[carbonSI]

For the past 9 months my 320si has been suffering problems with steering wander etc. Just had it aligned now for the 4th time and believe the results are smack on now. Unfortunately this hasn't cured it

Been to Bmw twice and they can't find the problem. Is it now time to get rid?

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by carbonSI

For the past 9 months my 320si has been suffering problems with steering wander etc. Just had it aligned now for the 4th time and believe the results are smack on now. Unfortunately this hasn't cured it

Been to Bmw twice and they can't find the problem. Is it now time to get rid?

Si ia brilliant concept but I found most of its owners sell them.
Get rid of it.

[m1bjr]

CSI - Very first thing is fit new tyres up front and see if it improves.
Falkens seem unstable when worn, I have noted this also.

The lower control arms do wear out, often <70k miles. This will cause it.
Are you high mileage?

Other known issues are the Power Steering - presume you have hydraulics on a 2006 car?
So, if all else fails and you want to keep the car, try disabling the PS pump by dropping the serpantine belt BRIEFLY.
Just long enough to test the car with no power steer pump.
It will still wander (although VERY hard to steer so take care) if its suspension issues.

Crazy to move a car on for no real reason. Its getting on a bit so you must expect to spend money.

Mileage then?

[doughboy]

Falken FK452, even when new, do wander and tramline to a certain extent, much more so than 'premium' tyres like PS2 or Conti sport 3 in my experience.

I just put FK452 on mine and the tramlining is marked, but I just ignore it / get used to it and get on with wearing out come cheap rubber!

Much worse over white lines, but its only a wiggle, in a away its nice to have a bit of 'life' in the steeering, reassuring to feel surface / grip changes underfoot.

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by doughboy

Falken FK452, even when new, do wander and tramline to a certain extent, much more so than 'premium' tyres like PS2 or Conti sport 3 in my experience.

.

I think it depends on what you come from. When I fitted 452's after Runflats, the tramlining was vastly improved. I also found tramlining on the Bridgestone RF's to be worse on 18's than 19's.

Interestingly I have just fitted four new Yoki's to my old Mondeo estate, a car that from day one of ownership has always wandered on motorways. So much so it's been back to the dealers while under warranty, to be checked over. The new tyres has improved things no end.

[Statler]

I've found that runflat tyre pressures make a huge difference as well.

I'm running 17" Hankook winters at the moment and they are straight and true on the roads I drive whereas the 19" Bridgestone RF's used to wander to the left on the same roads. Weekly pressure checks with the RF's were necessary but didn't help the odd outer edge wear on back and front tyres. Bizarre.

[IanS100]

The RF's on my e90 are a pita. It's ok on very smooth roads but get one with a few repairs and undulations and it's all over the shop

[carbonSI]

Thnx for the replies, cars done 60k. The Falkens are brand new. Been to three indies and they all say, pump and ball joints and other suspension componenets seem fine???

My father reckons the teeth in the rack are damaged or worn yet no indie or garage has really tested to see if the rack is worn. Really wish i'd upgraded to a gti edition 30 from my gt tdi mk5. Steering at speeds above a ton was really weighty where as this is just all over the place. Hate it when garages say its fine now when you know thats BS!!

I think i made a couple of mistakes when buying this car, 1 being getting it from a car supermarket (carshop) and the car itself as the performance is not great and turns out i've bought a lemon.

[magic77]

find this ver interesting just gone to 18" falkens 452s on a 8j and 8.5j rears and have to say after 300 miles I havent noticed any tramlining, overall its a vast improvement. Before the 18" I was on 17" winters and before that 17" contis non tramlined or where as harsh as the OEM bridgestone RFT. I have setup the falkens couple of points above OEM 18" RFT figures for tyre presures so if 2.7 I'm running 2.9 and it seem to work great

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by magic77

find this ver interesting just gone to 18" falkens 452s on a 8j and 8.5j rears and have to say after 300 miles I havent noticed any tramlining, overall its a vast improvement. Before the 18" I was on 17" winters and before that 17" contis non tramlined or where as harsh as the OEM bridgestone RFT. I have setup the falkens couple of points above OEM 18" RFT figures for tyre presures so if 2.7 I'm running 2.9 and it seem to work great

Sounds good to me. I dont think i made the point that what im experiencing is not tramlining but basically no control when driving straight. have to keep making tiny adjustments to keep it straight like an old land rover i guess. ive heard good things about the falkens on here and give a lot better ride than the oem bs's. Ive had glimpses of my cars handling after an alignment but then after a day it seems to go out of alignment. basically theres something seriously wrong with my steering. seems if bmw cant find whats wrong from a computer; there clueless how to diagnose anything. Saying that ive found that with the indies too. latest naming and shaming goes to auto tech performance telford. lets just say the customer service was a little lacking lmao

[Sir_Pigley]

I reckon you should meet up with another forum member with a Falken shod car and compare them. Possibly even swap wheels and compare.

My Falken equipped MV3 wheels are sitting in my garage at the moment as I have not taken off my winter set. If you want to come over and swap them over to see if it makes any difference you are very welcome. I'm near Stratford on Avon, so maybe not too far from you.

[AlanYoro35i]

What kind of alightment did you use? Was it the hunter laser tracking?

My car has the charactistic of going to the left side no matter where I am.. I had my wheels re-balanced and the laser tracking done.. it drives very well.. also mentioned before the air pressure is important too..one of front was lower than the rest. But all sort now

[TMP]

Originally Posted by doughboy

Falken FK452, even when new, do wander and tramline to a certain extent, much more so than 'premium' tyres like PS2 or Conti sport 3 in my experience.

