New Z3 Owner with handling problems

[Bobster]

Hi All,

Need some advice from you guys. Bought a 2001 2.2 sport 3 weeks ago for the missus. The looks are fantastic and performance more than adequate, but the handling is appalling.

It is particularly bad when taking long sweeping corners on Mway at anything greater than 70mph. It seems to pull you into the central reservation and then when trying to correct, this usually leads to over correction.

On tighter bends such as on slip roads it is an absolute nightmare unless taken at a mundane pace.

I have had it it to a BM Dealer for a once over and they have said everything is fine.

I can not believe this is how they are supposed to behave.

I have read some posts on here which mention that mixing tyres may cause this type of behavior. I bought the car with the following tyres on -

Front -
Gislaved Speed 506 - 225/50 ZR16
(Part Worn)

Rear -

Michelin MXM Pilot 225/50 R16
(Brand New)

Could it be the tyres ? Or as anyone any other ideas ?

Any of you live on the Wirral ? I would welcome an experienced owners opinion if you care for a test drive.


Thanks

[JCB]

Whilst definitely no expert, I had similar problems. I have fitted Goodyear F1 tyres all round which helped, but the thing that made the most difference was fitting a front strut brace, I found this made dramatic improvements! I used a Sparco brace, which may not be the best, but was not too expensive! My next job, cash allowing, is to upgrade the springs and dampers which will hopefully make it more settled on undulating and uneven roads. The mods so far were simple to do and made a big difference to me. Hope this helps, but I am sure someone will give you better technical advice.

[Alfie]

Welcome Bobster and wife.

Congrats on the new Zed.

Nope, the car is certainly NOT meant to feel like that.

I haven't experienced it myself, but using different tyres front to back does seem to cause much more trouble than you would imagine.

I would suggest you get new fronts to match the rears, or if you're feeling flush, get a whole new set of F1s or similar.

The front strut brace makes a HUGE difference and is not too costly, but I suggest you get your rubbers sorted first.

Cheers.
A.

[stu]

agree with Alfie and you're not far from Demon Tweeks who do the Sparco ally strut brace at a decent price.

I'd recommend you check the tyre pressures too.

Welcome to the board.

[spokey]

Just to confirm what Alfie says, the Z3 seems to suffer worse than most cars if you don't have 4 identical tyres on. I'd start there.

[Buzz]

I'd echo Spokey's comments - last summer I replaced the rears and the car suddenly became rather unpredictable, with two weeks I had 2 new fronts even though the old ones were only part worn - problem solved. Eagles all round now.

Buzz.

[c_w]

Just to throw a spanner in the works; the rear suspension is fairly soft and such is the geometry and design they can feel strange sometimes on high speed sweeping corners where it feels like there is too much wheel movement BUT it sholdn't be excessive or feel too dangerous.

If it turns out the car is fine then uprate shocks all round will help stability.

[kelart]

i was forced to put only ONE new tyre on the back (old dunlop had damage to the side), as i couldn't afford the whole set right now and it's very weird. the new tyre squeeks on almost every tight bend taken with speed above 20mph

[Bobster]

Thanks for your advice guys. I`ll start with new boots for the front and let you know how I get on.