[carbonSI]

Merry xmas all!

Before i replace my front alloys due to being both buckled (no doubt due to rfts ) the buckles are only very slight, i can see a very slight vibration in the steering wheel at low speeds then disapears. My father reckons that as its only very slight, this wouldn't cause the issue that i have reg having to keep making tiny adjustments to make the thing go straight.

Anyone else had buckled wheels at the front which caused handling issues? and can i get them repaired or is that dangerous?

[bmwak]

Unless quite severe, you shouldn't notice any handling issues. Talking from experience as My old 1 series had buckled fronts (only slight, but had no handling issues).

There were places that would straighten them but warned that it will. Make them weaker, hence more prone to buckling easily again in the future. To be honest your better off replacing them with new ones.

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by bmwak

Unless quite severe, you shouldn't notice any handling issues. Talking from experience as My old 1 series had buckled fronts (only slight, but had no handling issues).

There were places that would straighten them but warned that it will. Make them weaker, hence more prone to buckling easily again in the future. To be honest your better off replacing them with new ones.

Thanks for the reply. looks like two new rims then. Its the only thing left that i can think of that would cause the steering wander when going straight, sick of how tiring it is to drive. it does go round bends ok.

[bmwak]

Originally Posted by carbonSI

Thanks for the reply. looks like two new rims then. Its the only thing left that i can think of that would cause the steering wander when going straight, sick of how tiring it is to drive. it does go round bends ok.

No probs

What sort of mileage has the car done? Wandering can be caused by bushes too so worthwhile having those checked for excessive play/wear if you've done over 50k I'd think.

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by bmwak

No probs

What sort of mileage has the car done? Wandering can be caused by bushes too so worthwhile having those checked for excessive play/wear if you've done over 50k I'd think.

Cars on 59k, been to bmw three times in the last few months. They can't find any problem but did mention that fronts were buckled. Il be driving along at say 40 and the car just wants to veer this way and that, steering never seems to centre itself, this is defo more than tramlining as we had a civic which tramlined but would centre itself. This is really tiring specially on m'ways.

Cr had a recent 4 wheel laser align, result was all within spec. chap said ditch the run flats which i did but still doing it. Theres no sticking breaks but sometimes when stopping the steering wheel is all over the place.

I spose the only way to check if it is the buckled wheels would be to try another set for a couple of miles, theres an alloy place down the road, i know the chap there, slip him a tenner just to try it.

[carbonSI]

Out of interest Bmwak, does your motor display any of these traits? cus im thinking is this an E90 trait, and if it is il have to get rid cus its awful!

[seanblee]

Pretty sure it's not an E90 trait. Can't you pop to your dealer and test drive another from their forecourt if you're in doubt?

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by seanblee

Pretty sure it's not an E90 trait. Can't you pop to your dealer and test drive another from their forecourt if you're in doubt?

Thats a pretty good idea, hate going there tbh tho lol

[bmwak]

Originally Posted by carbonSI

Out of interest Bmwak, does your motor display any of these traits? cus im thinking is this an E90 trait, and if it is il have to get rid cus its awful!

Mine is a E92 (just done 10,000 miles) and there is no noticable wandering or steering vibrations whatsoever. Sometimes you do get a bit of tramlining but thats due to the 19's and runflats.

My old 1 Series (done 80,000 miles) did however have far more tramlining and did have a bit of wandering. Another thing you should have checked is the wheel balancing (but as you've had your wheels checked out for buckles I suspect your tyre place/BMW already checked this as a matter of course).

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by bmwak

Mine is a E92 (just done 10,000 miles) and there is no noticable wandering or steering vibrations whatsoever. Sometimes you do get a bit of tramlining but thats due to the 19's and runflats.

My old 1 Series (done 80,000 miles) did however have far more tramlining and did have a bit of wandering. Another thing you should have checked is the wheel balancing (but as you've had your wheels checked out for buckles I suspect your tyre place/BMW already checked this as a matter of course).

Well got the tyres fitted by Event tyres so maybe worth checking again to see if they are in balance. Was your 1 series like that due to worn components? Thing is it did the same before i had the non rfts fitted as well...

