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      03-20-2007, 09:29 AM   #1
skyskie
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BMW steering wheel alignment

ok, is it me of does all your bmw steering wheels have a tendancy in moving with the roads' surface more than any other car?

btw i'm new here... ^^
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      03-20-2007, 01:38 PM   #2
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what size are your wheels
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      03-20-2007, 04:43 PM   #3
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Yes mine does, but it is just because of tramlining.

I have 17" 225 fronts and 255 rears...They've done about 27,000 K's now and have become progressively worse as they wear more.

My colleague has an identical car (even the colour!) but with the standard 16" rims and doesn't have anywhere near the same issue.
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      03-20-2007, 06:51 PM   #4
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mine are 17" 225 front and 255 rears too, the stock rim and tyre for the 325i.
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      03-20-2007, 11:46 PM   #5
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When I drove a rental E39 sedan in germany it tracked beautifully straight on the autobahns. 180kmh and with hands off the wheel- it went perfectly straight. Probably would at faster speed too but at 200+ I didn't want to have my hands off the wheel.

Anyway, back here in Aust. my 335, like all my cars previously, pull very very slightly to the left on straight flat roads. But over bumps and corners, curves and imperfections in the road, the car does pull to the side and tramlining is a definite issue on my 19' RFTs. I would love to see the difference using standard tyres instead of runflats.

Do mechanics set the wheel alignment to pull slightly to the left in Aust to reduce the risk of driving into oncoming traffic? Just curious if anyone else has noticed this?
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      03-21-2007, 12:58 AM   #6
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In my old 04 325Ci I had 18" non-RFT tyres with the same 225 fronts and 255 rears...the tramlining was also pretty bad on that. If I were to give my subjective opinion, however, the 17" RTF tyres I have on my E90 are probably, say, 25% worse.
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      03-21-2007, 02:30 AM   #7
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If it's tramlining, I agree it can a pain, but at the end of the day you can't expect good steering "feel" without some degree of road feedback

If you don't like steering feel here's a few options I can strongly recommend: Audi (special gold award), Toyota (incl Lexus but except Lexus IS), most Honda's and virtually any car with electrically asisted steering except the Mazda RX8 ( whose steering trounces BMW's IMHO) .
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      03-21-2007, 02:33 AM   #8
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yes tramlining and more roadfeel is normal, it means you have good tires and suspension and yes cars are deliberately adjusted to track to the outside of the road in case you fall asleep at the wheel
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      03-21-2007, 03:17 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jbake View Post
yes tramlining and more roadfeel is normal, it means you have good tires and suspension and yes cars are deliberately adjusted to track to the outside of the road in case you fall asleep at the wheel
I'm glad you agree. I wonder if it's illegal in Aust to get your car to track straight?
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      03-21-2007, 03:19 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by docbeemer View Post
I'm glad you agree. I wonder if it's illegal in Aust to get your car to track straight?
Funny story, the cars actually do track straight, the roads here are tapered to the left for that very reason.
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      03-21-2007, 03:35 AM   #11
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^You reckon? The eastern freeway has some pretty flat bits (there doesn't seem to be any slope) and the car still tracks slightly left. And Victorian road engineers/builders are not as good as they could be. Constant radius corners are only a relatively new concept to them (15-20 years) and there is almost always not enough camber on corners (you want to see good camber- a trip to germany or even new zealand will show you).

Besides, I love a good conspiracy!
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      03-21-2007, 05:35 PM   #12
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wait, i have 235/35/19 all round, and mine doesn't do this...?
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      03-21-2007, 08:52 PM   #13
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^your tyres aren't rfts are they? I'm sure it makes some difference.
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      03-22-2007, 12:10 AM   #14
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nah they are regular tyres
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      03-22-2007, 11:03 PM   #15
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so its the cars fault of the roads fault? i'm assuming the car...?
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      03-22-2007, 11:18 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER View Post
Funny story, the cars actually do track straight, the roads here are tapered to the left for that very reason.
I was under the impression that roads were built with a camber to allow surface water to run off when it rains.
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      03-23-2007, 12:48 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skyskie View Post
so its the cars fault of the roads fault? i'm assuming the car...?
To answer your question- it's both! The camber and road imperfetions cause the car's wheel to move and the BMW steering/suspension/tyre/wheel combination/design accentuates this. Steering feedback is very important in "sporty" cars but if you want dull steering with no feedback- buy a Lexus. They isolate you from the road and significantly decrease the phenomenon you are describing.

btw welcome to the forum! Don't forget to post pics of your car in the gallery thread
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      03-26-2007, 09:24 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by docbeemer View Post
To answer your question- it's both! The camber and road imperfetions cause the car's wheel to move and the BMW steering/suspension/tyre/wheel combination/design accentuates this. Steering feedback is very important in "sporty" cars but if you want dull steering with no feedback- buy a Lexus. They isolate you from the road and significantly decrease the phenomenon you are describing.

btw welcome to the forum! Don't forget to post pics of your car in the gallery thread
i'm gonna test the road imperfection thing by driving on the other side of the road. since the road cambers to the kerb side i'm assuming the car would be steering slightly to the right if i do so? i'll do that some time soon and will post the results.!! this will be interesting!!!
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      03-26-2007, 09:36 PM   #19
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I am surprised to hear that people think that someone would deliberately cause a car to pull to one side or the other. I agree with an earlier thread that it is a combination of the road and the feedback through the car.

Try putting your car on a perfectly flat straight road with 0 Kph wind speed (yes, this can make your car veer too), and it will go straight, unless you have a mechanical problem.
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      03-27-2007, 04:35 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JameB View Post
I was under the impression that roads were built with a camber to allow surface water to run off when it rains.
that's what i thought too

well, so says the rta anyway
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