Only owned my Z now for 3 weeks, so not had much of a chance to stretch it's legs on the open road. I did a 600 mile road trip at the weekend (mostly motorway) and was a little surprised by the way if felt on the road. No problem with the sound of the tyre noise on certain road surfaces and the hard ride (you have to remember my other car is a 530D sofa!), but there was a very strange and regular sensation through the steering wheel, where it almost had a mind of it's own. It often twitched from left to right in my hands on seemingly flat, straight, smooth 'A' road surfaces, and on sweeping bends there was often a brief 'tug' at the steering wheel. Is it just tracking uneven surfaces with the wide tyres? For info, the tyres are Michelin Pilot Sports. Other than that, driving it was a blast!
Should my Z drive like this?
- Thread starter RCT_Z4Coupe
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JDM said:
Just checked, and they are 'ZP' run flats
I've got non-RFT winters on and whilst the problem is still there it's barely noticeable now. On the Bridgestones it came with the experience was spooky - like having an invisible gremlin tweaking the wheel every now and then. You do get used to it, just slightly unnerving at speed on a corner. The trick (I have found) is to make sure you're not gripping the wheel too hard and ignore it. And I'll be getting non-RFTs as soon as I need to change the tyres on my summer rims 8)
Thanks for all the replies! Sadly the Michelin's are pretty much new in each corner, so may have to put up with this issue for a while 
RCT_Z4Coupe said:Thanks for all the replies! Sadly the Michelin's are pretty much new in each corner, so may have to put up with this issue for a while
You can always take them off and sell them on here. There are quite a few members who prefer the runflats over standard tyres.
You should be able to recoup a good portion of the costs for buying new tyres by selling them, especially if they are like new
Never really noticed tramlining in the Z4 but I think its all relative, its very stable compared to the tramlining of the rx8/type-r and the torque steer of the Megane R26.
I think your experiencing the opposite perspective of me with the wafty 530 at your disposal
Regard
Andy
I think your experiencing the opposite perspective of me with the wafty 530 at your disposal
Regard
Andy
I'd personally leave the RFTs on the car. I found when moving from RFTs to standard tyres on my 3.0si that the turn-in was dramatically reduced (to the point where I actually had less confidence in the car's handling abilities).
As Andy says, it's all relative. I found my Astra VXR tramlined slightly less than the Z4, but then the Z4 had wider tyres. It is quite annoying though if you're like me, and tend to stick to 70mph on the motorway (and hence typically in the first lane).
As Andy says, it's all relative. I found my Astra VXR tramlined slightly less than the Z4, but then the Z4 had wider tyres. It is quite annoying though if you're like me, and tend to stick to 70mph on the motorway (and hence typically in the first lane).
sp3ctre said:
Is this something that can be checked by a dealer?
I suggest that you also check your air pressure. When I obtained my car earlier this year the dealer had the tire pressure set to 34 PSI on all tires (OEM Bridgestone RFT). When I changed it to 33F/38R as per the manual, there was a dramatic reduction in the 'twitchiness'. I'm quite happy with the car's handling now.
Swap out the runflats, you'll find a ready market on ebay.Fit some quality non runflats, ( I have Goodyear F1 asymetricals) , then get a 4 wheel alignment done ( the rear is adjustable too) and you'll find it all but goes away. With a sports car with big wheels and low profile tyres will always be a bit of a hanfull in the UK's knackered roads,especially on the nearside lane of most motorways and dual carriageways where the trucks have made ruts.I remember a truckie mate of mine telling me of a stretch of motorway where you can take your hands off the steering wheel for miles in a 44 tonner cos the ruts are so deep.I just stay in the outside lane when the ruts are bad as the car ican be scary to drive at speed.
Its the runflats, my car acts exactly the same as how you described it. You do eventually get used to it (ive had mine 12 months) and it becomes less un-nerving but still does annoy me now and again. I bought my car with new-ish potenza runflats so waiting for them wearing down so I can replace with non-runflats.