Any z4 35is owners help needed

S

Strikerxtx

Member
Good morning to everyone.
I have recently taken ownership of a lovely z4 35is and wanted to ask owners about there z4.

Before buying the car of a private seller I done all the usual checks with no problems found apart from a cracked back wheel. This has now been replaced with a new wheel.
Overall I'm very happy with the looks and performance of the car but I'm experiencing very bad handling at speed.

I need to know if my problem is not a problem and just how the z handles or if there is a issue.

My problem I'm experiencing is at highish speed the backend feels all over the place. The problem is multipled if accelerating fast. I did experience this on a test drive but with the owner in the seat next to me I wasn't going to push the car.
The back just doesnt feel in sync with the front and I am always have to fight with the steering. It just feels very unsafe to drive. Doesn't make any difference in sport or +
I had a friend drive it yesterday and he said the same to the point he had to slow down.
It has the same feeling as play in the front wheels but on the back.
The car when driving at nornal speeds around town is fine. No pulling to one side. I can go in a straight line without holding the steering. Just a speed the car feels wayward at the back.
I have gotten used to it a little but cant help feel BMW would not put such a high powered car on the road like this.

How are your z4 feeling at high speed?
 
Hi, my e89 is stable up to speeds i can’t mention-sounds like something is amiss on yours?
Have you checked tyres/pressures etc? :?
Rob
 
Shot dampers..
Worn linkage bushes
Mismatched tyres

All the above
 
I had a z4 23i some years back and never remember the backend giving me such a unsafe feeling. I know the 35is has different suspension setup.
Run flats have been removed from the back. I am having the front done Monday so there is a mismatch in tyres but the problem was there before the tyres where changed.
In my younger days I liked on mismatch tyres and never had any issues I can remember.

Good to hear this is not how the car should feel.
Once the car has the new front tyres fitted Monday I will test.
One thing i have noticed if I push the car hard things get worse even if i take it easy after. As if parts of the suspension or tyres warm up coursing the problem to be multiplied even at low speed until the next morning everything feels a little better when cold.
The best way I can describe it. If I'm driving straight at say 70 mph and turn the steering a little left the back feel like it goes a little right.
Give that feeling of driving a big ars sedan on air suspension but without the body roll.
 
Strange it seems better from cold / worse warm.
If you have adaptive ride then worth checking the dampers as known to fail /weep oil
 
Is it on worn run flats?

If so ... bin them

How many miles has it done?

If the cars had a hard life, rear trailing arm bushes could be worn..

Start with tyres and 4 wheel alignment
 
Has yours got the adaptive suspension? If so that's a good place to check after the basics already mentioned above.
 
Car has 38000 on the clock. Was used just as a weekend drive and not for racing I believe but you never know.
I have run flats on the front Bridgestone and new Goodyear non run flats on the back.

Front tyres are being changed tomorrow for Goodyears. These are being done a protyre they always offer wheel alignment but i don't trust they do the job from past experiences.

It does have the adaptive suspension. The problem is no major, I would of picked it up on the test drive before parting £s but definitely there to the extent I have to make sure the wheel nuts wasn't loose.

I have no experience with BMW services and repairs. Can anyone tell be if its worth me booking it into BMW to look to do a diagnostics or better taking to a garage.
 
Strikerxtx said:
Car has 38000 on the clock. Was used just as a weekend drive and not for racing I believe but you never know.
I have run flats on the front Bridgestone and new Goodyear non run flats on the back.

Front tyres are being changed tomorrow for Goodyears. These are being done a protyre they always offer wheel alignment but i don't trust they do the job from past experiences.

It does have the adaptive suspension. The problem is no major, I would of picked it up on the test drive before parting £s but definitely there to the extent I have to make sure the wheel nuts wasn't loose.

I have no experience with BMW services and repairs. Can anyone tell be if its worth me booking it into BMW to look to do a diagnostics or better taking to a garage.
Click to expand...


Sounds fairly major to me, your own word express serious concern.

My problem I'm experiencing is at highish speed the backend feels all over the place. The problem is multipled if accelerating fast. I did experience this on a test drive but with the owner in the seat next to me I wasn't going to push the car.
The back just doesnt feel in sync with the front and I am always have to fight with the steering. It just feels very unsafe to drive.
 
Are you sure it’s just that you’re not used to a 35is..? They’re fairly powerful cars with......ermmm.....well a jelly chassis. The one area I really notice is there’s too much power for the chassis to cope with when you’re booting it, it’s quite unnerving at times.
 
A previous 3.0 E89 was ok at UK speeds but on my German holidays it felt almost nervous at 100mph plus - I sold it before I did any investigation- the car had 20k and good history.
My latest 35is feels quite planted and secure even on its standard rf rubber - that’s at 140 mph
The passenger seat speed limiter prevented any more speed.
 
Thanks for all you comments.
I have just found a recent post with a z4 experiencing which sound like the same issue.
They have just put Goodyear tyres on the back and left the Bridgestones on the front. The owner is saying the backend is all over the place. The only difference is he put goodyear runflats on the back.
Could the z4 really be such a different car on non matching rubber?
I have read a lot of review on the z4 high power models and more then half are not happy with the high speed feel. Could this just me multipled by the mismatch tyres?

I have had many fast cars my last being a jag xf s which gave over 300bhp which was very good in a straight line but the back was very easy to slip out in high speed cornering.
 
Definitely not normal but I suspect it will be fairly easy to sort via bushes / tyres / alignment. Bit of a silly one but check all the wheel bolts are tight!
 
ph001 said:
Definitely not normal but I suspect it will be fairly easy to sort via bushes / tyres / alignment. Bit of a silly one but check all the wheel bolts are tight!
Click to expand...

& pressures are "good" , op may be on the Bmw pressures which i think are way over 40psi :o
If so worth trying out 34/36 front 36/38 rears to compare
 
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