The high-performance brake system requires17-inch wheels to accommodate larger diameter brake discs which ensure outstanding stopping power and deceleration. Brake performance is further enhanced by BMW's new-generation Dynamic Stability Control. Introduced on the 3 Series Sedan, this latest DSC system incorporates several new functions. For example, DSC works to counteract the slightest brake fading effect even at extremely high brake temperatures by increasing brake pressure accordingly. This ensures maximum brake power even under the toughest conditions, without requiring the driver to exert any higher pressure on the brake pedal.

If the driver suddenly lifts off the accelerator pedal, Brake Standby positions the brake pads closer to the discs to further reduce stopping distances in an emergency. Brake Drying, in turn, optimizes brake performance in the wet by using the brake pads to periodically dry the brake discs. Dynamic Brake Control automatically maximizes brake pressure whenever required in an emergency stop. Start-off Assistant briefly holds the car when setting off on an uphill grade.

Dynamic Traction Control is another feature of DSC. Activation of DTC raises the threshold for intervention by the brakes, enabling the driver of a BMW 3 Series Coupe to set off smoothly on low friction surfaces such as snow. A benefit of DTC for the enthusiast is that it allows slight, easily controllable slip on the drive wheels even on a dry surface.

Of course, as in all BMWs, the driver has the option to completely deactivate DSC in the new 3 Series Coupe.

The new BMW 3 Series Coupe comes standard with run flat tires. Featuring the most advanced fail safe running qualities, these tires allow the driver to continue for up to 90 miles at 50 miles per hour even with complete loss of pressure in one tire. The standard Tire Pressure Monitor gives plenty of warning and alerts the driver when the pressure of any tire falls 25 percent or more below the ideal level.

Ultra-modern body structure: lower weight, greater safety, improved responsiveness.
The new BMW 3 Series Coupe is light, strong and stable. Its structure is tailored to approve agility, safety, and comfort while also contributing to overall vehicle efficiency.

Low vehicle weight and a high standard of torsional body stiffness are also crucial to the car's agility. In the event of a collision, the use of high-strength steel in critical areas, together with exactly defined deformation zones, ensures effective absorption and transfer of forces acting on the car's body.

Reinforced B-pillars are a particularly impressive example of the high standard of development and excellence in design that the new BMW 3 Series Coupe has achieved, with a tubular structure throughout the B-pillars featured for the first time for added strength. This tubular reinforcement is made of ultra-strong steel in a warm-molding process and is heat-treated while in the mold for top quality. The reinforcement tube is exactly matched to the space available.

The choice of materials and the arrangement of components at other points on the body also serve to optimize crash safety. The various properties of different types of steel and other materials are used to best effect. The space available for deformation on the new BMW 3 Series Coupe is used to minimize even the slightest impairment of the passenger compartment. In a head-on collision, for example, dynamic deformation areas at the front keep impact energy away from the bulkhead and, accordingly, from the car's footwells. In the event of a side-impact collision, the specially designed floor assembly ensures a controlled transfer of forces acting on the car to the opposite side of the body. The bulkhead support is made of innovative multi-phase steel, offering outstanding strength and stability even on thin-gauge panels.

Efficient interaction of the doors, the reinforced B-pillars, the seat structure, and the instrument panel between the A-pillars serves likewise to maximize the strength of the side structure. The consequences of a collision from the rear are minimized by longitudinal carrier bars, a wide range of reinforcement elements, as well as the extra-long luggage compartment floor panel, rear panel and side walls. Pillars and crossbars also help protect the passenger area in a rollover.

previous page | go to page 10