E46 Convertible Chassis flex ?????

[chuckh]

Hi. My recently aquired M4 E 46 seems to wonder around at the rear when realy giving it the berries !. Especialy when lifting off the power aproaching a corner !. Whilst I appreciate that its a convertible So less stiff than a Coupe. Im still unsure whether it should do it !. Accelerating through the gears has the same loose feeling. But only under heavy throttle. I realise there is a fair amount of power transfer going on ! I just yesterday removed the wheels to clean the arches and the wheels back and front. And noticed that the springs (rear) seem like new !. They are Eihbachs. Could this be anything to do with it Or is it simply a handling trait of the M3 Convertible ?? TIA.

[Dave Dax builder]

Sounds like your trailing arm bushes are shot.

[Pugsey]

Sounds like something wrong - I went from an E46 M3Coupe to a Cab and there was very very little difference on road and certainly nothing like you suggest. Infact the Cab. handled UK roads very slightly better than the Coupe as it was on 18"s as opposed to the Coupe's 19"s

[chuckh]

Dave Dax builder said:

Sounds like your trailing arm bushes are shot.

Yes Mate You may well be right !!Is this a big job ??
Also My car is on 19s

[Dave Dax builder]

chuckh said:

Dave Dax builder said:

Sounds like your trailing arm bushes are shot.

Yes Mate You may well be right !!Is this a big job ??
Also My car is on 19s

Dunno, Had mine done under warranty. The car should hav a full KDS check once these are fitted to ensure proper geometry. This all seems pretty precise stuff....until you look at the +/- tollerence figures they have at the dealers.
If you are going to tackle the job yourself just make sure you mark up the mounting brackets before you undo them so that you can put them back in exactly the same position when you put it all back together.(Quite easy to mark as there are holes in them that you can scribe through onto the chassis. I added a limiter kit to mine after BMW changed the bushes using the "scribe" method.)

[chuckh]

Dave Dax builder said:

chuckh said:

Dave Dax builder said:

Sounds like your trailing arm bushes are shot.

Yes Mate You may well be right !!Is this a big job ??
Also My car is on 19s

Dunno, Had mine done under warranty. The car should hav a full KDS check once these are fitted to ensure proper geometry. This all seems pretty precise stuff....until you look at the +/- tollerence figures they have at the dealers.
If you are going to tackle the job yourself just make sure you mark up the mounting brackets before you undo them so that you can put them back in exactly the same position when you put it all back together.(Quite easy to mark as there are holes in them that you can scribe through onto the chassis. I added a limiter kit to mine after BMW changed the bushes using the "scribe" method.)

Realy appreciate Your input Mate I have access to a ramp and will check out the wear and tear this weekend Then order any parts needed !!

[M3desmo]

As Dave has said, it is most likely to be the rear trailing arm bushes. They only cost about £8 each. You can't really check them properly for wear whilst they are fitted to the car, but I'd be confident enough to say that they would need replacing with the symptom that you described. It's about an hour's labour per side to change them and then the geo check.

The car will be transformed once they are replaced. Really is a big difference! If you want even better, then fit a Turner Motorsport bush limiter kit too as this eliminates most of the free play either side of the bushes and the control, on and off the power is markedly better.

[m12_nathan]

look on the madrussian website for a guide to RTAB, once you've sorted that them check for cracked springs and lastly the diff...