Ex-Marlon E85 Update & Help Request

[n1cecupoftea]

Wall of text warning! Please feel free to grab a large mug of coffee to help you avoid falling asleep while reading it.

Hi all. I rarely visit forums because I am unsociable but I thought I ought to provide an update on the Z4 I purchased from Marlon.

The major good bits:

• I have been a BMW fan for most of my life but, for financial reasons, this is the first BMW I have owned. Overall it has exceeded my expectations and I cannot think of a cooler/nicer car I could have bought for the same money; E85’s seem to be amazing value at the moment.

• The traction and grip are both better than I anticipated. I know it could benefit from a LSD but I cannot afford this.

• The sound is fantastic and I will never tire of hearing it. I realise this is controversial but IMHO straight sixes are the best sounding engines.

• The M seats Marlon installed are great; I quickly found settings that enable me to drive for hours on end with no back pain, which is rare.

The minor not so good bits:

• I had an inspection 1 service done by my local BMW specialist and it needed a couple of bushes but this is to be expected with an 11-year-old car.

• It has had HVA tick on one occasion but this was after consecutively doing several shorter journeys, which I almost never do. Since then I have avoided short journeys and the issue hasn’t returned.

• The engine warning light came on a couple of months ago and it needed a new pre-cat bank two o2 sensor. Again, not a concern on a 2008 car.

An unresolved issue:

It tramlines terribly. I understand cars with larger wheels and low-profile tyres are more susceptible to this but it is definitely worse than I expected. I have spent hours researching this and tried a number of different things:

• A bajillion different tyres pressure settings. Lower pressures seem to slightly reduce the problem but it is still bad.

• My local BMW specialist has checked the front and rear suspension, including all bushes and ball joints, and they said nothing needs to be replaced.

• Full four-wheel alignment using a Hunter machine. It only required some minor adjustments, although they couldn’t get the rear camber right. It ended up with -1.4 degrees, which I am fine with. Everything else was within recommended specification.

I am not sure what to try next but I would rather not start replacing things that the garage says are fine. Having searched through these forums, which are full of excellent advice, given by a nice people; I noticed that some E85 owners fix tramlining problems relatively easily but others never solve them.

I am considering having the alignment done again because I bought the Kwik-Fit Geocare package, which means I can have it done five more times in the next couple of years, without paying any extra. I know some of you are going to say never get an alignment done by Kwik-Fit but they used a Hunter machine and I watched them do it and they clearly knew how to use the machine and make the minor adjustments it needed. The only thing I wasn’t sure on is; should they of reset the steering angle sensor? I don’t have any warning lights, although the steering is marginally off centre to the left.

If you got this far without falling asleep; I would appreciate your thoughts on the tramlining. In advance; thanks very much for any responses.

The End

 

[buzyg]

Well I made it to the end. To get rid of any signs of tramlining simply buy an Mx5. :wink:

I used to notice my Zed tramlining when I first bought it. I would plant my right foot on either the right or middle pedal and it would head for the ditch or the car coming the other way accordingly.

After I ditched the original Conties and adjusted my driving a little I never really noticed it again.

 

[Smartbear]

Hi, if you want some reading material an entry in the search facility produced over 1,800 results :?
https://z4-forum.com/forum/search.php?keywords=Tramlining&terms=all&author=&attr_id=0&sc=1&sf=all&sr=posts&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
Rob

 

[Marlon]

Good to hear from you - the tramling is not something I ever noticed though, which is very odd :?
Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction

 

[n1cecupoftea]

Well I made it to the end. To get rid of any signs of tramlining simply buy an Mx5. :wink:

I do like the latest MX-5 but it doesn't have a straight six, although these conversions are cool:

https://www.rocketeerltd.com/

I used to notice my Zed tramlining when I first bought it. I would plant my right foot on either the right or middle pedal and it would head for the ditch or the car coming the other way accordingly.

After I ditched the original Conties and adjusted my driving a little I never really noticed it again.

I have Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric tyres at the moment and these seem to get really good reviews on here and other forums. I thought about trying some symmetrical tyres because some websites said that would help but, I am reluctant to do that when the current tyres are considered good and have plenty of life left in them. Has anyone noticed a reduction in tramlining having removed Goodyears?

 

[n1cecupoftea]

Hi, if you want some reading material an entry in the search facility produced over 1,800 results :?
https://z4-forum.com/forum/search.php?keywords=Tramlining&terms=all&author=&attr_id=0&sc=1&sf=all&sr=posts&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
Rob

I have spent hours reading through the forums and had most of the recommended things changed, adjusted or confirmed as fine.

 

[n1cecupoftea]

Good to hear from you - the tramling is not something I ever noticed though, which is very odd :?
Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction

It will get sorted and doesn't ruin the car; on smoother or mildly bumpy tarmac it is superb and was clearly cared for.

It was fine when I picked it up from you so I wasn't trying to suggest you were aware of the issue. I wonder if I have hit a particularly deep pot hole awkwardly/quickly and it damaged something or put the alignment out. I think I will get the alignment re-checked and see if they can get the steering wheel bang on straight. Does anyone know if the steering angle sensor should be reset when this is done? Or is that only required when a fault code is cleared?

