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Tramlining?

2003 - 2009, roadster, coupe, facelift
PTR101
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Tramlining?

Post by PTR101 » Wed Apr 26, 2017 7:37 pm

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

and7rp2
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Tramlining?

Post by and7rp2 » Wed Apr 26, 2017 7:52 pm

Ditch the run flats.
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wingnut
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Tramlining?

Post by wingnut » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:02 pm

I had similar problems with run flats, once I replaced them then no problems.

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RickRob
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Tramlining?

Post by RickRob » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:09 pm

PTR101 wrote: Wed Apr 26, 2017 7:37 pm 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
I had exactly the same issue with mine when I got it. Worn, but legal, Vredstein Ultrac Sessantas (non-run flats) on the front and car determined to follow the road and not the steering wheel. Initially I thought that it was just what got with a stiffly sprung sports car.

However, I changed the fronts for Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics and wow, what a transformation. (Subsequently changed the rears for the same. Good, but not much difference.)

Even Mrs R, not known for being the world's most "sympathetic" driver, noticed the difference. The downside was that Mrs R now drives the Zed a lot more than she did. :lol:
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Tramlining?

Post by greg1953 » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:25 pm

I had the same issue, replaced front wishbone bushes has reduced it considerably but most cars with wide tyres do this to a greater or lesser degree.

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RyanB88
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Tramlining?

Post by RyanB88 » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:31 pm

One word - runflats!
Z4 now sold :(

Current - M235i :thumbsup:

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Ewazix
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Tramlining?

Post by Ewazix » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:34 pm

greg1953 wrote: Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:25 pm I had the same issue, replaced front wishbone bushes has reduced it considerably but most cars with wide tyres do this to a greater or lesser degree.
Your'e right, mine took some sorting switching from RFT's made a huge difference then bushes as you say, springs and several 4-wheel alignments later it's sorted. This is a good article showing just how many different factors are involved in tramlining

American article but tramlining is a universal curse :) https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech ... ?techid=47
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mr wilks
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Tramlining?

Post by mr wilks » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:57 pm

and7rp2 wrote: Wed Apr 26, 2017 7:52 pm Ditch the run flats.
Unlikely to be the op,s solution as he's on Vredestein tyres which don't do runflats :?
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mr wilks
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Tramlining?

Post by mr wilks » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:57 pm

RyanB88 wrote: Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:31 pm One word - runflats!
OP is not on runflats :?
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mr wilks
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Tramlining?

Post by mr wilks » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:58 pm

and7rp2 wrote: Wed Apr 26, 2017 7:52 pm Ditch the run flats.

OP doesn't have them :?
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PTR101
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Tramlining?

Post by PTR101 » Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:19 pm

I just did a quick google, it seems that there is a run flat option for the Sessanta, i'm not sure if I have it. I'll check tomorrow.

Otherwise, it seems a pretty clear course of action. I'll look into new tyres, get it booked in for alignment and have the bushes checked.

Thanks all.

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mr wilks
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Tramlining?

Post by mr wilks » Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:28 pm

PTR101 wrote: Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:19 pm I just did a quick google, it seems that there is a run flat option for the Sessanta, i'm not sure if I have it.
Really :o :? rarer than hen's shazzy i would expect
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Tramlining?

Post by D4dawg » Wed Apr 26, 2017 11:41 pm

As above
Ms don't use nor come with runflats
But low tyres and that brand does seem to suffer on some cars
Is replace all tyres buddy with high end tyres as an M
And get a geo check
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Only use on dry
So could use new mps4s or gyf1

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Tramlining?

Post by hopz121 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 7:52 am

Check tyres too see if you have non run flats would be my first port of call, you want all tyres to be either run flats or not run flats ideally.

Next I would check tyre pressures 34 front, 36 rear I found works well.

Next I would check your rear trailing arm bushes and front rear wishbones bushes (lollipops)

If all these things are good I would go and have a proper 4 wheel alignment and hopefully that will resolve it, if you give people an indication of where you are based you may get some recommendations too. Most fast fit tyre centres like kwik fit don't do a proper job so worth going somewhere who knows what they are doing.
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PTR101
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Tramlining?

Post by PTR101 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 11:58 am

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.

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