wandering
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 143
Likes: 0
From: floral city fl
wandering
my 99 seems to wander all over the road, every little crest or slight off set of the roadway and she wanders. does anyone else with a 99 have this problem. because my 03 has the select switch for sport and tour handleing it does not wander like my 99.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 431
Likes: 5
From: Chico CA
Could also be tramlining - a tendency to follow grooves or ridges in the road. Some tires are bad about that, others not so much.
The Michelin PS2 A/S ZP tires on my '99 Coupe were terrible about it. Car seemed to go wherever it wanted. Changed to an Avon all-season tire, and the problem went away.
Not so much all run-flats. The Goodyear F1 EMT tires that were OEM for my '02 vert didn't tramline noticeably at all. Neither did the replacement Michelins (newer series than on the '99). And they were run-flats.
This can also come from alignment, as noted earlier. But I didn't align the '99 - I just changed tires. If your tires are worn, that may contribute. But a toe-in close to zero, or a toe-out setting, will cause loss of on-center feel. Great for racing, less good for highway driving. Also, rear camber and toe are factors on these cars.
I see a lot more discussion of tramlining on the BMW forums, but it's an aggravating situation. The tires just follow the lines in the road, and off you go.
Good luck!
The Michelin PS2 A/S ZP tires on my '99 Coupe were terrible about it. Car seemed to go wherever it wanted. Changed to an Avon all-season tire, and the problem went away.
Not so much all run-flats. The Goodyear F1 EMT tires that were OEM for my '02 vert didn't tramline noticeably at all. Neither did the replacement Michelins (newer series than on the '99). And they were run-flats.
This can also come from alignment, as noted earlier. But I didn't align the '99 - I just changed tires. If your tires are worn, that may contribute. But a toe-in close to zero, or a toe-out setting, will cause loss of on-center feel. Great for racing, less good for highway driving. Also, rear camber and toe are factors on these cars.
I see a lot more discussion of tramlining on the BMW forums, but it's an aggravating situation. The tires just follow the lines in the road, and off you go.
Good luck!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 87
From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
I'd say you're seeing "tramlining" assuming your tire pressures are set at 30 cold.I've had different experiences to BowTieRocket. In Vegas on many of the freeways and a few of the neighborhood roads I'd get really bad tramlining. It improved when I fitted Michelin AS ZPs. That made sense because its the stiff sidewall of the runflat that causes the characteristic. The OEMs are much harder than the AS ZPs as they are rated for 200 miles flat against the 50 miles for AS ZPs. A hard sidewall = a harder ride and you'll "follow the grooves"
I dont find it as bad in England because the roads here tend to be tarmac not concrete. The only time I experience here it is on backroads with heavy camber.
Your 03 has the newer OEM tires that I'm told are rated to 50 miles flat and they will handle better than the 99. If the 99 has original tires that will explain it because tire compound hardens as it gets older. The harder the tire the more likely it is to be twitchy.
To improve the issue you'd be better with a non RF if you can live without the protection it gives.
Last edited by DeeGee; Jan 31, 2009 at 01:47 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 16,794
Likes: 62
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
follow this link to a set of alignment instructions.
Using the "Advanced Street" settings I have had no tramlining issues regardless of the tire on the C5's
http://www.vbandp.com/instructions/h...ruct/align.htm
Using the "Advanced Street" settings I have had no tramlining issues regardless of the tire on the C5's
http://www.vbandp.com/instructions/h...ruct/align.htm
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