Car is far too twitchy for comfort. Might sell it..
- Thread starter Beancounter1980
- Start date
id ask the question whats the quality of the roads where it feels bad, there is a stretch of road near me that is very rough & undulating that would always upset the z4 and send it left or right unpredictably. new non rft tyres helped but its mainly down to the road surface for me.
id ask the question whats the quality of the roads where it feels bad, there is a stretch of road near me that is very rough & undulating that would always upset the z4 and send it left or right unpredictably. new non rft tyres helped but its mainly down to the road surface for me.
My car had 4 brand new tyres RFTS when I got it and I have noticed the steering wheel isn't straight when the car is going in a straight line. The car doesn't require any steering input to stay in a straight line unless the road takes it for a wonder! It literally feels like the steering wheel needs taking off, moving a little bit round and then putting back on. Anyone else had this or have any ideas on what it could be? Also occasionally there is a click from the rear when I pull away, could this be the rear springs? Any advice greatly appreciated!
Bobbydm said:
the steering wheel alignment is caused by one of a few things.
1. you have caused a tracking misalignment by hitting something (the tracking is out)
2. the tracking was misaligned by hitting something and the garage aligned it, but failed to correct the misalignment so as to make sure the the wheel was straight in the cockpit.
3. its coming loose and working its way off LOL!
Dario
PS i worked as a mechanic in a different life and if the guys don't care, thats what happens. also if the driver don't care it stays that way. it does affect the self cancelling indicators one way or another.
Ha ha - Dario - that nut holding the wheel is the key to it all.
As a matter of course when alignment is checked the steering wheel should be locked central and adjustment made to each side accordingly.
As a matter of course when alignment is checked the steering wheel should be locked central and adjustment made to each side accordingly.
My car was pulling to one side under brakes - turned out that one of the wheel rims was bent and I had it rolled. (cost way less than replacing the rim)
The runflats do pull the car around and there is a significant difference when changing to non runflat.
I don't think its a tyre size characteristic - Ive had both 3.0si and M, and the M car has never tramlined or moved strangely, but the si does (with rfts).
The runflats do pull the car around and there is a significant difference when changing to non runflat.
I don't think its a tyre size characteristic - Ive had both 3.0si and M, and the M car has never tramlined or moved strangely, but the si does (with rfts).
My advise would be to check your TCA (track control arm) bushes. You can do this by tightening the bolts on your wheels - if the wheel moves a lot when you try to tighten the bolts and they are already fully tightened - then it's the bushes. £100 - £150 for new bushes fully fitted. If your bushes are out then your alignment is not static - it is moving around all of the time depending on the texture of the surface and how smooth it is.
My car was randomly pulling in random directions occasionally - however most of the time it went dead straight. It was scaring the cr*p out of me occasionally - I was driving down a country road in yorkshire at night and in ice and it kept violently pulling me towards the ditches!
Basically it was bumps and changes in surfaces in the road that were pulling my wheels in and out of alignment. Even going over painted white lines on the motorway would sometimes cause issues.
I had the bushes replaced for £120 and the handling has been amazing since. I do still have RFTs - they do like to slide sideways however I don't think they affect the cars stability dramatically.
My car was randomly pulling in random directions occasionally - however most of the time it went dead straight. It was scaring the cr*p out of me occasionally - I was driving down a country road in yorkshire at night and in ice and it kept violently pulling me towards the ditches!
Basically it was bumps and changes in surfaces in the road that were pulling my wheels in and out of alignment. Even going over painted white lines on the motorway would sometimes cause issues.
I had the bushes replaced for £120 and the handling has been amazing since. I do still have RFTs - they do like to slide sideways however I don't think they affect the cars stability dramatically.