 

[Smartbear]

Good to hear from you - the tramling is not something I ever noticed though, which is very odd :?
Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction

It will get sorted and doesn't ruin the car; on smoother or mildly bumpy tarmac it is superb and was clearly cared for.

It was fine when I picked it up from you so I wasn't trying to suggest you were aware of the issue. I wonder if I have hit a particularly deep pot hole awkwardly/quickly and it damaged something or put the alignment out. I think I will get the alignment re-checked and see if they can get the steering wheel bang on straight. Does anyone know if the steering angle sensor should be reset when this is done? Or is that only required when a fault code is cleared?

Had my steering wheel set to centre after a ham fisted tracking adjustment & no resetting was nessessary
Rob

 

[MACK]

Not what you want to hear but I suspect it's the tyres, although I don't mean specifically the good years. I had exactly the same with some Michelin ps3. The tyres had over 5mm of tread left but I'd already replaced and double checked everything else that could cause this. So I bit the bullet and replaced the front tyres with Goodyear f1. Once I'd done this the tramlining virtually disappeared.

As a general rule tramlining does seem to be a tyre issue in the vast majority of cases

 

[n1cecupoftea]

Had my steering wheel set to centre after a ham fisted tracking adjustment & no resetting was nessessary
Rob

Good news, thanks Rob

 

[n1cecupoftea]

Not what you want to hear but I suspect it's the tyres, although I don't mean specifically the good years. I had exactly the same with some Michelin ps3. The tyres had over 5mm of tread left but I'd already replaced and double checked everything else that could cause this. So I bit the bullet and replaced the front tyres with Goodyear f1. Once I'd done this the tramlining virtually disappeared.

As a general rule tramlining does seem to be a tyre issue in the vast majority of cases

Thanks Mack. I will get the alignment re-checked and the steering wheel straightened. If that doesn't solve it I will try another set of front tyres. Moving to Goodyears fixed yours but as I currently have Goodyears I guess I should try something else.

I have already been considering tyre options, including Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, Uniroyal Rainsport, Falken FK510 and Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3's.

 

[enuff_zed]

Could you not borrow a pair of front wheels from another member just to check before you spend a lot on new tyres?

 

[skelters]

Get the tyres checked as the tread might be low as previously posted.

As it's the red Z from Marlon there'll be very little wrong with the car I'd suspect.

Bushes checked and replaced with poly bushes then an alignment.

Also get a code reader plugged in to check for any error codes it's throwing up.

 

[n1cecupoftea]

Could you not borrow a pair of front wheels from another member just to check before you spend a lot on new tyres?

Thanks for the suggestion but I am happy to buy a set of front tyres if the second alignment doesn't improve the issue.

 

[n1cecupoftea]

Get the tyres checked as the tread might be low as previously posted.

As it's the red Z from Marlon there'll be very little wrong with the car I'd suspect.

Bushes checked and replaced with poly bushes then an alignment.

Also get a code reader plugged in to check for any error codes it's throwing up.

Thanks for the suggestions.

There is plenty of tread left on the tyres but the general consensus is; swapping the front tyres is worth trying. So this is next on my list after a second alignment.

The car is great overall, definitely looked after.

All the suspensions bushes and joints have been checked and replaced if needed.

I do have a code reader and the only fault code it has shown so far is for the o2 sensor I mentioned in my opening post.

 

[MACK]

Not what you want to hear but I suspect it's the tyres, although I don't mean specifically the good years. I had exactly the same with some Michelin ps3. The tyres had over 5mm of tread left but I'd already replaced and double checked everything else that could cause this. So I bit the bullet and replaced the front tyres with Goodyear f1. Once I'd done this the tramlining virtually disappeared.

As a general rule tramlining does seem to be a tyre issue in the vast majority of cases

Thanks Mack. I will get the alignment re-checked and the steering wheel straightened. If that doesn't solve it I will try another set of front tyres. Moving to Goodyears fixed yours but as I currently have Goodyears I guess I should try something else.

I have already been considering tyre options, including Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, Uniroyal Rainsport, Falken FK510 and Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3's.

I wouldn't necessarily move from Goodyears. If its the tyres, its more a case of the current set have worn unevenly. A new set of any brand should correct this. Just double check everything is fine bushes/alignment wise as this could have caused the wear issue in the first place.

 

[n1cecupoftea]

I wouldn't necessarily move from Goodyears. If its the tyres, its more a case of the current set have worn unevenly. A new set of any brand should correct this. Just double check everything is fine bushes/alignment wise as this could have caused the wear issue in the first place.

I understand now, thanks very much.

 

[1000rr]

Get a decent alignment from someone who knows there stuff... Kwik fit is full of monkeys, and reset your steering angle sensor when done

 

[n1cecupoftea]

Get a decent alignment from someone who knows there stuff... Kwik fit is full of monkeys, and reset your steering angle sensor when done

Thanks. I don't think my cheap ODB2 reader (JDiag JD-101) can reset the steering angle sensor. Is that something the garage doing the alignment should do?

 

[kis]

Can probably flog the tyres to make up some cash if you're swapping? (Since you said there is lots of tread).

Be interesting to know if the tyres clear this up. Have you had the wheels re-balanced? Could be exasperating the handling?