Terrible handling – (now a lot better)

I will only adjust the eccentric ring with the front wheels off the ground, as it's the only way you can assess any stiction in the steering with any real sensitivity, so what you're suggesting sounds good. Turn the steering wheel both ways repeatedly to get a feel for what it's doing (with the ignition off). Slightly anticlockwise, slightly clockwise, all the way anticlockwise, all the way clockwise, rock it anticlockwise/clockwise to feel for free play.

The most telling indicator of sticky steering is a stiction that resists you turning the steering wheel from rest (with the road wheels still in the air). It'll require a relatively high amount of torque to get it to begin turning, but then only requires a minimal amount of torque to continue turning it. It sounds as though you have a looseness to your steering though, so you'll be concentrating on the other end of the scale - i.e. free play when rapidly (approx 1 left-right sequence per second) jiggling the steering wheel.

I spend 2-3 minutes assessing the steering wheel in this way before making any adjustments to the eccentric ring, and getting yourself in tune with what you're feeling here is key, because you need to reassess it while you continue making your eccentric ring adjustments so that you know when it feels right. Of course, you can take it for a test drive and adjust the ring again afterwards if need be, but it's better if you can nail it in one hit with an accurate assessment rather than a hit/miss guessing game with no science behind it!
 
Has there ever been a case of sticky steering for a facelift Z4? Not saying it's not the issue; it'd just be unusual.
 
MrPT said:
Has there ever been a case of sticky steering for a facelift Z4? Not saying it's not the issue; it'd just be unusual.
Click to expand...
Yep I believe so.

Edited to add link: https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50994&start=240
 
Finally got the car down to (recommended by several on here) Wheels in Motion, Chesham.

They've increased front toe, reduced rear toe and increased rear camber (each by only a couple of minutes) and on the drive back (country lane, town and dual carriageway albeit in the rain) the car seems loads better.

Still on the Avons on the front so I'm not expecting perfection but the whole way home I didn't notice anything untoward. Will report back when I've had the opportunity for a fast blast in the dry (don't hold your breath....)

Here are the before and afters:
IMG_5671.JPG
 
Sorry to have left that hanging!
Car was definitely better but really still not right after I'd had the alignment done. I really just didn't want to use the car. Long story short I finally got round to swapping the front tyres (Avon ZZ5's) they still had quite a lot of life in them but I replaced with Uniroyal Rainsport 5's (3's no longer available). The difference is night and day and the car really is nice to drive again.

I probably should have listened more to those that said front tyres, the thing is I had changed quite a lot of the suspension (and lowered it) and they were the second set of ZZ5's I've had on the front and the last lot I only changed because they were on the limit. The quirky handling has been quite different to how I remember the old Bridgestone Potenza's.

It was interesting that the bloke who changed them (who coincidentally also has BMW's) said that in his circles they don't like those Avons because of the way they wear (the tapering of the blocks). Also he said that the side walls were very stiff which he noticed when he was breaking the bead. He reckoned that the sidewall rubber must have hardened.

It was slashing down as usual earlier and I had the 'opportunity' to hit some much deeper puddles than I would have liked and I have to say the way the Rainsports cut through the water and stuck to the road was remarkable. So it looks like a happy ending - I can live with an old car if it's fun to drive. So now all I have to worry about:

  • Replace front headlight (which has a puddle in it)
    Repair the rear view mirror which has stopped dimming
    Replace cracked rocker cover (how did that happen?)

Thanks to everyone for their help and suggestions - it was much appreciated.
 
Thanks for the update :thumbsup:

Glad you got it sorted, it must be so frustrating to have changed so much and still be experiencing the same problem.
 
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