handling problems

[ben B]

got my first bmw about 5 weeks ago, its E36 318i and its a '97. the car had been lowered 30mm front and 35 rear, and is in 18'' bmw alloys. i replaced the shocks all round as there was no rebound on them. however the car still misbehaves and pulls you about everywhere. only way to describe it is it feels like the back of the car is twitchy when going in a straight line?

Anybody got any similar experiences or advice?

[Chris S]

have you had the alignment checked?
also might want to check some of the other suspension components such as sways and control arms etc

[im]

maybe a rubber bushing in tail suspension?

[oakley]

Mines on 18's and feels the same- ALL my suspension stuff has been replaced but still feels the same- Tis just the size of the wheels (at least on mine it is!)

[Bearybear1]

my 235/40/17s are like that on the front they seem to pull into the dips that big trucks must make with the weight, u cant see the dips offten but the car sometimes feels like its scaning the road then sets! the wheels are off my old e36 and that was the same i also have spacers to stop rubbing so with mine its the width,but on good/new roads it dont move,i think theres a word for your problem over hear they call it crabbing,if the arms are worn etc u will get a lot of play,i guess the lowering was just the springs on your car if u had to get new shocks???,my friends car just failed the mot as the last owner dint up rate the shocks just put lowering springs,he has to have 4 new shocks springs(this time performance) 2 new front arms and top mounts and thats all for last owner not paying out for the uprated shocks! £169.99 full lowering kit(shocks to) but he is left with the bill for £450! the springs did last over a year but not good,next car i buy that has been lowered i will want to see the shocks as most times they will be yellow or red and have the brand on them its worth removing a rear and front wheel to have a look(or ask for the reciept) so its not heart ach later:) hope u get it sorted:):thumbup:

[Chris S]

that reminds me.. could be tire wear or just your tire type. My old set of michellins were pretty worn and theyd pretty much go all over the place whenever there was a grove in the road but not much of a problem after I changed to new tires. Also check the air pressure in your tires as well since that could possibly affect it as well.

[ben B]

the rear lower control arm bushes are being replaced tomorow along with the rear anti-roll bushes. they've pretty much had it, lot of play on them. hopefully this might help the problem!!!

[mksu19]

got my first bmw about 5 weeks ago, its E36 318i and its a '97. the car had been lowered 30mm front and 35 rear, and is in 18'' bmw alloys. i replaced the shocks all round as there was no rebound on them. however the car still misbehaves and pulls you about everywhere. only way to describe it is it feels like the back of the car is twitchy when going in a straight line?

Anybody got any similar experiences or advice?

my 235/40/17s are like that on the front they seem to pull into the dips that big trucks must make with the weight...

Tie rods maybe? Its worth checking while the car is on a lift. Porsche's are notorious for "wandering" when lowered. The best fix for these were to replace the tie rods with a higher performance replcements. Not 100% sure on Bimmers though but still worth looking into IMO. G'luck!!!

[Bearybear1]

well iam going to less wider on the front when tires are ready for changing most bmws have wider just on the back then i take the spacers off the front,but i might be buying this but not sure as i want a summer out of the cabriolet as i only brought it in november:)

[325i Fury]

I just put rims on my car 18" by 8" wide 245 40 18 tires and it feels alot different than my old wheels (15" Stock alloys) it feels like it turns better and has better response... My car won't rock side to side as much but when I'm going over little dips and stuff in the road it will feel like I'm getting pulled into them I think it is just the bigger wheels :dunno:

[ben B]

it was control/trail arm bushes. doesnt wander at all now. feels completely different, it feels sharp and responsive everywhere now :bigpimp:

[BMR_LVR]

it was control/trail arm bushes. doesnt wander at all now. feels completely different, it feels sharp and responsive everywhere now :bigpimp:

Glad you got it fixed. :thumbup:

Thanks for letting us know what the problem was. Happy motoring :roundel:

[Coolcloud]

Good to see you got it fixed. I'm still running 15's on mine and very shortly need a set of tyres, my car is crabbing. I have already done the usual with control arm bushes, etc, so assume it's the tyres.....

My 318is is very original and am yet to decide whether or not to go with larger wheels. I think after reading some of the posts above I leaning towards some 17's.