I wonder if anyone could help me?

S

Sprinty

Member
 Hampshire
Hey, I'm not a massive poster on here, more of a lurker but I wonder if anyone can help me please. I have an 03 3.0 Roadster and I'm having a bit of a problem with the steering (its not the overheat problem before anyone suggests that).

The problem I have is the car seems to be all over the road when pointing the wheel relitively straight, like I have to contantly correct what the front wheels are doing making for very stressful cruising! (especially in the dark, I would go so far to say it feels dangerous!) It picks up white lines and truck 'tram lines' ridiculously and will voilently jerk to either the right or the left, I put up with it at first as I heard the runflats dont do it any favours and thought I would wait and see what happens when I change the tyres but they still have plenty of tread left so want to get it sorted now.

Weird thing is if I'm steering anymore than 5-10 degrees of turn it feels really solid like it should do but is just so vague when going straight(ish)? I'm going to take it into a main BMW dealer to have it checked out but would be really greatful if someone could point me in the right direction so I could point them! They were less than helpful last time and found a broken rear spring (which is now replaced) so just blamed it on that! Please help!
 
front wishbone bushes?

what brand run-flats you on? My old bridgestone's were terrible for tramlining, Michelin's ZP run flat's simply dont.
 
hI sprinty,
I had the same problem with mine,O3 3ltr 18in wheels,had it checked by mot engineer,and also main dealer ,where i purchased it,no fault found,they blamed it on the run flats,changed the tyres for Falkens,it was better but still not right,in the end i changed the front rear wishbone bushes for the polyflex,and this seems to have cured the problem,can now thrash it down country lanes without the fear of being thrown into the middle of the road or into the hedge :driving:
 
ranski said:
Hello

Run flats or broken springs?


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Click to expand...

Hi,

Pretty sure its not springs as I have had them replaced recently, and I know the funflats are supposed to be bad but they can't be 'this' bad! Thanks for your help anyway

Dan
 
AlienZed said:
hI sprinty,
I had the same problem with mine,O3 3ltr 18in wheels,had it checked by mot engineer,and also main dealer ,where i purchased it,no fault found,they blamed it on the run flats,changed the tyres for Falkens,it was better but still not right,in the end i changed the front rear wishbone bushes for the polyflex,and this seems to have cured the problem,can now thrash it down country lanes without the fear of being thrown into the middle of the road or into the hedge :driving:
Click to expand...

Hi,

Ahh this sounds like it could be the problem/fix! Could you tell me where you sourced your polyflex bushes from? Do you think it would be worth changing every bush? Being thrown into the middle of road or hedge at any moment is exactly how I would describe it! Looks like it will cost me a little bit to get it right (well need new tyres in 1000-2000 miles anyway I suppose) Thanks for your help, looks like my mechanic mate will be busy!

Dan
 
Hi sprinty,
Got mine from demon tweeks £40-,but you can get them from a few places now like europarts etc,just check the size though as i think there is a couple of variants,mine were 60mm,also could be worth doing the front arb bushes as well,about £30-.
I think this hopefully should help cure the problem,everyone i speak to who has done this says it has improved the steering response greatly.
I shall be testing mine out again on sunday with a blast round North Wales :driving: :evil:
 
Id agree with Alienzed and definitely do the front ARB bushes....when these go the steering will be vague and woolly, like trying to steer a jelly, especially in bends. May not be all of your problem but on a car as old as that if they haven't been done before then they want changing. :thumbsup:
 
AlienZed said:
Hi sprinty,
Got mine from demon tweeks £40-,but you can get them from a few places now like europarts etc,just check the size though as i think there is a couple of variants,mine were 60mm,also could be worth doing the front arb bushes as well,about £30-.
I think this hopefully should help cure the problem,everyone i speak to who has done this says it has improved the steering response greatly.
I shall be testing mine out again on sunday with a blast round North Wales :driving: :evil:
Click to expand...


Brilliant! Glad they don't cost the earth, do you have a link to the actual ones on demon tweeks? I had a look and it's not clear as to which ones they are? (both sets?) Sorry to be a pain but don't want to order the wrong ones as I always seem to when ordering off the internet!

