Tramlining Symptom?

**tbradshaw** · 11-14-2020, 04:30 PM

History: I've had my '04 3.0 for just over a year. 146K miles, of which about 3K are mine. Shocks/struts replaced and an alignment done recently. The run-flats that came with the car are still on with a ton of meat on them.

Symptom: In the past month or so I've noticed that when turned, the front wheels want to stay turned and not move back to center. None of road surface, condition or slope appear to make a difference. We went for a drive in the mountains today and it got worse...it was more consistent and progressed to the point where there was sometimes a bit of a jerk from the force of me having to pull the wheel out of the turn. At dead center, it kind of felt like there was a bit of a notch that needed a bit of force to overcome to move the wheel. The strange part is that we stopped for 20+ minutes just before getting home and there was no sign of the issue in the final 10 minutes of driving.

Does this sound like tires/tramlining? And is it possible warming the tires up makes it worse?

I'm planning to check, and likely replace, all front end bushings and control arms this winter but would like to avoid the expense of new tires for a while. But this issue is concerning...a few times today I realized I needed to be conscious of making sure the car stopped turning.

BTW, it was a fantastic day in the north Georgia mountains.

Thanks.

**KevinC** · 11-14-2020, 08:45 PM

A lot to unpack here. 16 year old tires should be replaced IMMEDIATELY. They're not safe.

Runflats, especially early ones, were awful. Harsh-riding, heavy, and yes, they most definitely were a source of tram lining.

But what you're describing sounds like a steering issue to me. The earlier Z4's had a lot of issues with "sticky" steering. Apparently in '06 it was improved, but earlier car owners were reporting a lot of problems.

Bushings, control arms, etc are also suspect at this age/mileage. Could be several things at work here. Good luck getting it sorted out. But I'd definitely get some non-runflat tires on that thing STAT.

**B328iC** · 11-15-2020, 10:23 AM

I would say the tires are not the problem. With 146K on the car I doubt they are the original tires.
There is an issue that some have called sticky steering. Here is a couple of links explaining what others have found and done.
https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/z...ix-285.565986/
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic...ticky+steering
and of course here: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ticky-steering

Good luck.

**tbradshaw** · 11-15-2020, 12:47 PM

Originally Posted by B328iC

I would say the tires are not the problem. With 146K on the car I doubt they are the original tires.
There is an issue that some have called sticky steering. Here is a couple of links explaining what others have found and done.
https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/z...ix-285.565986/
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic...ticky+steering
and of course here: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ticky-steering

Good luck.

Thanks for both responses. The tires are definitely new-ish. I'm guessing not more than 2-3 years old. Like I mentioned, there's still a lot of tread on them and they're on 2012 Z4 wheels that were put on the car about 2 years ago.

I did a TON of reading on the sticky steering issue before jumping into the Z World...I made sure to do my looking/test driving during warm-to-hot weather. Given that I drove the car for a year without any issue (would it seem weird for this to show up after 16 years and 146K miles on a car that's been in GA and LA its whole life?) and that it doesn't have that "hard to steer" feel that is usually described with sticky steering, I'm thinking it's something else. I'm really hoping it's something else. I'll move on to checking all the suspension rubber. I'm guessing that all needs an overhaul, regardless.