is severed, the engine cannot be cranked; but separate wiring provides power to all operating and safety systems. AMENITIES - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here As in 1997, the 540i comes in two versions. One is the "standard" model, with 5-speed automatic transmission, standard suspension settings, 16-in. wheels and tires, and 10-way power front seats; the other is a sport-equipped model with 6-speed manual transmission, sport suspension, 17-in. wheels and tires, new-for-1998 Shadowline exterior trim, and sport seats. As part of a broader offering of sport equipment for 1998, the automatic transmission model becomes available with a Sport Package that outfits it much like the manual-transmission model. Specifically, this package includes:
Front seating for the 540i is newly organized, as follows:
WHEELS - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here A new Sport Wheels option is available to make the sporty 540i with manual transmission even sportier: 17 x 8.0 front / 17 x 9.0 rear wheels with 235/45R-17 front / 255/40R-17 rear tires. The new wheels are in a Radial design, with 15 spokes and plenty of open space for brake cooling. Yet another new possibility for 1998 is the 528i Sport Package, available for both manual and automatic transmission versions of this 6-cylinder model. This package, which sport-equips the 528i for the first time from the factory, consists of:
DYNAMIC STABILITY CONTROL - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here In a move that furthers BMW's tradition of active driving safety, the 540i with automatic transmission is newly equipped with the 3rd-generation Dynamic Stability Control, which employs a variety of sensors, plus sophisticated new electronic logic, to help stabilize the vehicle under critical cornering and accident-avoidance circumstances. DSC III is a refinement of a system previously found on the 750iL luxury sedan, and encompasses the functions of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and All Season Traction (BMW's traction control system) in a fully integrated electronic system. For its inputs, DSC III employs:
PERFORMANCE - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here Together, these sensors give a precise measurement of the vehicle's cornering motion. Their inputs are processed by a very powerful microprocessor to detect any deviation from the normal cornering path (abnormal understeer or oversteer), which then directs a reduction in engine power and/or application of individual wheel brakes to help balance the vehicle and aid the driver in keeping the vehicle on the intended path. (DSC III is able to act selectively on the front and rear brakes at either side of the car, as needed.) Thus in these critical situations, when the driver may be attempting a maneuver beyond the normal control range of the vehicle, the driver is more likely to be able to retain control and avoid an accident. BODY AND CHASSIS - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here Whether 6-cylinder 528i or V-8 540i, the BMW 5 Series is a midsize sports sedan, seating five occupants within its trim 111.4-in. wheelbase and 188.0-in. overall length. Its dynamic, elegantly styled unit-construction body/chassis unit is engineered for very high rigidity, with natural frequencies of 29 Hertz in torsion and 26 Hertz in bending, for a solidity that contributes to razor-sharp handling, a remarkably supple and comfortable ride, relative freedom from rattles and squeaks, and passive safety. Along with the highly rigid all-steel body/chassis structure, an advanced aluminum suspension system helps the 5 Series achieve its dazzling mastery of the road, whether smooth or rough. Compared to steel, aluminum reduces weight. Reducing weight in the suspension cuts unsprung weight, which means the suspension can cope more quickly and smoothly with road irregularities. In the 5 Series' double-pivot strut-type front suspension - itself an exclusive BMW concept - the steering knuckles, both lower suspension arms, strut tubes (containing the shock absorbers) and the pad against which the spring seats at the top are all made of weight-saving aluminum. On the 528i model, additionally the subframe that carries the front suspension and engine is made of aluminum - not unsprung weight, but contributing to the vehicle's overall weight efficiency. SUSPENSION - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here At the rear, an advanced multi-link suspension system, with aluminum for all 4 links on each side, the shock-absorber tubes, the spring pads and the subframe, provides a precise and responsive connection to the road. Brake calipers, another item of unsprung weight, also partake in the weight-reduction program: Front and rear calipers are aluminum on the 528i, the front ones on the 540i. (The 5 Series' brakes are generously dimensioned ventilated discs all around, with larger front discs on the 540i.) STEERING - Buy The BMW 5 Series Here Always praised for its precision and road feel, BMW steering appears in two forms in the 5 Series. In the 528i, a variable-ratio rack-and-pinion mechanism gives virtually sports-car-like response and saves further weight; in the 540i, a recirculating-ball mechanism gives a more luxurious feel while retaining typical BMW precision. Standard wheels and tires are generously dimensioned, with 15-in. equipment on the 528i and 16-in. on the automatic transmission 540i; the other wheel-and-tire possibilities are described previously.
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