Motorway speeds and steering

ranski said:
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
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If the wheel balances fine, its still possible for the tyre to have been fitted slightly out of alignment in one area of the rim which causes a vibration that won't of course be derived from weight distribution, just uneven rubber, so won't show up on a balance. I've had that happen twice to me on other cars.

If nothing else works, try getting them refitted...
 
:) thanks for the input guys

this is now sorted - the two previous garages i took it to obviously hadnt balanced it correctly - its now weighted front and back and runs perfectly

(I didnt have to bother with the hunter - PS phil the garage you mentioned wanted to charge £150 + VAT for the hunter, compared to two other places that both charged £75 + VAT)
 
ranski said:
:) thanks for the input guys

this is now sorted - the two previous garages i took it to obviously hadnt balanced it correctly - its now weighted front and back and runs perfectly

(I didnt have to bother with the hunter - PS phil the garage you mentioned wanted to charge £150 + VAT for the hunter, compared to two other places that both charged £75 + VAT)
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Glad you got it sorted. I only paid around £100 inc. so perhaps they are now charging more for this work.

Pleased you fixed it though. Keep an eye on feathering in case the tracking has been messed up by one of the garages.
 
Funnily ebough I've got a very slight twitching of the steering after fitting my winter wheels/tyres - perhaps I'll try and have the wheels balanced again too. Cheers for reporting back ranski :)
 
following on from some of these threads/posts, I recently had to have new front suspension arms fitted as the bushes were worn, and it failed its MOT, to be fair the car handled great though tyre depths were approaching critical (Bridgestone Potenza rft's), had the new arms fitted, garage did not track it up, drove like a pig with two broken front legs.! anyway, the tyres are getting changed and tracked up today/tomorrow, though reading these i'm probably thinking you'll all be laughing at me as the arms weren't OE and the tyres are Yoko's.... Hmmmmm...

watch this space for an update..

Ps. can anyone tell me the optimum setting for camber on the front wheels as only 2 local garages apparently have the correct equipment, and want to charge a small fortune for this...

also any one had any issues with catalytic converter failing....?
 
Hi Everyone....new here to the forum. I have just bought a Dec 08 2i M Sport..Thought i was going mad until I saw this thread. The steering feels all over the place, quite unsafe actually which is very unnerving. I have to correct nearly every movement when accelerating. The dealer is going to check the tracking and geometry after Christmas....If anyone can suggest how to reduce this it would be appreciated....have to say cant believe this maybe a design fault as it just doesnt drive like a BMW should....Thanks Martin
 
ShaG1969 said:
following on from some of these threads/posts, I recently had to have new front suspension arms fitted as the bushes were worn, and it failed its MOT, to be fair the car handled great though tyre depths were approaching critical (Bridgestone Potenza rft's), had the new arms fitted, garage did not track it up, drove like a pig with two broken front legs.! anyway, the tyres are getting changed and tracked up today/tomorrow, though reading these i'm probably thinking you'll all be laughing at me as the arms weren't OE and the tyres are Yoko's.... Hmmmmm...

watch this space for an update..

Ps. can anyone tell me the optimum setting for camber on the front wheels as only 2 local garages apparently have the correct equipment, and want to charge a small fortune for this...

also any one had any issues with catalytic converter failing....?
Click to expand...
I had mine tracked by Nationwide repair centre in Scunthorpe as not many places in Donny do it. £40.
 
Hi
I know this is an ancient thread, but it is the only one I have found (out of many) where people seem to have accepted it is something other than runflats causing it. And none of the threads seem to end in a solution where anyone can say "found the issue and fixed it".
My symptoms just like cj10jeeper.
It is not tramlining.
It's not sticky steering (have a coupe so facelift and newer version column).
I know what out of balance feels like - it's not that, the vibrations do not happen quick enough.
I don't think it would be an alignment issue - the wiggles in the steering just seem too artificial for that.
If I was to guess it feels to me like a glitch in electric power steering.

I have searched and searched and cannot find anyone who says they have solved it.

I really don't want to go down the expensive BMW route of randomly replacing suspension components til it's found (especially as there are plenty of threads in here of people changing tyres, all bushes, and practically all suspension components and still having the problem).

Did u ever fix the problem cj10jeeper?

I have 2007 coupe, 55k miles. Montego blue.
(I know I know, been a member for a couple of years and still no newbie post - I am an it retard and it will happen once I eventually figure out how to post pictures).

Apologies for revising an old thread, but this one seems to be the most promising of all I have seen (and I have searched tons!).
Ta
Rich
 
Same here on my 08 Coupe.

Non-RFT, recently replaced suspension springs and lollipop bushes. Going to have a full alignment done next week.
 
A friend noticed this too, changed all bushes, had a full geo but no joy.

He hadn't tried refitting the tyres though - interesting, but far cheaper than replacing every suspension part systematically. Worth trying IMHO.

He didn't but decided to sell the roadster instead.
 
Does anyone know if there is software running the electronic power steering that can be reset or updated or anything like that?
I don't know why - I am no mechanic - but I'm fairly convinced it's that rather than something mechanical out of whack.
It just feels too artificial to be anything else.
Like it is trying to self centre itself and then realising it shouldn't be, then trying again. I notice it most on gentle bends on motorways.
Never does it below 65mph (strange how there seems to be such a definite and consistent point below which its rock solid).
 