[bmwak]

Originally Posted by carbonSI

Well got the tyres fitted by Event tyres so maybe worth checking again to see if they are in balance. Was your 1 series like that due to worn components? Thing is it did the same before i had the non rfts fitted as well...

I'd look into re-balancing and adjusting tyre pressures to see if it makes any difference in the first instance. With my E92 I actually keep the tyre pressures 0.5 bar below BMW's recommended ones. Any more than this and the handling gets very hard and gets a little crashy.

My 1 Series had a few suspension issues, I had a leaking shock (which was replaced as a pair and it was better after but not as good as how my e92 is) but was told the wishbone bushes were going also. I PX'd it in before doing this work so can't say but other than that everything was fine on this.

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by bmwak

I'd look into re-balancing and adjusting tyre pressures to see if it makes any difference in the first instance. With my E92 I actually keep the tyre pressures 0.5 bar below BMW's recommended ones. Any more than this and the handling gets very hard and gets a little crashy.

My 1 Series had a few suspension issues, I had a leaking shock (which was replaced as a pair and it was better after but not as good as how my e92 is) but was told the wishbone bushes were going also. I PX'd it in before doing this work so can't say but other than that everything was fine on this.

Currently running 0.1 bar above the rft pressure on the door card for the falkens. Do you think thats too low. My old man reckons even with new front alloys it wouldnt fix it. Surely when you take a car to the stealers there gonna try and rince you but in my case they said the power steering is fine. would have thought they would check bushes etc?? They said after test drive steering seemed heavy and it pulls to the left and f wheels were buckled.


Going to take your advice and get the tyres balanced again and go from there

[bmwak]

Originally Posted by carbonSI

Currently running 0.1 bar above the rft pressure on the door card for the falkens. Do you think thats too low. My old man reckons even with new front alloys it wouldnt fix it. Surely when you take a car to the stealers there gonna try and rince you but in my case they said the power steering is fine. would have thought they would check bushes etc?? They said after test drive steering seemed heavy and it pulls to the left and f wheels were buckled.


Going to take your advice and get the tyres balanced again and go from there

I would try playing around with the tyre pressures and see what you find comfortable - but don't exceed the recommended pressures too much or go too low as this can cause uneven wear on your tyres.

I would get the suspension components checked out by an independant garage if possible - thats what I did.

See how adjusting the tyre pressures and the re-balancing goes and see if you notice any improvements, before looking at shelling out more cash.

[AlwynMike]

Are your wheels staggered? If not, then swap front to back temporarily, not forgetting to adjust the tyre pressures to suit.

Too high a tyre pressure, particularly in the fronts will cause wandering.

Tramlining, as I'm sure you know will happen suddenly - it won't be vague.

Any MOT garage will check your suspension bushes for you relatively cheaply - don't expect a $tealer to have checked anything that wasn't specifically written down.

At that mileage I wouldn't expect there to be much play in the steering rack, but the aforementioned MOT place can easily check that too.
A competent MOT tester will be able to check the bushes and rack for excess play in about 15 minutes, once it's over the pit.

IMHO buckled rims won't cause wandering or vagueness in the steering.

Mike

[Sir_Pigley]

What tyres do you have on the car - front and back info please (make, model, rft or not, tread depth, size).

Try meeting up with another forum member who's car drives OK and swap wheels about between the cars to see if it makes any difference.

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by AlwynMike

Are your wheels staggered? If not, then swap front to back temporarily, not forgetting to adjust the tyre pressures to suit.

Too high a tyre pressure, particularly in the fronts will cause wandering.

Tramlining, as I'm sure you know will happen suddenly - it won't be vague.

Any MOT garage will check your suspension bushes for you relatively cheaply - don't expect a $tealer to have checked anything that wasn't specifically written down.

At that mileage I wouldn't expect there to be much play in the steering rack, but the aforementioned MOT place can easily check that too.
A competent MOT tester will be able to check the bushes and rack for excess play in about 15 minutes, once it's over the pit.

