wandering on poor road surface
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 457
Likes: 54
From: Dallas, Oregon
wandering on poor road surface
I know our cars are supposed to ride/drive like they're on rails. Mine doesn't, at least on a road with a rough or uneven surface. Tires are good, alignment is recent, and drives like it should on the interstate. But where the road surface is poor, due to paving or wear issues, the car wants to 'jump' around, side to side, or 'wander' a bit. I've heard that a particular suspension part is chiefly responsible for controlling this. Can anyone off up what the issue likely is? Thanks!!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 2,662
Likes: 1,386
From: Orange County, CA
Would you say the term "tramlining" describes the behavior?
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=47
From what I understand, this can even be the result of specific tire models. i.e. the Falken FK452 I ran back in the day on other cars were kind of known for increased tramlining compared to other tire models.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=47
From what I understand, this can even be the result of specific tire models. i.e. the Falken FK452 I ran back in the day on other cars were kind of known for increased tramlining compared to other tire models.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 22,786
Likes: 483
From: Douglas County WI
There is a stretch of road about a mile long that I travel on occasionally that throws my C5 around from side to side about a foot to a foot and a half. Every time I drive on it. The car doesn't wander on any other roads like that. So it may just be the road surface.
Last edited by glbeauchamp; Mar 31, 2020 at 08:42 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 4,449
Likes: 409
From: Portland OR
Where in Orygun Dan?
Im in Portland, and mine is pretty much pissed off on all the local freeways.
Smooth roads are great. Any repaved are great.
I have Older Continental DES tires with the large center grooves. They will follow a crack in the pavement. Absolutely hate them!
Ron
Im in Portland, and mine is pretty much pissed off on all the local freeways.
Smooth roads are great. Any repaved are great.
I have Older Continental DES tires with the large center grooves. They will follow a crack in the pavement. Absolutely hate them!
Ron
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 113
Likes: 28
Tramlining is common. It happened in my M3 as well. It is a product wider performance tires and is more pronounced in a staggered setup like we vette owners have. I run Nitto 555 G2s right now and my car does it a lot. We have a lot of grooved concrete highway and the car just rocks back and forth following the grooves. My M3 stopped doing it when I squared the tire setup, but I hated how it handled so I went back to staggered and dealt with the tramlining.
Last edited by RichyB33; Apr 1, 2020 at 09:11 AM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 457
Likes: 54
From: Dallas, Oregon
Would you say the term "tramlining" describes the behavior?
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=47
From what I understand, this can even be the result of specific tire models. i.e. the Falken FK452 I ran back in the day on other cars were kind of known for increased tramlining compared to other tire models.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=47
From what I understand, this can even be the result of specific tire models. i.e. the Falken FK452 I ran back in the day on other cars were kind of known for increased tramlining compared to other tire models.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 457
Likes: 54
From: Dallas, Oregon
There is a stretch of road about a mile long that I travel on occasionally that throws my C5 around from side to side about a foot to a foot and a half. Every time I drive on it. The car doesn't wander on any other roads like that. So it may just be the road surface.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 457
Likes: 54
From: Dallas, Oregon
Where in Orygun Dan?
Im in Portland, and mine is pretty much pissed off on all the local freeways.
Smooth roads are great. Any repaved are great.
I have Older Continental DES tires with the large center grooves. They will follow a crack in the pavement. Absolutely hate them!
Ron
Im in Portland, and mine is pretty much pissed off on all the local freeways.
Smooth roads are great. Any repaved are great.
I have Older Continental DES tires with the large center grooves. They will follow a crack in the pavement. Absolutely hate them!
Ron
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 457
Likes: 54
From: Dallas, Oregon
I'm certain this was discussed on CF last fall. Seems like end links were accused; sway bar? Doesn't seem likely. Others (forgot the part name)? Possible...
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 110
Likes: 24
From: Siler City, NC
I've replace end links, swaybars, tie rod ends, upper and lower ball joints, shocks, brakes and tires, and had it aligned several times. Just got a set of Hankook Ventus V12 EVO2's and it still wonders on several roads I travel. It run perfectly on the interstate, but on those back roads, you have to be ready... It is definitely aggravating but I guess its part of owning a C5 and the types of tires as many have stated above.
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 157
Likes: 48
From: Charlevoix, Mi
I've replace end links, swaybars, tie rod ends, upper and lower ball joints, shocks, brakes and tires, and had it aligned several times. Just got a set of Hankook Ventus V12 EVO2's and it still wonders on several roads I travel. It run perfectly on the interstate, but on those back roads, you have to be ready... It is definitely aggravating but I guess its part of owning a C5 and the types of tires as many have stated above.
Last edited by Bubba1951; Apr 1, 2020 at 01:37 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,306
Likes: 747
Tires are the majority of the issue with tramlining in my experience. I've had 3 different sets of tires on in the past 2 years. Base C5 sized Sumitomos didn't do it. C5Z sized R888s did it a little bit. Now 345 R888s in the rear and it does it even more. There are some roads I really try not to drive on as it just looks like I'm drunk.
Last edited by heggsc5; Apr 1, 2020 at 04:43 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,937
Likes: 1,925
From: NC
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I had a similar issue on my '07 Z06 with ZR1 wheels (20/19) and Michelin runflats . The car only had 8K miles on it. It was not a fun drive on bad rutted roads. The short stiff sidewalls made it intolerable. I bought new Forgeline wheels (19/18) and new Michelin Pilot Sport tires. The difference on my car was amazing. So much better driving car. So like others have said tires are probably the biggest cause of this condition.