I just put FK452 on mine and the tramlining is marked, but I just ignore it / get used to it and get on with wearing out come cheap rubber!

Much worse over white lines, but its only a wiggle, in a away its nice to have a bit of 'life' in the steeering, reassuring to feel surface / grip changes underfoot.

I certainly agree on the feel compared to the flintstones, and 452's do trameline less.

But suppose (and for the money they should be) the CS3 / PS2 will be better still

I think 452 are still the performance bargain of the century and have not yet had a an issue with grip as they are much more progressive.

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by Sir_Pigley

I reckon you should meet up with another forum member with a Falken shod car and compare them. Possibly even swap wheels and compare.

My Falken equipped MV3 wheels are sitting in my garage at the moment as I have not taken off my winter set. If you want to come over and swap them over to see if it makes any difference you are very welcome. I'm near Stratford on Avon, so maybe not too far from you.

thanx for the offer, will have a think. My father has just had his car repaired at a freindly garage with a good rep. Have booked it in to check rack etc. Pressures are fine and balanced. theres a slight buckle in both front wheels but they balance fine and pretty sure not the cause of my symptoms...

[Sir_Pigley]

I suspect that's your problem. I have had buckled MV3 wheels and despite the fact that they apparently balance OK I still ended up with vibration and general roughness.

When I replaced them with straight ones from BM Autosport my car was transformed, REALLY transformed. Motorway refinement was dramatically improved and it was much much nicer to drive. I had been growing tired of the car, but that feeling totally went away with the new wheels and I started enjoying the car again.

This was with my previous 330d. My current one has a bad buckle on the front wheel. I am planning to send it to Lepsons to be straightened and reconditioned.

I don't trust buying second hand from anyone but a professional outfit like BM Autosport - who will guarantee the wheel is straight. Buying second hand off eBay is fraught with risks as sellers can often not be aware of small buckles and you don't want to get into the hassle of buying and returning etc. However BM Autosport will charge £170 for a good wheel.

Lepsons say they can fix the wheel for £35+VAT without refurbishment or £58+VAT with refurbishment. Worth a try I reckon.

[Subzero2003]

Originally Posted by Yoro35i

What kind of alightment did you use? Was it the hunter laser tracking?

I'd like to know this too!

[carbonSI]

Sorry i had hunter hawk eye with latest bmw coding (believe its the same as dealers) its been aligned about 4 times. last one being smack on now. i can feel the play in the steering when going
slow and high speed. so either play in the uj's or rack is worn or perhaps pump is at fault because when cold the steering becomes very hard so buckles wouldnt cause this.

My problem is no one seems to be able to fix these issues today unless a computer tells them whats wrong. The guy im taking it to next is old skool so i wait in hope..

[AlanYoro35i]

Ok,

There is also few possiblitly.. one being your wheels are buckled and the other is there isasmall bump developed inside the tyre . Have you check if you have enough steering fuild?

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by Yoro35i

Ok,

There is also few possiblitly.. one being your wheels are buckled and the other is there isasmall bump developed inside the tyre . Have you check if you have enough steering fuild?

PS fluid is fine and fluid nice and clear. Theres defo something worn in the steering system i can feel it. All i want is a car that just goes stops and steers. Really didnt expect a 30k bmw to have so many problems with only 60k on the clock.

Its not only the steering thats an issue. Theres a whine from the diff when speed increases. The gear box sometimes goes into reverse sometimes when trying to select 1st (selectors proly gone). Its got that clutch judder which the 320d's are famous for and the interior sounds like a babys rattle lmao. I did drive a 320d the other day was an se but with same hydraulic steering. was fine!

[AlanYoro35i]

[QUOTE=carbonSI;11456008]PS fluid is fine and fluid nice and clear. Theres defo something worn in the steering system i can feel it. All i want is a car that just goes stops and steers. Really didnt expect a 30k bmw to have so many problems with only 60k on the clock.

Its not only the steering thats an issue. Theres a whine from the diff when speed increases. The gear box sometimes goes into reverse sometimes when trying to select 1st (selectors proly gone). Its got that clutch judder which the 320d's are famous for and the interior sounds like a babys rattle lmao. I did drive a 320d the other day was an se but with same hydraulic steering. was fine![/QUO

Write a long detailed letter to
bmw hq.. saying bmw dealers reportly to refuses to check for any problem or take it to another bmw dealer..I think yhe forumguys say bmw battersea has the best techs and actually knows their stuffs.

[carbonSI]

[QUOTE=Yoro35i;11456457]

Originally Posted by carbonSI

PS fluid is fine and fluid nice and clear. Theres defo something worn in the steering system i can feel it. All i want is a car that just goes stops and steers. Really didnt expect a 30k bmw to have so many problems with only 60k on the clock.

Its not only the steering thats an issue. Theres a whine from the diff when speed increases. The gear box sometimes goes into reverse sometimes when trying to select 1st (selectors proly gone). Its got that clutch judder which the 320d's are famous for and the interior sounds like a babys rattle lmao. I did drive a 320d the other day was an se but with same hydraulic steering. was fine![/QUO

Write a long detailed letter to
bmw hq.. saying bmw dealers reportly to refuses to check for any problem or take it to another bmw dealer..I think yhe forumguys say bmw battersea has the best techs and actually knows their stuffs.

I did write to bmw saying id spent hundreds of pounds on two occasions and no one can. help. She replied with 'sorry to hear about your steering. we cant comment on your car but we have trust in all our dealerships so get back in touch with them to sort out your issue' nearly PMSL at that response. Wish i lived near the battersea one lol

[IanS100]

It sounds from the list of faults that the car may have done much more then 60k miles, do you have all the MOTs or can you ask BMW to give you a printout of the service history?