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Car Forum / BMW Cars / February 2005Twitchy Steering on E36? Dodgy Offset?
[Crossposted again uk.rec.cars.misc,alt.autos.bmw if anyone disapproves let me know!] All, The steering on my 1994 E36 Coupe has always seemed light. Sometimes a little too light. Certain contours in the road (not always visibly obvious) can momentarily pull the steering left or right. I'm beginning to suspect this MAY be due to the aftermarket M3 replicas that were already on the car when I bought it? (17x7.5 ET41) Usually the steering is dead straight but sometimes an uneven surface it easily cause the wheel to pulling a little too hard in one direction or the other. I suppose I could compare the offset/width of the steel spare (which I assume is one of the original wheels) to the fitted wheels. Besides the posibility of having incorrect offsets? Are there any other factors that may make steering twitchy or is this par for the course? Is there anything that could reduce this. Lordy >[Crossposted again uk.rec.cars.misc,alt.autos.bmw if anyone disapproves let >me know!] [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >this MAY be due to the aftermarket M3 replicas that were already on the car >when I bought it? (17x7.5 ET41) Wider, lower profile tyres show more of a tendency to follow cambers than do narrower, higher profile ones. They also tend to make the steering heavier, though, so the lightness is probably unrelated.  SignatureSteve Walker > Besides the posibility of having incorrect offsets? Are there any other > factors that may make steering twitchy or is this par for the course? Is > there anything that could reduce this. Incorrect tracking? Toe out will cause twitchy steering. Signature*If tennis elbow is painful, imagine suffering with tennis balls * Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. > > Besides the posibility of having incorrect offsets? Are there any other > > factors that may make steering twitchy or is this par for the course? Is > > there anything that could reduce this. Worn control arm bushes and/or balljoints. They wear more quickly with wider wheels. > > Besides the posibility of having incorrect offsets? Are there any other > > factors that may make steering twitchy or is this par for the course? Is > > there anything that could reduce this. Worn control arm bushes and/or balljoints. They wear more quickly with wider wheels. > [Crossposted again uk.rec.cars.misc,alt.autos.bmw if anyone disapproves let > me know!] [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > easily cause the wheel to pulling a little too hard in one direction or the > other. I would attribute this to the tires themselves. Depending on the tread design of the tires, some will follow the rain grooves more strongly than others. If you notice that your car always does this in the same section of roadway, then I would pay attention to the roadway surface to see if I could spot some kind of variance in the texture of the surface as compared to places where my car behaves itself. If so, then I would not worry about the car. > The steering on my 1994 E36 Coupe has always seemed light. Sometimes a > little too light. Certain contours in the road (not always visibly [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > other factors that may make steering twitchy or is this par for the > course? Is there anything that could reduce this. How about the possibility your tie rod ends are worn out? Ball joints? Bushings? Especially with a ten year old car... Matt O. Well, what is the offset? Should be about 40mm give or take the usual margin, if it's a lot different then there's your problem. You can measure it with a ruler easily enough, although you might need to take a wheel off to see. Apparently on date 31 Jan 2005 13:07:16 GMT, Lordy <spam_box@gmx.net> said: >[Crossposted again uk.rec.cars.misc,alt.autos.bmw if anyone disapproves let >me know!] [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >Lordy > Well, what is the offset? 17x7.5 ET41 > Should be about 40mm give or take the usual margin, if it's a lot > different then there's your problem. You can measure it with a ruler [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >>beginning to suspect this MAY be due to the aftermarket M3 replicas >>that were already on the car when I bought it? (17x7.5 ET41) SignatureLordy Those rims are fine. Offset isn't your problem. If offset was the problem, the problem would be that the tires rub somewhere, typically the front tires will rub on the undercarriage in a full-lock turn, or the rear tires will rub on the shock mounts. My humble opinion is that the tires themselves are merely following grooves cut in the roadway to channel water away. I am running 7.5x17 rims on my car, and the tires track fine, except on a few particular places on the freeway, where the tires want to follow the grooves. In these places, the grooves are more pronounced for some reason. >> Well, what is the offset? > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >>>beginning to suspect this MAY be due to the aftermarket M3 replicas >>>that were already on the car when I bought it? (17x7.5 ET41) > Those rims are fine. Offset isn't your problem. If offset was the > problem, the problem would be that the tires rub somewhere, [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > follow the grooves. In these places, the grooves are more pronounced > for some reason. Yabbut... Do you remember what the car drove like before you upgraded to the 17"ers Jeff? On my '95 I can feel a large difference in tramlining between the OE 205/60x15" and 225/50x16". And those are OE BMW rims from an E36/7. My suspension is perfect, having recently replaced everything (struts, control arms, tie rods). The suspension geometry was just not designed for such wide tires without a certain amount of tramlining. -- -Fred W > > Those rims are fine. Offset isn't your problem. If offset was the > > problem, the problem would be that the tires rub somewhere, [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > control arms, tie rods). The suspension geometry was just not > designed for such wide tires without a certain amount of tramlining. I ny case, it drove about the same. I was running 225/55x15s. I now run 225/45x17s. 225 is 225, so I had pretty much the same contact patch, and therfore the same tendency to follow the rain grooves. I actually noticed an improvement when I went to the 225/45x17s. The 15s were very costly Michelins, the 17s are Kuhmo ASXs. I think you are making my point, the tires are causing the car to follow the rain grooves, and there is really very little, and I would suggest nothing, that can be done short of trying different tires. Frankly, I do not view this as a failure item, and I look at if more as a characteristic of getting the road feel that I demand from my car. If one wants to feel the road, then one ought not object to the way the road feels. If one does not want to feel the road, then one ought not be driving a BMW. Road Feel is what makes it The Ultimate Driving Machine. In news:Pr2dnfQHxZ1jYGLcRVn-1Q@ez2.net, Jeff Strickland <spamcatcher@yahoo.net> decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows >>> Those rims are fine. Offset isn't your problem. If offset was the >>> problem, the problem would be that the tires rub somewhere, [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > actually noticed an improvement when I went to the 225/45x17s. The > 15s were very costly Michelins, the 17s are Kuhmo ASXs. Aye, the 540i I used to drive was terrible for tramlining. The 645 I drove it was hard to tell, the run flats made the ride so bad I wasn't worried about tramlining > I think you are making my point, the tires are causing the car to > follow the rain grooves, and there is really very little, and I would [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > ought not be driving a BMW. Road Feel is what makes it The Ultimate > w.nkers Machine. SignaturePete M Mercedes 260E Ford Capri (ressurection started) "Never moon a werewolf" COSOC #5 Scouse Git extraordinaire. Liverpool, Great Britain > If one does not want to feel the road, then one >> ought not be driving a BMW. Road Feel is what makes it The Ultimate >> w.nkers Machine. Maybe I'll stop crossposting :) SignatureLordy Apparently on date 1 Feb 2005 22:28:12 GMT, Lordy <spam_box@gmx.co.uk> said: >> If one does not want to feel the road, then one >>> ought not be driving a BMW. Road Feel is what makes it The Ultimate >>> w.nkers Machine. > >Maybe I'll stop crossposting :) Well it makes for a change, a few new posters, etc. Probably temporary, what with our lot and you know what they're like. Anyhow, offset ain't yer problem by all accounts. :) I had a similar problem with my 318, steering felt twitchy and felt like it was following grooves in the road. The tyre size is 205 60 15. I had both Ball joints replaced ( yesterday ), along with brake disks and pads, the steering feels like new :) no twitching what so ever. Hope this helps, |
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