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Thread: E36M... super sensitive steering? Odd vibration

  1. #1
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    E36M... super sensitive steering? Odd vibration

    I have an odd vibration in my steering wheel where it rocks inside a 2-3 degree arc off center when going on the highway.

    With the car in the air, i can twitch the steering wheel, and I can see the steering column, and the wheels move directly in correlation as it's supposed to. I was curious if the steering rack had slop, but it doesn't look it. I tap the front tires, and I can see the appropriate twitch in the steering wheel to that force.

    What steering tweaks have you run across to dull the on the center? Anyone having a similar issue? It's like the steering is too exacting and so it's moving at every bump/road tram. It's weird/annoying/unsettling that it's constantly hunting.
    Last edited by OKsweetrides; 06-17-2018 at 06:44 PM.

  2. #2
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    Stock E36 M3 steering racks (assuming that's what you have) are progressive and are designed to be less sensitive close to center. That said, it sounds like something is actually broken on your car, or your alignment is way off. Even if your car has been aligned, certain toe settings can cause some of the things you're describing. For instance, a car with neutral toe or any amount of toe-out in front will be really twitchy and can tend to tramline along grooves and hunt as you said. Street cars typically run some amount of toe-in to prevent this and make the car want to stay straight and self-center.

    Have you had your car professionally aligned recently? If something is way off and your toe is mismatched up front, that can cause weird pulling to one side or the other, or can cause it to want to turn one direction way more than the other. The cause could be any number of things. One or both of your tie rod end adjustment nuts may be loose, one or both of the tie rod assemblies may actually be broken, or it's possible there's an issue with the coupler which connects the steering shaft to the rack. I assume you have adequate power steering fluid (ATF) in the system?

    I'd strongly suggest having a good shop take a look at it ASAP, unless your comfortable getting under there yourself. What you're describing sounds dangerous and you probably shouldn't be driving it.
    Last edited by TostitoBandito; 06-17-2018 at 07:37 PM.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  3. #3
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    Thank you tostito. I will check the alignment. Eyeballing it, the car has some toe-out on the front.

    From the steering wheel inside the cabin, on through to the steering rack input spline; there's no slop as it's all solid mechanical linkage. Outer tierods looked to be in good shape.

    Will go back and look at inner tie rods, double check all the exterior connections to the rack; double check the power steering fluid again, and will schedule an alignment to see if that'll improve things.
    1998 M3 Sedan - LS3 M12T56 - A bad addiction.

  4. #4
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    Alignment settings can make a huge difference in steering feel. I would check this first.

    Something else you could easily check is if the steering wheel is centered to the center of the steering rack. You didnt mention what year your car is. 95 is 3 turns lock to lock and 96+ is 3.2 turns lock to lock. If your steering wheel was repositioned, it could cause for sensitive steering you described. As tostido said, its less sensitive at center.

    From center, turn the wheel all the way to the left and count how many ratations you turned it. It should be the same amount when you turn it from center to all the way to the right.

  5. #5
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    98' M3/4/5, 85' 944
    if you can see with your eyes toe out it has way too much

  6. #6
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    It's eh, maybe an 1/8th of an inch toe out. About as reliable as I'm gonna get with string.

    It's a 98. Steering rack silver tag: ZF 1 096 280 7852-955-306-50 03.15

    Will also get tires re-balanced.
    Last edited by OKsweetrides; 06-18-2018 at 08:09 PM.

  7. #7
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    That's a lot of toe-out. Factory spec is for about that much toe-in. My car has zero toe because it's tracked, but street cars should always have at least some toe-in in front.

    So yeah, based on that I'd say alignment is most of your problem. Have a good shop set it to factory specs with the appropriate weights and everything, and then see how it feels. If I recall, that should be around 1/8" toe-in both front and rear, and around -1.7 degrees rear camber. Nothing else is adjustable unless you have an aftermarket suspension.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  8. #8
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    EXOTICS
    Exactly as stated,
    toe in to spec,
    only zero or toe out for track/race car.

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