Z1 - vague steering?

vanlingenvincent · Post by **vanlingenvincent** » Sat 05 Mar, 2011 17:54

Hello,

I am new to the BMW Z1 (just bought one

)

One thing that strikes me as "odd" is the vagueness of the steering around straight ahead.
Once you turn in, the steering beefs up nicely, but I find it remarkable vague around center.
Anyone familiar with this or an idea what the cause maybe?

2 things:
- Tires are 'semperit': maybe it has to do with those?
- My 'regular' car is an MX-5 2.0 sports so maybe I am a bit biased, cause the steering of that really feels a whole lot sharper.

Thanks in advance for your advice/ideas!

Regards

Charles_42 · Post by **Charles_42** » Sun 06 Mar, 2011 20:07

Hi Vincent,
I do not have the same "central steering weakness" as you described. My car is a 1990 red Z1, rather well reconditioned, although I understand what you mean. We do not live far away from each other in spite of the highway works on the E313... Did yoiu check your car with a reliable BMW dealer ? What is the mileage ? Do you know its history ? ... etc ...
Many greetings,

vanlingenvincent · Post by **vanlingenvincent** » Sun 06 Mar, 2011 20:26

Hello,

No, I haven't had the car checked by a BMW dealer yet.

The car was bought, by previous owner, from official BMW dealer (Siau in Dendermonde) and has full service history.
The car seems to be in pretty good condition and the previous owner has done a lot of work on it (new silencer, new rubbers, new discs front and rear, respray).

Maybe we could meet up sometime and compare the cars. You could drive mine and check if the steering is "normal" compared to yours.

My experience is that tires can make a lot of difference in steering feel, the "semperit" tires the car sits on are probably not the best choice.

I am not quite sure what else might affect steering that much. Any ideas?

Regards,

Charles_42 · Post by **Charles_42** » Mon 07 Mar, 2011 10:01

In the front I have 2 Michelin 225/45 ZR16, in the rear 2 Yokohama's (I didn't know having 2 different makes on the car ...), same tyres were on the car when I bought it in 2006 from the Mampaey family (Juma) in Mechelen. My present dealer is Sneyers in Herentals. All by all I haven't driven so many kilometres since I bought it (may be 5000 ? maxi !). This week I must pass the technical control. Where are you living (pls send personal e-mail , the system allows it !) and when are you free ?
Greetz,

felix · Post by **felix** » Mon 07 Mar, 2011 14:18

Might be worth having a read of http://www.z1z1.de/technik/technik/lenkung.html

And the Z1 has fairly slow steering (4 turns lock to lock) which doesn't help the perception of on-centre vagueness. Soft control arm bushes can also contribute to the vagueness.

BBZ149 · Post by **BBZ149** » Mon 07 Mar, 2011 15:35

felix wrote:Might be worth having a read of http://www.z1z1.de/technik/technik/lenkung.html

And the Z1 has fairly slow steering (4 turns lock to lock) which doesn't help the perception of on-centre vagueness. Soft control arm bushes can also contribute to the vagueness.

Or in English

:
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate ... =&ie=UTF-8

felix · Post by **felix** » Mon 07 Mar, 2011 17:32

Broadly speaking where google says "game" substitute "play".

BBZ149 · Post by **BBZ149** » Mon 07 Mar, 2011 22:44

felix wrote:Broadly speaking where google says "game" substitute "play".

Yes Felix, I should have said bad Google English translation

Maybe you can translate into something more understandable

Evilo · Post by **Evilo** » Tue 08 Mar, 2011 18:26

I also experienced some play in the steering, I already replaced the lower bushings on the front arms, but probably I would need to replace the other bushings from the steering rack...

Anyway I would be interested to be part of this "Belgian" evaluation, let's meet.... with three cars we could pinpoint the issue...

looking forward to meeting the Belgian Z1 friends

sfh3l · Post by **sfh3l** » Mon 14 Mar, 2011 13:01

I would suggest the control arm rear bushes too, as this made a huge difference on my old E30 M3.
However, on the Z1 spacing the front wheels out by about 10mm (each side) makes a real difference to the sharpness of turn-in, as I discovered when I had to do this to fit my Brembos........

Obviously, the rack is the same slowish one that the car has from new, but it is all about the feel of crispness about the centre position.

Give it a try and see what you think

Budget M3 · Post by **Budget M3** » Fri 25 Mar, 2011 04:05

I bought my Z1 in 2008 and had the same issue. Turned out to be the steering rack itself in my case. "Play" could be just about any rubber part (bushings, seals, etc.). Almost all rubber parts wear out with time more so than mileage.

Good luck diagnosing what ails your Z1...

BBZ149 · Post by **BBZ149** » Fri 25 Mar, 2011 11:07

My rack has had a little play in it for ages, on mine it is the bearing in the top of the rack. If you try to move it side to side mine moves a little.

Checked the breakdown of the rack and it looks like a simple job, but just not had the time to fix it yet.

vanlingenvincent · Post by **vanlingenvincent** » Sun 27 Mar, 2011 18:34

Thanks guys for all the replies.
Seems there are quite some possible causes here.
Any idea where to start in order to find the cause with the least effort?

Charles_42 · Post by **Charles_42** » Mon 28 Mar, 2011 09:35

My BMW-dealer, Sneyers Brothers in Herentals, will solve that for you. Simply call Marc Sneyers +32 14 28 66 77 ...

Jet · Post by **Jet** » Mon 28 Mar, 2011 12:52

This is not a subject I know much about and cant help with the diagnosis, but if it is rack problem, perhaps consider an E36/E30M3 upgrade, standard on these cars apparently, as mentioned here:

http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... ering+rack