I dug this out which gives a good explanation of the EPS, particularly the reasons and conditions under which the system is designed to reduce assistance and or centering i.e under/over voltage and overheating or improper outputs from sensors including the steering angle sensor. Once all the usual tyres, alignment and bushing possibilities are exhausted I'd look at something simple like electrical connections to the EPS, battery/charging issues and crucially the steering angle sensor which could well induce the constant twitching around centre problem some of you have mentioned. Get busy with a voltage meter and swap out the angle sensor page 13-14 :thumbsup:

http://www.bmwclub.lv/files/06_E85_Chassis_Dynamics.001.pdf
 
Thanks
I can't get that link to work. Do you have another way of directing me to the right page?
Just getting a 404 error.
Rich
 
It is well documented that the E85/86 is very prone to this. Varying factors influence just how bad it is, with RFT on the bigger, wider wheels (ie 18"-255 +) as the main culprits. My E85 suffered in the same way, ruining the driving experience. I changed to non run flats, then renewed every suspension component (yes everything), had a steering angle sensor check, a hunter alignment and anything else I could think of. Each step improved things little by little. The major difference however was the first time I fitted some smaller, narrower (225-17") wheels all round with winter tyres on. The car handled securely and was well planted for the first time. I even had a local forum member, suffering badly from this problem, contact me to ask if she could try my smaller wheels. She came along, we changed the wheels over (her car had 18") and, after a test drive, she returned pronouncing the handling so improved that she would look for some 17" wheels. My indie, Andy at Walkers Autocentre, who is a BMW specialist says that he has experienced this transformation many times.
The sticky steering, if present, may be an influence in this issue but I have no experience of this. It is well documented now that the once dreaded sticky steering problem on early cars, that involved warranty claims, court cases and all sorts of official investigations, particularly in the USA, with complete new steering columns and EPS being fitted to cure the problem, is nothing more than an overtightening during original assembly of a collar/bush on the EPS which causes the EPS gearing to bind when it becomes hot. It is a relatively easy operation to slightly loosen the locking mechanism until the required slack in the gear engagement is achieved. All reports that I have read show that this solves the problem completely.
 
Rich8 said:
Thanks
I can't get that link to work. Do you have another way of directing me to the right page?
Just getting a 404 error.
Rich
Click to expand...

Not sure what happened but I've reposted the link and it seems to work now http://www.bmwclub.lv/files/06_E85_Chassis_Dynamics.001.pdf

get a coffee and have a good read, I'm an old-skool mechanic so learn a lot about some of the electronics behind the systems on these cars but but logic says that if the whole thing relies on clean steady voltage readings from sensors, then battery state/charging, or wiring/connections have to be a good bet to eliminate before perhaps swapping out the steering angle sensor?

I mention this only because I left a light on and my battery ran down a few weeks ago only juuust starting her up, the engine was rough and the steering jerking all over. Clearly engine and steering sensors were not getting proper voltage. I Charged the battery and all was fine with no problems since.
 
Thank you. I think I will take that link and this thread to my Indy and see if I can talk him into having a play with a multimeter around my car before I resort to laying out on replacing suspension components etc.

Swapping my 108s (even flakey and fkuced as they currently are) for 17s would be a step too far for me. Not normally a style over substance person, but in this instance it pains me to say that I'd rather put up with the wheel tugging. So I'm really hoping it's not really a wheel size issue (would think not as it's not something that happened for the first 18 months of me owning the car. Yes the ride is pretty harsh, and it tramlines, but I accept those traits, it's always had them and they are kinda expected and can be anticipated. This is different and is something I have only been experiencing fairly recently.
 
Had my 2004 3.0i in at the workshop to investigate a very similar issue, car all over the road at speed especially on uneven surfaces.

Causes found were two fold, number one that the geometry was badly out, now set up correctly and a LOT better.

More interestingly, they have diagnosed a tight spot in the steering rack. They disconnected the rack from the column and there is a definite tight spot at around 12:00. With the column (and therefore EPS) reattached, its not as noticeable as the EPS overcomes the resistance for you.

Booked in next week for a new rack, I'm confident that this will sort the issue I was having.
 
Mmmmm.
Similar issue maybe mrjmt, but not the same.
It's not that it's all over the place.
It's just irritating little nudges on the wheel every now and then (only noticeable when going straight or a gentle long bend in the road - no tugging when any notable degree of lock applied, and a definite point at about 65 where it starts up - it's rock solid 2mph below that point).
Doesn't seem to be caused by the road surface at all.

I have a facelift so slightly different column setup to you which I understand was to address the sticky steering issue which sounds similar to your problem.
 
Hi Rich8 you made any progress with this?
I am having the same issue with my coupe. Was told that it was out of balance wheels so had them rebalanced twice which made no difference. I have previously replaced the control arm bushes and all springs and shocks. Also changed my wheels to my winters this weekend which did make a small improvement but the jerky steering wheel above 65mph is still there.
Car is due a service in January so going to get my indy to check over all suspension parts and give it a test drive, but would be interested if you make any progress.
 
I'm having the exact same issues. Very minor tramlining and movement in the steering particularly over uneven road surfaces. I find it a bit unsettling when making high speed overtakes and I cross back onto the right side of the road going over the camber. Only just got the car though so haven't had a chance to explore or seek a solution.
 
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