UNSTABLE RIDE - E36 1999

[primacom]

Any of you sifus can give some opinion why my ride feels like swerving left and ride when going thru uneven road ....even at slow speed. The steering just feels going towards left and right and I have to align back and the cars felt unstable.. My ride is wearing Michelin 225/50/16" for all four legs.....my mech suggest my tyre is the problems that is causing the car being unstableI thought with wider tyres...car tend to have more grip...but my seems not...any suggestion ...or any of you xperience tis and your solutions will be much appreciated :cry:

 

[Lee36328]

did u change ur suspension, lower the car, etc..?

 

[three28]

Also it could be worn absorbers ... wrong inflation etc...

cheers

 

[primacom]

guys..suspension changed few months back and tyre pressure is 230 with nitrogen gas....

my mech suggest i changed back to 205/55/16" ...i m contemplating to do tat coz dun tink that is the reason why the car is swerving around at low speed or going thru any undulating roads

 

[ersalle]

320KN/sqM on nitrogen? i think u better try deflate ur "nitrogen" gas and pump in normal air with pressure 32psi(225kn/sqm) for all 4 tyres.

 

[primacom]

hi ersalle, mayi know why and is it b'coz of nitrogen gas tat cause the cars swerving left /right????

 

[ersalle]

OOPPS u corrected ur sentence on tire pressure. Another thing, is ur steering rack ok? Does your steering got that locking feel when straightening? Damaged steering racks also tends to make weird swerving, check tie-rods also. Wear and tear of E36 steering racks are common after 6yrs.

 

[primacom]

according to meh, steering rack is ok, tie-rods changed....no locking feel when straightening....

tat is why my mech says changed to 205/55/16" as all need to be checked has been checked and is ok...i find it funny with the logic of changing to wider tyres will cause tis problem or changing to smaller ones to solve tis problem....or just trial and error

problem ismy drive sucks for now.

 

[musclehedz]

Don't need to go thru so much trouble and $$...jack up the car and check the suspension bushing and lower arm bushing will do. My previous cars had this problem of swerving left and right. It was the bushings.

 

[E28driver]

Its called tramlining. Some tyres are more prone to this than others.

 

[primacom]

if this effect is call ed tramlining...i guess it will happen to all wide tyres......then it defeat the purpose of better road handling right ?

might as well stick with standard stock.....

 

[koryong]

Originally posted by primacom@Jun 9 2005, 09:42 PM
if this effect is call ed tramlining...i guess it will happen to all wide tyres......then it defeat the purpose of better road handling right ?

might as well stick with standard stock.....

yup, sounds more like a tram-lining to me. Common in wider tires. Don't think there's a cure for tramlining - either live with it or go back to skinnies ...

"Better handling" is only as good as the condition of the road. With KL potholes & ruts, nothing can help ....

 

[Mont-o]

Could be the excessive steering free play..check the rod.Cheers.

 

[primacom]

callled my mech, he says free play of steering rack no problem and bushes of my car also no problem....so guess the effect must be tram lining then......

 

[ichiwan2]

If its tramlining, you could just change your fronts to narrower tyres and have the staggered set-up. Might affect how the car looks tho.

 

[gier]

Definitely sounds like tramlining to me. Same thing happened to me when I changed from the stock 15" to 17".

It was a rather uncomfortable feeling the first few times, but you get used to it after a while.

gier

 

[ersalle]

By the way what michelin tyres r u on now. Actually i encountered that on my dad's e46 which was using michelin pilots 225/50/R16. Very difficult to control when hit bumps or pot holes.Straight line also like wat u say swaying left and right like shit! Now those tyres are dump and fitted with Conti sport contact 2 225/50/r16 no more of that problems already.

 

[ersalle]

hehehhe guess u have to live with it until ur next tyre change.

 

[primacom]

hi all,

got fed up with i and have changed all my tyres to standard stock of 205/55/16. Haven't really the chance to test out yet but initial feel much better than the 225.