E86 fighting to keep in a straight line

J

Jonno27

Member
 Nuneaton
I collected my first ever Z4 on 3rd August, but after 1 week I was advised not to drive it because the front N/S top mount was in a bad way. Garage I bought the car from agreed to do the work.
Even before the work got done, new top mounts and new lollipop bushes, the car seems to wander and it's a struggle to keep the car in a straight line.
The tyres look new, not the best brand but mid range Kumho's and they're not run flats.
Has anyone else experienced this? Any known issues to look out for?
I have the car booked in with a BMW specialist to give the car a full inspection on Wednesday. After my experience with the garage I bought the car from I wouldn't trust them to service my bicycle let alone a performance car :rofl: :ROFLMAO:
 
My 2nd one was prone to wandering, especially on roads rutted by HGVs.

New lollipop bushes fixed it, despite still being on hateful Bridgestone run-flats. I doubt your tyres are a problem as I ran Kumho Ecstas on my current one for over 15K miles and never had a problem with them.

It might be worth getting a 4 wheel alignment after suspension work.
 
Mr Tidy said:
My 2nd one was prone to wandering, especially on roads rutted by HGVs.

New lollipop bushes fixed it, despite still being on hateful Bridgestone run-flats. I doubt your tyres are a problem as I ran Kumho Ecstas on my current one for over 15K miles and never had a problem with them.

It might be worth getting a 4 wheel alignment after suspension work.
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The garage has fitted new lollipop bushes but cheap ones. I plan on changing them to Lemforde ones at a latter date. They have done a full wheel alignment and recalibrated th steering, apparently. Like I said I don't trust the garage lol
 
In that case I'd be inclined to fit the Lemforder bushes and see what it's like, then if it's still prone to wandering get an alignment somewhere you trust.
 
I have a friend with his own garage. He has a 4 wheel laser alignment system so will be getting him to check the geometry
 
Get a reputable place to check the rear trailing arm bushes. Mine sheared on the way home from a trackday once and the steering was awful! Every roundabout was a mystery of what the rear of the car would do, not pleasant at all.
 
Rear trailing arm bushes seem to be key in this and are often neglected because they are difficult to change DIY.

My car is very sensitive to tyre pressures - so check them.
 
Rockhopper said:
Rear trailing arm bushes seem to be key in this and are often neglected because they are difficult to change DIY.

My car is very sensitive to tyre pressures - so check them.
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Yeah, I think because the steering is at the front the garage didn't bother looking at the rears.
One of the first things I did when I got the car was check the tyre pressures. They were out a bit but spot on now, though I feel I better check them again after getting the car back from the dodgy garage :rofl:
 
i know its variable depending on many things but i run 30 on the front and 33 on the back.
 
So my E86 went in for a full inspection with my local BMW specialist today and he found a few little things that need sorting but nothing major. it is a 17 year old car after all. The steering issue he solved, he set the tracking up right. Why the garage I bought the car from couldn't sort it I have no idea, apart from the fact they are totally incompetent.
The car drives lovely now and booked in on 17th Sept to get the little issues sorted.
I can highly recommend Jason at Millsys Autos Nr Nuneaton for any work you may need doing on your BMW or Mini. He used to look after my Mini Cooper S when I had that and now he will be looking after my BMW
 
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