Tramlining?

[step_change]

My Z4 does it too. It can be really bad sometimes and very twitchy on certain roads.
My 535D on Run flats also does it but nowhere near as bad.

[Hilly30si]

When you get into the lorry troughs as I call them its does not matter what tyres you have on. The wide wheels on the todays cars just follow the lines

[Ewazix]

Okay, a week and a half and 1000 miles under my belt, i've come to notice something that's bugging me about my new Z4C.

At high speeds on motorways: no problems.
At lower speeds, on a or B roads: the car just wants to go wherever the road says, not where I want it to. It follows cambers in the road and feels like it's floating along.

Now, I've checked the tyres, I have Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta's on the front (225/40/18). The tread depth is getting low and the inner side seems to be wearing a touch more than the outside. On the rear I have Vredestein Ultrac Vorti's (255/35/18) with plenty of tread and what appears to be consistent tread wear.

So the question is, is this a common thing? Is it due to low weight and low profiles, or is it that my alignment might be subtly out? Or do I want new tyres??

Many thanks.
Pete

The article I posted earlier specifically mentions worn tyres being more prone to tramlining and it's been mentioned as a cause by several members before
"because tires become more responsive as their tread depth wears away (which is why tires are shaved for competition and track use), a tire will become more likely to tramline as it wears"
https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirera ... dvice.html

[Mr Tidy]

Hope you get it sorted OP.

From my previous BMW ownership I tended to find tyres wore more on the outer edges, so maybe tracking is out?

But I always noticed that worn tyres made tramlining worse, and when they were getting worn any slight drop in pressure made it worse still!

My first Z4 was pretty bad until I got the lollipops changed, but even after that it was still more prone to wandering than my current one although I don't know why.

Sounds like a thorough suspension check and refresh as required plus new tyres and a Hunter alignment may be a plan - or just stick to high speeds.

[ronk]

They aren't runflats - don't even bother to look!
Vredestein specified running pressures are normally higher than the vehicle manufacturers specs. Have a look on the Vredestein web page.

[daggers]

got rid of my run flats best thing I ever did its actually driveable now

[kis]

I too was confused about the runflat comments, OP never stated them? Although whole heartedly agree they should be ditched ASAP if you're running them.

Tyre change looks in order as you said they're getting low anyway. Rubber age will also play a part in the overall performance. You can check when it was manufactured which will give you a rough indication of when fitted (+1 or 2 years). Guide here.

Hows the alignment? I'd have a full check up done when you sort out new tyres

[step_change]

As I said in my earlier contribution, I sometimes get the tramlining on certain roads. Steering goes very light and jittery, almost liek driving on ice.
I had my car MoTd'd today, which it passed..... However, I have an advisory:
"Suspension arm has slight play in a pin/bush nearside front (rear) 2.4.G.2"

Coudl that be contriburting to it maybe?

[kis]

Front bushes, common on most BM's. So yeah I'd say so. Many people replace with powerflex as they last longer...

[step_change]

Are the front bushes the "lollipops" that people refer to on here?

[hopz121]

Are the front bushes the "lollipops" that people refer to on here?

Yep

[George7]

I ditched the run flats and what a transformation!!!
Speaking to my brother who is in the tyre industry, he suspects the car had been run with too low pressure which wears the outsides and 'cups' the tyres, so when inflated properly less than normal rubber is in contact with the road across the width, in reality it's not much anyway but if worn on the outsides. As per previous posts, doesn't matter whether it's runflats or not, if they've been under pressure they'll tramlines at some point in their life
George

[Boris]

Okay, checked this morning, there's nothing on the tyres to indicate that they are RF. I'll check the pressures before I go out tomorrow.

Thanks for all the great advice.

I have just bought a Z4 (non runflats) as I always do, I checked the tyre pressures when I got then car.

They weren't overly inflated but were to manufacturers max load capacity, I reduced them to the minimum load setting and it has transformed the car, much more feel to the steering and more settled on the road.

Worth giving it a go.

Cheers

Nev

[Tomsdad]

Probably too obvious to mention. But I have had my Z4 for a few months now. It was nightmarish to drive. Just thought it was the run flats.
I have had the wheels refurbed and was told that 2 wheels were slightly buckled. They fixed the wheels and what a difference. Just a different car now.

[Rquick1]

Mine stoppedd Tramling after I put about 5,000 miles on new tires.