Sensitivity to the road (pulling)

[kimro]

Hey all,

I'm new here, just picked up a used 06 325i e90 sedan a week ago =)

I drove to and back from TO to Waterloo yesterday and noticed the car was pulling to left. I was on the far left lane and it was declining to the left and the car started pulling left relatively quickly. So I went to the far right lane which was declining to the right to check if the car's generally pulling left. It didn't but it started pulling right relatively quickly.

Is this a common behavior of the 3-series? My car seems to be pretty sensitive to the angle of the road... more so than many others I've driven. Probably worth an alignment just to be sure but thought to ask you first.

Thanks!

[fitter527]

its probably your tires.its called tramlining.

[someguy]

Tramlining is when your tires try to follow the contours of the road, which are sometimes rutted and grooved by heavy trucks. If you're having tramlining issues at high speeds, there's not a lot to do about it. If you havent had an alignment and feel there is something more to the problem, get an alignment check, usually about $20.

If your alignment is OK and you still get tramlining, you can reduce it a bit by running higher pressures on your tires. Do not exceed the tire's rating, but get the tires somewhere between the stated pressure on the door jamb and the max pressure on the sidewall of the tire. That should help a bit.

[davericher20]

are they stock wheels and tires?
Completely normal typically with low profile

[kimro]

Yup they are stock Turanzas. Bridgestone reformulated ones I believe.

[kimro]

And I have 43k on the vehicle.

[King Luis]

get an alignment done just to be sure. my dad has an 07 328i with stock 16's on it and it doesn't pull as much as you make it sound.

[damameke]

tramlining, its not normal.. have the tires check..

[kimro]

thanks everyone! who should i go to for the check up? mechanic or tire shop?

i was thinking of swinging by rmp or bimmersport in weeks time for overall check up

[propr'one]

You might want to ask whoever's doing your alignment for an extra half degree of toe in. that should help.

but like everyone said, higher PSI is a good idea too (1-2 over, in front)

[328IScreamer]

tramling is to normal....I have experianced it on just about every vehicle i've driven that had relitively wide low pro tires.
My last car (e36 328) would tramline when I put my summers on but would stop when I put my winters on. The winters were not as wide and obviously had a thicker profile to them.

[kimro]

Wow... you guys are awesome. Thanks all for the feedback.

I should've added all the info o my original post lol

By relatively quickly, I meant about 4-5 seconds after I let go of the steering wheel going at 110-120 ish.

[MrRWD]

Originally Posted by damameke

tramlining, its not normal.. have the tires check..

Actually, it can be normal depending on your setup.

It's all in the rim size and width of the tires for a given car.
A low profile, wide tire will most likely do tramlining in snow prone areas like Toronto.

A 16" e90 with 205/55-16 tires will not do this - too narrow of a tire

.. 225/45/-17 tire may not.. usually.... unless in those bus lanes...

245's and 255's 17" and 18" will most likely, as they are 40 and 35 series tires and super wide for these little cars.

What is your tire Size?

[kimro]

Stock. 205/55-16

[Mystikal]

I'd look at toe first. An alignment will do this.