Motorway speeds and steering
- Thread starter ChillZ4
- Start date
sp3ctre said:pvr said:Sticky steering only happens in the heat, like where Melbs is, not in the UK at the moment
Not technically true... it happens when you have been driving for quite a while and/or you have the heating on... Mine is a potential death trap when it starts doing it... VERY scary!
sp3ctre what would you say this feels like as i was out for a drive on Sunday and popped the top down which meant i had the heating and seats on full most of the time after a couple of hours i started to notice the strange feeling when steering worse in Sport mode.
I normally cruise with my arm resting on top of the door and find i can use my thumb and forefinger for light steering movement but when i went to do this there was a nochy feeling had to push a little harder to get the wheel to move.
Cheers Gaz
Hi guys, have just found this forum and looks pretty busy so no idea how I've missed it! I have a 3.0si coupe and have been looking for ways to reduce the tramlining for ages. Have got ps2 zp's which has made a big difference but the guys in daventry look very interesting. The part you mention where there is some bushing flex is (I think) the lower control arm. I understand that meyle do some very good aftermarket units which do improve steering feel and weight, so is worth checking them out. Search for meyle lca's on Google.
Cheers, dave.
Cheers, dave.
Just found this thread after doing a search for "Control Arm".
At my last main dealer oil service I had an advisory to replace both brackets for control arm parts and labour £193.02.
I am experiencing the steering wobble (not tramlining) mentioned in this thread. I think I will ask my local independent to have a look/sort out when I get him to fit new (Eibach) Springs all round.
Funny that I only seemed to have noticed it since ditching the runflats. Perhaps the Falkens are making the car feel more sensitive in the handling dept!
Has anyone fitted anything other than OEM control arms on there Z4 and has there been a benefit? Have looked on other BMW forums but there seems to be some mixed feeling about Meyle.
At my last main dealer oil service I had an advisory to replace both brackets for control arm parts and labour £193.02.
I am experiencing the steering wobble (not tramlining) mentioned in this thread. I think I will ask my local independent to have a look/sort out when I get him to fit new (Eibach) Springs all round.
Funny that I only seemed to have noticed it since ditching the runflats. Perhaps the Falkens are making the car feel more sensitive in the handling dept!
Has anyone fitted anything other than OEM control arms on there Z4 and has there been a benefit? Have looked on other BMW forums but there seems to be some mixed feeling about Meyle.
MikeS said:I run a 2009 35i on 19 inch rims with the factory fitted run flats and have not noticed any of the problems mentioned in this thread. It seems that people love to blame the RFT for anything that could be remotely associated with them.
Because not many people are brave enough to try a different brand of run flats.... my car went from being a tramlining dog on the OEM bridgestones to being a straight riding dream on the Michelin ZPs as well as better riding.
not many people seem to believe me though :?
Maldives Blues
New member
I have the same feeling on my 2004 3.0L Z4. The steering twitches and pulls if the road surface is sufficiently uneven, even at low speeds. The worst effect is from logitudinal roadwork repairs, typically about 2ft wide. As the tyres pass over the edge of the repair the car tries to pull to one side. Maybe I'll get used to it eventually. :?
Maldives Blues said:
Agree with MikeS dont keep blaming RFT remember you are driving a stiff sprung car on wide low profile tyres you will get tramlining its not a saloon car.
My Calibra in Avatar was scary compared to the Z under braking at some local junctions where buses had caused ruts in the road was pulling all over the place due to the fact i had lowered the car and was running low profile tyres
gannet said:MikeS said:I run a 2009 35i on 19 inch rims with the factory fitted run flats and have not noticed any of the problems mentioned in this thread. It seems that people love to blame the RFT for anything that could be remotely associated with them.
Because not many people are brave enough to try a different brand of run flats.... my car went from being a tramlining dog on the OEM bridgestones to being a straight riding dream on the Michelin ZPs as well as better riding.
not many people seem to believe me though :?
and in the above case it's a new 35i with a different setup.
On the e85, IMHO, the re050 rft really do cause lots of nasty wiggles jiggles and behaviour!
The 35i is heavier and softer so it's less likely to suffer as bad as the e85's lighter more sporty setup.
I'm with Mr Whipy here. On the E85 the combination of an early generation of RFT's with and inherently faulty front suspension design (which BMW could not fix until the new model came out) makes for exciting handling. The combination of light sports car and wide tyre choice makes it worse.
Remember it's no accident that for the ///M BMW decided that the car woudl perform better with normal tyres and suffer the consequences of no skinny spare. On the Z4 the RFT was a key packaging requirement to fit everything in.
RFT's on other models (Mini, X5, etc.) work real well
Later generation RFT's are also much better.
Remember it's no accident that for the ///M BMW decided that the car woudl perform better with normal tyres and suffer the consequences of no skinny spare. On the Z4 the RFT was a key packaging requirement to fit everything in.
RFT's on other models (Mini, X5, etc.) work real well
Later generation RFT's are also much better.
Hi Guys (& Gals)
I have just switched over to Michelin PS2's on all four corners and have not yet had the car "re-aligned" by my local BMW guy.