Have fun with your blast, I'm jealous as I know how the car should handle but just doesn't!
 
Mine jumps around the road a bit too, though I assumed it was just the runflats. I'll have to check the bushes. Sorry to hiack, but do worn bushes also cause the vehicle to "creak" as it turns up an incline?
 
I have polyflex bushes. They are stiffer than normal and i wouldnt reccomend them unless your quite a dedicated driver. If you know what i mean 8) .

Your problem does sounds like a case of worn front rear eye bushes but standard replacements will sort this out. To test, jack the car up and see how much you can 'play' the font wheels around. They shouldnt move at all.

The other factor is the runflats arent bad - They are TERRIBLE and when i had mine it was like an invisible man tugging at the steering wheel. Dangerous at times.

In order I would say non run flat tyres will make the most diference, then bushes, then an alignment.
 
Dreamer said:
I have polyflex bushes. They are stiffer than normal and i wouldnt reccomend them unless your quite a dedicated driver. If you know what i mean 8) .

Your problem does sounds like a case of worn front rear eye bushes but standard replacements will sort this out. To test, jack the car up and see how much you can 'play' the font wheels around. They shouldnt move at all.

The other factor is the runflats arent bad - They are TERRIBLE and when i had mine it was like an invisible man tugging at the steering wheel. Dangerous at times.

In order I would say non run flat tyres will make the most diference, then bushes, then an alignment.
Click to expand...

Hmm interesting, although I don't know what you mean by dedicated driver?

I do want to get it sorted but I'm not going to throw away a set of tyres that have tread left on them.
 
Hi Sprinty,
Not any use at links on computer.Best thing is to get under and measure the size,mine were 60mm for the rear wishbone bush,the front ARB bushes come in various sizes mine are i think 28mm.But check!!If your not to confident get the garage to measure them for you,rear ones are a pain to do off your garage floor,ARB bushes are quite straightforward ,but i took mine in rather than bugger about,2hrs labour at my local indie £80-labour ALL DONE :)
As to fitting standard bushes,as previous post said,i personally wouldnt bother.When i got my Zed the main dealer had just done this prior to me buying it,i did check and yes they were new,but i had what i considered to be a dangerous and unroadworthy car even driving at 30mph it was all over the road.So for me these bushes as resolved the problem,good luck mate :thumbsup:
 
Sprinty said:
ranski said:
Hello

Run flats or broken springs?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Hi,

Pretty sure its not springs as I have had them replaced recently, and I know the funflats are supposed to be bad but they can't be 'this' bad! Thanks for your help anyway

Dan
Click to expand...

Check the inside edges of your front tyres, my car was a right handful to drive when I had my bridgestone runflats fitted. Across the centre of my tyres I had a good 3-4mm but on the inside edges one wore right down the the canvas which I was unaware of and I had a blow out. I have fitted new tyres now and it's a right peach to drive now.
 
hi, i had the same problem then noticed the inside of my tyres was worn, the car was all over the place which scared me to drive it, any way i put fresh rubber on and it sorted the problem out.
 
I was in the same position as you with regard to having good runflats but wanting non-runflats. If you wait until they wear out it will cost you the full price on a new set but if you change them now you can sell the runflats and offset the cost. I sold my runflats for half the price of a new set of Vredesteins. There are always people wanting to buy runflats.

My advice change the tyres first - it makes a huge difference. :thumbsup:
 
+1 on the tyres makes a massive differance and sell your tyres either on here or ebay. Best way to check your front break bias bushes is to see if you have any horizontal play in the front wheel.

Grab the wheel at 3.00 and 9.00 o'clock and try moving it horizontal from front to back of the car any movement and there will need replacing.
 
Defo change your runflats asap. Don't worry about wearing them out, they're horrible, and dangerous. Also get a good 4 wheel alignment done too.Mine feels a little " loose" at times, especially when pressing on, so I know I have some bushes to replace soon.Will get them all done at the same time so I know it's 100%.
 
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