E46 handling problems.....

[philchunghk]

I drive an E46 330CI Clubsport I find that driving on motorways at 70+ the car seems to be very unstable and the steering feels really light.

Does anyone else have the same problem???? Are the anyways to solve this problem????

[blackspider]

Tyre pressures to high.
Tracking out.
Low profile tyres which like to tramline-most noticable if you use the inside lane of the motorway(M4 between swindon and hungerford is a good example)-Tyres ride in the groves made by the lorries.

[philchunghk]

I have checked the tyres and the tracking they are all fine and correct. Also I use the middle lane or the outside lane so I don't think I'm in those tram line. Thanks for you help anyway.....

Edited by philchunghk on Monday 12th March 23:08

[A S P]

I had this on my e46 328 touring. When I got the car there was one mismatched tyre, as soon as I replaced it (replaced all 4 wheels & tyres actually) it was eliminated. If your tyres all match though and you're not aware of anything untoward happening to one of your wheels recently then I'm not sure. I presume that the car didn't suffer from this previously?

[philchunghk]

My car has been like this since I bought it. Just want to sort it out so it handles better. the faster i go the worse it goes.

Edited by philchunghk on Monday 12th March 23:54

[Rochester BMW]

70+ ?? private road sir?

[anonymous-user]

Had all the same problems with my 330d

Put the handbrake on, with car in neutral (not running!) ona flat surface.
Grab the top of one of the front wheels, give it a good shove backwards and forwards. If it moves more that seems sensible the rear "compliance" bushes on the lower front L arms are cream crackered. Mine were done under warranty a while back and the car is much better.

However all M-sport cars still do this to a degree due to the wide wheel and large scrub radius. Experiment with tyre pressures (+ or - 0.1bar around recommended) to help things a bit more. Also as your tyres wear the shoulders round off and the tramlining gets worse.

[toastboy]

I had exactly the same problem with my 330ci sport and while I never cured it, I did get used to it. I had a full geometry check, new tyres all around and new bushes but it was still tramlining and producing the same symptoms you describe. Keeping the tyres inflated properly does help but not much.

People wonder why BMWs stay in the fast lane. It's because they're a real handful in rutted lanes and the cars weave all over the place. Don't worry, you'll get used to it after a while.

[gareth h]

I was really disappointed with my 33od sport, fitted Eibach springs which improved things a bit but still not great.

[lmc]

Apart from the occasional tramlining at lower speed, my 330Ci is steady as a rock at all speeds. Its the SE not the sport, maybe the suspension setup is different.

Les

[philchunghk]

I was told that if i change the anti roll bars and suspensions the handling improves a lot. Has anyone tried this????

[gareth h]

Fit Eibach springs lower the car 20mm ish (or if you're feeling flush KW coilovers), then re evaluate I wouldn't have thought ARBs would be reqd

[philchunghk]

I want to lower my car but because my car is lowered standard I'm not sure how much to lower it by. A sport is lower than a SE but the Clubsport is lower than the sport. Does anyone know how much a Clubsport is lower than the SE?

Are KW a good make??? I was thinking about Bilstein pss9 or Hartge.

[JonRB]

I find my wife's 330i SE Sport Touring with the 18" M-tech wheels and suspension to have over-assisted and imprecise steering. I've just put that down to how the car is, but if there is some improvement that can be made then I'd be interesting in knowing, so will keep an eye on this thread.

[philchunghk]

I spoke to Birds in Uxbridge they are the main supplier for Hartge in the UK. I spoke to them about my problem and they advised that its a common problem with the E46. Its even the same with the M3. Their demo car has eliminated this problem with the suspension and anti roll bars changed. The only problem is that their products ain't cheap.

Here's their web page for referance: www.birds.uk.com/

I think I will use Bilstein PSS9 and Eibach Anti roll bars instead to solve the problem. If I can find out how much the clubsport lower than a standard 330CI then I would get some fixed height springs instead. That would be cheaper option.

[dumbfunk]

I had a 2001 330CiSport that had a few high speed stability problems. BMW checked the alignment and it was unchanged. Then a better BMW dealer checked them properly, changed the front tyres and it handled beautifully at speed from then on.

My brother has an identical 2003 model that's perfect and whilst I know it's not exactly the same, bmy current company car is a 320D with M suspension and 17" Bridgestones and on the autobahn North of Frankfurt there's virtually a "hands off the wheel" level of stability at 140mph.

(Sidenote: I since had Michelins fitted all round and it's gained some grip at the cost of a little stability.)


So, in my experience it's not normal and the car *should* handle fabulously.


dumbfunk

[philchunghk]

ok I will go to bmw to check the car out again.....

what size tyres do you have??? Mine is 225/45/18 at the front and 255/35/18 at the back.

[lmc]

JonRB said:

I find my wife's 330i SE Sport Touring with the 18" M-tech wheels and suspension to have over-assisted and imprecise steering. I've just put that down to how the car is, but if there is some improvement that can be made then I'd be interesting in knowing, so will keep an eye on this thread.

My 330Ci has the same wheels, with 225/45 on the front and 255/35 on the back. Pirelli P-zero Neros on the front and Pirelli P-zero Rossis on the rear. Apparently the neros give better grip under braking. The car is very stable at all speeds. Going really slow over a bad road though, and you feel every little bump. If you ran over a 5p piece, you could tell if it was heads or tails !

You mentioned the steering; what year is your wife's car ? Mine was registered in January 2001, which will make it a 2000 model. They had very "overboosted" power steering which was changed in September 2001 I think. Because it's your wife's car, you may not drive it that often, so you get "surprised" by the steering. I drive mine every day so I'm obviously used to it.

[JonRB]

lmc said:

You mentioned the steering; what year is your wife's car ? Mine was registered in January 2001, which will make it a 2000 model. They had very "overboosted" power steering which was changed in September 2001 I think. Because it's your wife's car, you may not drive it that often, so you get "surprised" by the steering. I drive mine every day so I'm obviously used to it.

The car is a "52" plate so I guess it's the 2002 model year.

I drive it most weekends (ie. whenever we go out as a family - nothing sexist, it's just my wife prefers me to drive) but the cars I'm comparing it against are a Corrado VR6 and a TVR Chimaera 500 which both have sublime steering so perhaps it's not a fair comparison.

Having said that, even my wife has commented that our 330i is over-assisted in the steering dept so perhaps it idn't just me.

[scoobywoods]

mine is an e46 330d sport which was superb until i changed the front tyres (225/40/18) i had michelins and replaced with falken fk-452's, it's all over the place!!