The ride is now MUCH improved but I did notice on a smooth highway doing 120km/h (75mph or so) a little lightness that was not there on the Bridgestone RFT's. Almost like there was a little "play" in the steering around neutral.. Not alarming or anything like that but definitely different than before..
I have the car booked for alignment and will report back if it solves the (very minor) "problem"..
Maybe it's just the softer walled tyres.. Who knows - but they are certainly much better overall and I wouldn't put the Bridgestone RFT back on if you paid me to!
Cheers,
Nelson.
I have just switched over to Michelin PS2's on all four corners and have not yet had the car "re-aligned" by my local BMW guy.
The ride is now MUCH improved but I did notice on a smooth highway doing 120km/h (75mph or so) a little lightness that was not there on the Bridgestone RFT's. Almost like there was a little "play" in the steering around neutral.. Not alarming or anything like that but definitely different than before..
I have the car booked for alignment and will report back if it solves the (very minor) "problem"..
Maybe it's just the softer walled tyres.. Who knows - but they are certainly much better overall and I wouldn't put the Bridgestone RFT back on if you paid me to!
Cheers,
Nelson.
Just to add fuel to the debate all UK roads have a camber to the nearside to remove excess road surface water in the event of rain. On motorways it’s hardly noticeable but requires a constant adjustment to steering to keep you on a straight course (and there is a small camber on the outside lane to the central reservation). I think we all counter this camber unconsciously. This impacts more on wider profile tyres than small width profiles. As you manoeuvre from the outside lane to middle or nearside I think you begin to feel the effect of the cambers through the steering. Some cars cope with this due to setup better than others.
I recently put on new new alloys (same style, same tyres) and did some motorway driving yesterday for the first time since the change. I xpericenced what a few of you guys have, a slight twitching of the steering wheel when i reach 60+
- The tyres are non runflats (eagle f1's)
- The tyres are fitted correctly (outside out)
- I didnt have the problem before the change of alloys
- I have had the wheels rebalanced
- I have had the tracking done (which was quite out, but oddly i didnt have this twitching issue on the previous alloys)
- I havent hit any potholes, speedbumps since the change
Im going back the weekend to have tyres swapped back over to the previous alloys as the only think it could be would be a buckled alloy? although i would have thought a judder would be occuring instead of the twitching im experiencing
- The tyres are non runflats (eagle f1's)
- The tyres are fitted correctly (outside out)
- I didnt have the problem before the change of alloys
- I have had the wheels rebalanced
- I have had the tracking done (which was quite out, but oddly i didnt have this twitching issue on the previous alloys)
- I havent hit any potholes, speedbumps since the change
Im going back the weekend to have tyres swapped back over to the previous alloys as the only think it could be would be a buckled alloy? although i would have thought a judder would be occuring instead of the twitching im experiencing
How and where did you have the tracking done?
It can only be done on specialist equipment such as a Hunter system. If the tyre fitter did not do it using correct ballast (iirrc 60kg) in both seats and (iirc 20kg) boot and a full tank of fuel then the chance are he's simply screwed up your geo. It can't be done using normal equipement.
Beyond that I'd be looking for a buckled rim, out of balance etc. as nothing else has changed.
It can only be done on specialist equipment such as a Hunter system. If the tyre fitter did not do it using correct ballast (iirrc 60kg) in both seats and (iirc 20kg) boot and a full tank of fuel then the chance are he's simply screwed up your geo. It can't be done using normal equipement.
Beyond that I'd be looking for a buckled rim, out of balance etc. as nothing else has changed.
Hi Phil,
Just a local garage, they used the kit with the large metal rulers that are attached to each wheel, with the laser beam - the car was quite out but i didnt have the problem on the previous alloys :?
The alloys dont appear buckled or damaged in anyway and ive rechecked the tyre presssures this morning
Anywhere local to us that have the 'hunter' system?
Thanks
Rich
Just a local garage, they used the kit with the large metal rulers that are attached to each wheel, with the laser beam - the car was quite out but i didnt have the problem on the previous alloys :?
The alloys dont appear buckled or damaged in anyway and ive rechecked the tyre presssures this morning
Anywhere local to us that have the 'hunter' system?
Thanks
Rich
Just found one in erdington http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/
However spoke to the tech thats looks after their hunter and he said that the symptoms dont sound like a tracking issue - however, im going to take it down later today for him to check over
FYI a full hunter check and allingment costs between £25 - £75 + VAT
However spoke to the tech thats looks after their hunter and he said that the symptoms dont sound like a tracking issue - however, im going to take it down later today for him to check over
FYI a full hunter check and allingment costs between £25 - £75 + VAT
ranski said:
The garage should never have touched it and have now almost certaily screwed up your alignment and thus created the issue. If your old tyres had worn correctly and there was no twitching before then I'd say he's induced the problem.
EDIT - beat me to it....
Search here http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/ as they have 5% discount vouchers for Hunter. I use Bodyworks Motors in Cannock, specialist BMW crash repair centre and real good at the job.
OK - guess you've changed the history from the write up in that you did a test drive, found the problem then went back for the tracking. So given all you did was put new tyres on new rims leads me to thinking it being a buckled rim, badly fitted or damaged tyre or similar, but not alignment.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Worn bearing?