Twitchy Steering on E36? Dodgy Offset?

"Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
...
> 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.

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

"The Malt Hound" <Malt_Hound@*no spam please*yahoo.com> wrote in message
...
>
> "Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
> ...
> > 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.
>
> 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.
>


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 ,
Jeff Strickland > decided to enlighten our sheltered
souls with a rant as follows
> "The Malt Hound" <Malt_Hound@*no spam please*yahoo.com> wrote in
> message ...
>>
>> "Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> 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.
>>
>> 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.
>>
>
>
> 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.

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
> 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
> ******s Machine.


--
Pete M

Mercedes 260E
Ford Capri (ressurection started)
"Never moon a werewolf"

COSOC #5
Scouse Git extraordinaire. Liverpool, Great Britain

"Pete M" > wrote in
:

> 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
>> ******s Machine.
>

Maybe I'll stop crossposting


--
Lordy

Apparently on date 1 Feb 2005 22:28:12 GMT, Lordy > said:

>"Pete M" > wrote in
:
>
>> 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
>>> ******s 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,