IMHO buckled rims won't cause wandering or vagueness in the steering.

Mike

Thanks Mike for the advice and also BMWak, yeah my dad reckons the wheels are fine. Unfortunately there staggered on a 320si so can't try that. Guess i'm probably being niave about stealers checking everything out. Will take it to my local MOT place and report back with the findings.

Rob

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by AlwynMike

Are your wheels staggered? If not, then swap front to back temporarily, not forgetting to adjust the tyre pressures to suit.

Too high a tyre pressure, particularly in the fronts will cause wandering.

Tramlining, as I'm sure you know will happen suddenly - it won't be vague.

Any MOT garage will check your suspension bushes for you relatively cheaply - don't expect a $tealer to have checked anything that wasn't specifically written down.

At that mileage I wouldn't expect there to be much play in the steering rack, but the aforementioned MOT place can easily check that too.
A competent MOT tester will be able to check the bushes and rack for excess play in about 15 minutes, once it's over the pit.

IMHO buckled rims won't cause wandering or vagueness in the steering.

Mike

Well my father took it to the local MOT place who has done a lot of work for us in the past and is not a cowboy. Straight away he said this car is all over the place and diagnosed without inspecting it that the issue seemed like seized ball joints.

He's had the car today to inspect it and has found them to be seized on both sides. He says he's heated them up and it drives a lot better and give it a week to let it settle. Hasn't charged me anything yet. Then advises me to go back if still an issue and then he can see if upper ball joints are worn/seized and will have to order the parts from bmw.

I've just come back from work to hear all this and sounds strange to me Does this sound right?? I rang a bmw indy an they said it would be £105 for two track rod end ball joints + £305 to fit them!!!!


Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[bmwak]

It is possible for this to be the cause. To be honest, i'd just change them as a matter of course. Have you driven the car since then. Has it only improved slightly or has it corrected the problem?

Parts price seems right but labour seems quite high. Can't you just get the MOT garage to fit them. BMW parts maybe quite expensive so worth picking up OEM parts from Euro Car Parts or the likes. I have been led to believe that Lemforder branded parts are actually what BMW use for some of their suspension components. Some people have mentioned that parts bought from ECP have the BMW logo ground off - so essentially they are genuine parts. Should be significantly cheaper too

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by bmwak

It is possible for this to be the cause. To be honest, i'd just change them as a matter of course. Have you driven the car since then. Has it only improved slightly or has it corrected the problem?

Parts price seems right but labour seems quite high. Can't you just get the MOT garage to fit them. BMW parts maybe quite expensive so worth picking up OEM parts from Euro Car Parts or the likes. I have been led to believe that Lemforder branded parts are actually what BMW use for some of their suspension components. Some people have mentioned that parts bought from ECP have the BMW logo ground off - so essentially they are genuine parts. Should be significantly cheaper too

Hi there, driving the car last night and today. Can't feel any difference, steering is still al over the place. He mentioned give it a week and it will improve. Gonna tell him to order from ECP and fit it. He wants to strip it and see if anything else is worn/seized.

Thanks for the info.

[carbonSI]

Right an old thread revival!

Just taken the car to an old skool mechanic who like the other 5 garages my car has been to can't find any worn steering components etc and believes it might be something to do with my front wheels being buckled.

People on the forum have said that with slight buckles i wouldn't be getting the symptoms i get (loose steering, wandering on m'way, steering pull, not returning to centre) but this mechanic says its as if the wheels are fighting with the steering. My car has been to Sytner and this is what they found too reg buckles. Would they for free let me swap alloys to test as i've had work done there before? Just wondered if anyone had done this at a dealer?

Rob

[Sir_Pigley]

I have offered that you can come over and try my wheels. Not sure how far you are from Banbury though. They are off the car in the garage as I still have my winters on, so a quick and easy swap.

[carbonSI]

Originally Posted by Sir_Pigley

I have offered that you can come over and try my wheels. Not sure how far you are from Banbury though. They are off the car in the garage as I still have my winters on, so a quick and easy swap.

Thanks for the offer mate, will let you know if i need you. Just ringing beemer now.