Thoughts to bring some life to steering

RC1

RC1

Member
 England
Not sure if its an innate characteristic but it feels a bit dead down there despite having spent a lot of time / money with center gravity trying to get it dialled in to feel sharper and more responsive

what are you folks doing to sharpen up steering feel? im running new mps5's and they are at book pressures

i know its never going to be what the gt3 was but it still feels like it could be better
 
What tyre pressure do you have, I have noticed that a bit higher makes it feel sharper. Mine are 32f 34 r. Lower and it feels dead.
 
Suppose it depends what your used to but what have you done to or how old are you suspension components / bushings?
 
ill check pressures and increase just to see how it feels thanks for the tip
front control arms are newish all else original but when on the ramp at CG we had a real good poke and nothing obvious needed replacement
cars done 40k miles
i really need to drive another to establish if its me being a plonker - i had the gt3 for 5 years but my daily is a e46 alpina touring and that feels sharper with 140k miles and older bits
 
I don't think the Z4 steering is ever rated really high in any of the reviews I have watched. Mine is of course the electric one, so off to a bad start anyway. Unless the road is newly tarred and perfect, the car darts all over the place, went for a drive today to Totnes and when I got home I felt as if I'd been in a wrestling match with it. Mind you Devon is the worse place in the UK for potholes.
 
I think it's just like that. I feel the same. It was a real dissapointment when i got the car and i feel lets ot down.

I have a 2.8 z3 and the z4m. Both with all new bushes. Factory in the z4m and factory in the z3 except for the lollipops which are z3m ones. Both are on MPS4.

I can feel when I run over a penny in the z3 and the texture of the road surface is always there in the wheel. The z4m steering is nothing like this.

It feels pretty lifeless but it does improve a bit at speed when it seems to grow some feel. I suspect the very thick steering wheel has quite a bit to do with it as it isolates one from the road. But that's just a guess. The electric steering in non m cars must really be dead if people think this is an improvement..

I would love to know what alignment specs could improve this. My m is supposed to be on CSL alignment specs. At least that's what I asked them to do.
 
really interesting thanks
why is the wheel so thick - is it same in the m3 coupe?
 
Sajk said:
My m is supposed to be on CSL alignment specs. At least that's what I asked them to do.
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Mine is on CSL alignment too and the steering is OK, albeit not that feelsome. It's certainly better than my 3.0Si was, although the M steering is a bit heavier.
 
I did solid FCABs and RTABs. Turn in and dartiness was much more responsive. Not sure which did what as they were installed at the same time. Definitely gave the feeling of a tighter rear while followed the front more willingly.
 
Although on an E89 I put front adjustable castor arms on, H&R front and rear anti roll bars, adjustable droplinks, KWV3 street coilovers, they have transformed that car, really has made a great improvement to steering feel.
 
Rsipad said:
I did solid FCABs and RTABs. Turn in and dartiness was much more responsive. Not sure which did what as they were installed at the same time. Definitely gave the feeling of a tighter rear while followed the front more willingly.
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can you share part nos?
 
Weird, mine has the best steering of any car I’ve ever owned. Way ahead of the z3 and the non M z4.
 
MikeyH said:
What tyre pressure do you have, I have noticed that a bit higher makes it feel sharper. Mine are 32f 34 r. Lower and it feels dead.
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ok so fronts were 29 and 30
for fun i put 35 in fronts but i think i need to get my rears up
 
Related but unrelated... I run my e90 bmw 330d at 40psi front, 44psi rear. I can usually feel in the way it steers when the pressures have dropped by 4psi.

Id suggest trying a fair bit higher than you might expect... extra pressure will keep the sidewalls stiff so less flex before the tyre responds.

Other that that, lots of front camber and straight ahead toe - what geo settings have you got currently?
 
My Z4MC has nice and precise steering, you know what is doing not by feel but learning and trusting the car. Is a bit numb off center and it loads up as you throw the car into a corner but feel does not increase. Is the nature of the car.
 
Just checked my tyre depth across the rear tyres and they are wearing down faster in the middle at 32f 34r, I used to have 31f 33r but I prefer 32f. Would it be safe to run at 32f 33r or is the difference between front and rear too small?
 
MikeyH said:
Just checked my tyre depth across the rear tyres and they are wearing down faster in the middle at 32f 34r, I used to have 31f 33r but I prefer 32f. Would it be safe to run at 32f 33r or is the difference between front and rear too small?
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No inherent issues with running the same pressures all around. I run 26-28psi hot all round depending on ambient temperature for maximum contact patch as it suits my tires the best and I'm not concerned with losing 1-2mpg or wearing out a shoulder prematurely.

Going to 32F would probably just induce slightly more understeer for you as the contact patch of the fronts is becoming smaller compared to the rears.

You have fast middle wear though which suggest pressures are too high.
 
Rsipad said:
No inherent issues with running the same pressures all around. I run 26-28psi hot all round depending on ambient temperature for maximum contact patch as it suits my tires the best and I'm not concerned with losing 1-2mpg or wearing out a shoulder prematurely.

Going to 32F would probably just induce slightly more understeer for you as the contact patch of the fronts is becoming smaller compared to the rears.

You have fast middle wear though which suggest pressures are too high.
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Yes, that’s what I thought, Rsipad :thumbsup:
 
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