Car feels/drives very 'nervous'

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  • CorvallisBMW
    Long Schlong Longhammer
    • Feb 2005
    • 13039

    #1

    Car feels/drives very 'nervous'

    I've been fighting these symptoms for a while in my convertible and I haven't found anything that I thought could be the cause. Basically the car drives like it's 'nervous'; it doesn't like to return fully to straight after turning, there seems to be an horrendous amount of bumpsteer, and it just seems twitchy and impossible to drive with any sort of confidence or sense of relaxation. Driving in a straight line requires lots correction and it doesn't stay on the straight and narrow easily. Driving it hard scares the shit out of me because it's unpredictable, twitchy and quirky.

    Some points on the car (all parts have roughly 10K mi on them):
    H&R Convertible springs (lowered about 1.5" all around)
    21mm/15mm OEM bars with urethane bushings
    Bilstien shocks
    Kmac camber/castor adjustable strut mounts
    IE adjustable RTA bolts w/ OEM bushings
    All news bushings, balljoints, CAs, M3 CABs, RTABS, subframe bushings, every single suspension piece replaced with OEM rubber.
    Full 4-wheel alignment done only 3K ago
    e36 steering rack
    strut tower brace + lower x-brace

    I fee like I've looked at all the likely culprits (CABs, ball joints, TABs, subframe bushings, etc) and everything seems to be in perfectly good condition (it should be after only 10K). I'm really at a loss here, anyone have some ideas? I know it's a convertible and the chassis is obviously less stiff than a coupe/sedan, but this feels more suspension related. Thanks in advance.
    Last edited by CorvallisBMW; 12-16-2010, 05:34 PM.
  • KenC
    King of Kegstands
    • Oct 2003
    • 14396

    #2
    Did you remember to put the washer back between the spring hat and the strut mount?
    Originally posted by Gruelius
    and i do not know what bugg brakes are.

    Comment

    • e30huh
      Wrencher
      • Aug 2010
      • 216

      #3
      strut mounts

      Comment

      • e1_griego
        Member
        • Jul 2009
        • 73

        #4
        Who did the alignment?

        Comment

        • einstein57
          R3V OG
          • Jun 2007
          • 10780

          #5
          toss in some m3 cabs. The added caster will make it drive straighter and return to center after a turn. I'd also re-torque the rtab bolts to be on the safe side.
          Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

          www.gecoils.com
          My euro 316 project Transaction Feedback

          Comment

          • KennyT
            E30 Addict
            • Aug 2010
            • 542

            #6
            If none of the parts were defective and the alignment was done correctly (no toe out) then it has to be the strut tops as others have mentioned.

            Comment

            • Hellabad
              E30 Modder
              • Aug 2008
              • 807

              #7
              I think the alignment is wrong. I see more and more crappy alignments every day. Some people are really getting ripped off.

              Look up "toe plates" and check the toe yourself.

              But everybody else is correct that you may not have the struts assembled correctly.
              Here is my photo gallery answering common questions about Ground Control Suspension, and e30 suspension problems in general.
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              Comment

              • e1_griego
                Member
                • Jul 2009
                • 73

                #8
                Originally posted by Hellabad
                I think the alignment is wrong. I see more and more crappy alignments every day. Some people are really getting ripped off.
                Yup, exactly what I was getting at.

                Comment

                • CorvallisBMW
                  Long Schlong Longhammer
                  • Feb 2005
                  • 13039

                  #9
                  Originally posted by KenC
                  Did you remember to put the washer back between the spring hat and the strut mount?
                  Yes

                  Originally posted by e30huh
                  strut mounts
                  Brand new Kmacs, forgot to add that

                  Originally posted by e1_griego
                  Who did the alignment?
                  Pacific Motorsport in Portland

                  Originally posted by einstein57
                  toss in some m3 cabs. The added caster will make it drive straighter and return to center after a turn. I'd also re-torque the rtab bolts to be on the safe side.
                  Already running M3 CABs, I'll check the RTABs.
                  Last edited by CorvallisBMW; 12-16-2010, 05:32 PM.

                  Comment

                  • Wh33lhop
                    R3V OG
                    • Feb 2009
                    • 11705

                    #10
                    DEFINITELY check your alignment. If you don't want to shell out for toe plates at least have another shop check it (a lot of shops will put your car on an alignment rack for free and then only charge you to align it).
                    paint sucks

                    Comment

                    • CorvallisBMW
                      Long Schlong Longhammer
                      • Feb 2005
                      • 13039

                      #11
                      Here are the alignment specs:

                      FR
                      camber: -1.2*
                      castor: 'spec e30 M3'
                      toe: .09"

                      FL
                      camber: -0.8*
                      castor: 'spec e30 M3'
                      toe: 0.08"

                      RR
                      camber: -1.4*
                      castor: n/a
                      toe: 0.11"

                      LR
                      camber: -1.2*
                      castor: n/a
                      toe: 0.07"

                      I also added some stuff to the first post that I left out, like camber plates and adjustable RTABs

                      Comment

                      • CorvallisBMW
                        Long Schlong Longhammer
                        • Feb 2005
                        • 13039

                        #12
                        Added alignment specs... any ideas?

                        Comment

                        • jlevie
                          R3V OG
                          • Nov 2006
                          • 13530

                          #13
                          Your alignment numbers look okay and I don't think they would explain what you are experiencing. It really sounds like the upper strut hats are binding. That could be from incorrect assembly, or binding in the upper strut bearing. It is possible that the steering rack could be binding, but that is pretty rare. You can usually tell in that is case by disconnecting the tie rods and cycling the steering from lock to lock.
                          The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
                          Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

                          Comment

                          • CorvallisBMW
                            Long Schlong Longhammer
                            • Feb 2005
                            • 13039

                            #14
                            Thanks for the tip. I'm going to put the thing up in the air and check every nut and bolt, and also disassemble the struts to check for binding.

                            Comment

                            • KenC
                              King of Kegstands
                              • Oct 2003
                              • 14396

                              #15
                              How many miles were on that rack?
                              Originally posted by Gruelius
                              and i do not know what bugg brakes are.

                              Comment

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