Steering issues on an E36 convertible

[MCRR]

Hi All

I am new here and i need a little advice on a problem i have with my 96 328i convertible.

It is very unstable over white lines and bumps in the road. On a flat piece of road it is perfect. In corners it is fine too. But on uneven surfaces it trys it weaves all over the place.

The tyres are all OK, the springs and dampers as fine as far as i know and i cant feel any play in the steering.

The car has had 18" M3 wheels fitted with 40 profile tyres. I have not had a car with wheels this big before so i dont know if this is some sort of symptom of the wheels.

Any ideas would be greatfully appreciated

[4rephill]

E36 BMW's on low profile tyres are well known for tramlining (as are the later E46's),especially with certain sizes (Mine runs 225/45/17 goodyear F1's on the front and on some occassions they can "grab" the road like a bugger!).They can also be sensitive to certain tyre makes/combinations front and rear (Mine had Wanli's on it front and rear when I bought it,first wet roundabout,Jesus!,it was like driving on ice but without the grip!).I would advise having the same brand and model of tyres on both the front and rear and make sure the tyre pressures are correct.Also worth noting e36's can be prone to worn bushes in the front suspension which can also give stange steering syptoms so may be worth getting this checked.

[MCRR]

Good advice, thanks. The front and rear tyres are mismatched. Falkens on the back and Eagles on the front. It has passed an MOT recently without any notifications of any wear in the bushes but i will check them out.

[4rephill]

Your most welcome.The fact that it feels perfect on flat roads and through the bends makes me think its more likely to be a tyre issue than bushes.
As I said earlier,the e36 can be very quirky when it comes to tyres and handling issues.Have a look on bmwland.co.uk,loads of threads about tyre issues on there conerning both e36's and e46's.Both makes of tyre on your car are rated highly by BMW owners but I'm not sure if they mix well together.
Tyres tend to be a very personal choice on the e36,what You may find to be great for You,someone else will most likely say "tried those and they were rubbish".Trouble is it's not cheap finding Your ideal tyre.
Hope You get it sorted,though it may be something You just have to live with (just stay away from the Wanli's,they weren't even good ehough to rate as rubbish!).