Hello R3vlimited,
This is getting really old...
When I first got my E30, the steering was a little vague on center on the highway, but not so much that I didn't happily put about 10,000 miles on it in 8 months (and as a second car!).
At the beginning of the summer, I decided to swap the tired stock suspension for Bilstein sport shocks and Eibach pro plus (lowered) springs and sway bars all around.
I was hoping that this upgrade would make the car feel totally planted and dialed in at the higher speeds I wanted to exploit, but ever since the steering has been just plain AWFUL. Especially on the highway, where the car drifts, darts, wanders, and responds to steering inputs really really lazily. And feels dead on center.
And now the saga begins.
Here's what's been done:
-New tie rods, inner and outer
-replaced steering rack (twice)
-replaced steering knuckle 'u joint'
-New top strut mounts (when suspension was installed)
-new control arm bushings (powerflex purple), recent ball joints
-alignment after each rack replacement
-tire pressure checked and even all around.
After replacing the rack the first time, the steering would 'seize' up about 30 degrees off-center to the left - basically the steering would lock and then pop back into motion with a nice 'clunk.' Furthermore, highway stability was not improved.
I got a second replacement rack from rackdoctor, and the seizing problem is gone - it seems I had a defective rack.
However, the car is still super unstable at speed. The steering feels just plain lazy, and it's definitely not fun to drive.
The steering problem really began in earnest *after* I replaced the stock F&R suspension with the Bilstein sport shocks and Eibach pro-plus springs and sway bars.
So: 1) what else could possibly be at fault? The shop I brought it to for troubleshooting says that everything is tight as a drum in the front end. I acknowledge that the rear trailing arm/subframe bushings were not overhauled, but I (and the guys at my indie old-school BMW shop) really don't believe that there is enough play to cause this big of a problem.
2) should the new suspension setup really wreak this much havoc on the steering system? I've experimented with different toe settings to compensate for the exaggerated camber, with no success.
3)would an e36 rack help this out? Rich @ rackdoctor.net has been extremely helpful and is willing to swap my e30 setup for one of those, so this is a possibility. I'd rather exhaust everything else first, though.
Has anybody else who's installed this type of aftermarket suspension setup had this kind of problem? Do I need to revert to stock suspension?
WHAT ELSE IS LEFT TO DO??!! I am so frustrated with this damn car. I love her so, but come on.............
thanks
This is getting really old...
When I first got my E30, the steering was a little vague on center on the highway, but not so much that I didn't happily put about 10,000 miles on it in 8 months (and as a second car!).
At the beginning of the summer, I decided to swap the tired stock suspension for Bilstein sport shocks and Eibach pro plus (lowered) springs and sway bars all around.
I was hoping that this upgrade would make the car feel totally planted and dialed in at the higher speeds I wanted to exploit, but ever since the steering has been just plain AWFUL. Especially on the highway, where the car drifts, darts, wanders, and responds to steering inputs really really lazily. And feels dead on center.
And now the saga begins.
Here's what's been done:
-New tie rods, inner and outer
-replaced steering rack (twice)
-replaced steering knuckle 'u joint'
-New top strut mounts (when suspension was installed)
-new control arm bushings (powerflex purple), recent ball joints
-alignment after each rack replacement
-tire pressure checked and even all around.
After replacing the rack the first time, the steering would 'seize' up about 30 degrees off-center to the left - basically the steering would lock and then pop back into motion with a nice 'clunk.' Furthermore, highway stability was not improved.
I got a second replacement rack from rackdoctor, and the seizing problem is gone - it seems I had a defective rack.
However, the car is still super unstable at speed. The steering feels just plain lazy, and it's definitely not fun to drive.
The steering problem really began in earnest *after* I replaced the stock F&R suspension with the Bilstein sport shocks and Eibach pro-plus springs and sway bars.
So: 1) what else could possibly be at fault? The shop I brought it to for troubleshooting says that everything is tight as a drum in the front end. I acknowledge that the rear trailing arm/subframe bushings were not overhauled, but I (and the guys at my indie old-school BMW shop) really don't believe that there is enough play to cause this big of a problem.
2) should the new suspension setup really wreak this much havoc on the steering system? I've experimented with different toe settings to compensate for the exaggerated camber, with no success.
3)would an e36 rack help this out? Rich @ rackdoctor.net has been extremely helpful and is willing to swap my e30 setup for one of those, so this is a possibility. I'd rather exhaust everything else first, though.
Has anybody else who's installed this type of aftermarket suspension setup had this kind of problem? Do I need to revert to stock suspension?
WHAT ELSE IS LEFT TO DO??!! I am so frustrated with this damn car. I love her so, but come on.............
thanks
Comment