more to this than ....... Latest news

I have a 2004 3.0 ltr and last year i had the stiff steering issue that is mentioned in other threads.

this seems to be advised as the steering heating up and being tighter to turn. and this was only happening to my car when it was hot or the car had been standing in the sun during the day.

i found mine was so bad that it wouldnt self center the steering wheel at speed, ( not good at 110- 130 mph) so i wanted to find out when the issue was.

i found that the drivers side heat shield for the Engine mount had come detatched and wedged between the steering and the mount.

i managed to get the heat shield out of the engine bay and its been fine ever since. it might be worth a look
 
Well ladies and Gents ........

After listening to and reading hunners of posts about how the sport button on the M series only affects throttle control and has no effect whatsoever on the steering .........

I got in touch with BMW technical services directly ........

the Sport button does 3 things ...

1) When activating the sport button on your vehicle (Z4M reg number xxx xxx) the engine's response to movements of the accelerator pedal is even more spontaneous.

2) With regards to the steering, it is more direct and returns even better feedback

3) When cruise control is activated, the memorised speed is achieved more quickly when called up.

My assumption that another line of code kicks in, when operating the steering pump in sport mode would appear to be correct ...... which suggests that the code in standard mode is corrupted.

I found it hard to believe that a piece of mechanical stuff would be defective when, by pressing a button, it works perfectly.

Next move is to see if I can recalibrate the base levels ...... :D
 
Can easily believe 1 & 3 as the cruise will use the same throttle map as the accelerator pedal.

I'd like an explanation of how the steering is made more sensitive though, as I've not felt any difference on road/track - and if you can't feel any difference then it's either not 'different' enough or it's pointless/not working.

Even the brochure tells you it sharpens the throttle response, but makes no mention of anything to do with steering sensitivity.
 
Sounds like they have there //M cars mixed up with there usual zeds!! Don't know if the hydraulic control on a //M power steering is adjustable. It is on the electrical steering on the standard zed.
 
teamemmenracing said:
I found it hard to believe that a piece of mechanical stuff would be defective when, by pressing a button, it works perfectly.
Click to expand...

Regardless of what the manual says, or what we have previously known, this is the part that doesn't make sense to me and appears to back up what BMW have said.
 
The OP needs to slow that intake of buckfast :drinking: Sport button does nothing apart from make the throttle pedal less progressive.
 
So, from what I read....

The good news is the OP's steering is obviously affected by the sports button, and can remedy the problem

The bad news.... he obviously has a 2.5i with an M badge stuck on it ;)

:rofl:
 
Machine monkey said:
Sounds like they have there //M cars mixed up with there usual zeds!! Don't know if the hydraulic control on a //M power steering is adjustable. It is on the electrical steering on the standard zed.
Click to expand...

Correctomundo! :thumbsup:
 
:D :D :D

When I said BMW technical services, I didn't mean the local dealers workshop....... :thumbsup:
I meant errrrrr BMW's technical center ........

and when the car left them, it was a Z4M so I assume it still is ....... :rofl:
 
teamemmenracing said:
:D :D :D

When I said BMW technical services, I didn't mean the local dealers workshop....... :thumbsup:
I meant errrrrr BMW's technical center ........

and when the car left them, it was a Z4M so I assume it still is ....... :rofl:
Click to expand...

ill be honest here.... whenever ive pressed the sport button i always felt the steering became heavier?? could be complete placebo effect however....
 
Even if it is hydraulic it should be possible to adjust the steering... It is a pressure-based system, so increasing the 'at rest' pressure by compressing the fluid more (?) will result in more effort being required to move the system from rest, i.e. turn the wheels, but give a sharper response. No ?

Where the hell is sars when you need her... :P
 
Can't really compress liquids. Hence why they're used instead of say, air in brake lines and such but i'm sure you COULD somehow affect a hydraulic steering system's feel on demand if you really wanted to. That said, it's not in the manual, i've driven the car countless times with it ON and OFF in both regular road, fast road and track conditions and i've NEVER felt the steering any different... :idunno:
 
Some BMW "technicians" will tell you all sorts. While buying my Mini I had one guy telling how great the V10 TT was in the X6M was. I just presumed he never opened the bonnet... :lol:
 
I would be worried too if the "technicians" at BMW didn't know what they were talking about.

Just for clarity :D I think I should just add that when I asked BMW Technical Dept ........ I didn't pop down to my local Joes and ask the bloke cleaning the floor in the workshop ......
I sent a request to BMW central, you know the place where they melt rocks and things and turn them flash objects of desire ... they asked me for the VIN number and registration number ( which I had to supply to identify who I was) ....

The Hydraulic Pump driving the power steering is a really basic piece of kit .... it either functions or it doesnt.
I have no real idea but Im assuming that the difference would be in operating pressure, ie a couple of turns on the pressure relief valve, which would quicken every thing up.

Another assumption, but Im thinking that in standard mode, my operating pressure is too low, ie pump is probably knackered.

anyway ..... its in sport mode right now and the steering is silky smooth. :D
 
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