Goodbye tramlining!

[bonzo]

Well, Zelda suffered from a fair bit of tramlining on country roads and some other roads as well. So as the Michelins on the front were getting on the low side, I had them replaced with new Avon ZV5's, the same type that's on the rear wheels. Well, the drive home was a revelation, no tugging on the steering wheel, no wandering, just a smooth relaxed drive. the difference was amazing. RESULT! I am a happier Zedder.

Cheers all \/

Bonzo

 

[GazHyde]

Nice result Bonzo.

What Michelins did you have on the front? Do you think it was the quality of the tyres, or that they were getting low on tread?

 

[bonzo]

Possibly some sort of Pilots, 10 years old according to the date on the tyre. In a fair condition, but I wanted to get some Avons to match the rears, have newer tyres on the front, and to try and get rid of the tramlining which spoilt my driving enjoyment somewhat.

Cheers,

Bonzo.

 

[Gigsy]

If they were 10 years old, I'd say they were certainly past their best so that plus wear plus a reasonably stiff side wall would certainly have added to the tramlining.

Have you replaced the front track control arm rear bushes? It's a pretty simple job and only costs ~£30 but made a big difference to mine.

 

[lmrdave]

I'm looking at new tyres for my Z3 at the moment and noticed quite a few of the tyres had higher load rating (96 rather than the standard 92), which in my head translates to a stronger (therefore stiffer) side wall, which I also think would contribute to tramlining. The avons mentioned above I've only seen on the correct load 92. Might be worth keeping an eye on when purchasing tyres.

 

[Gigsy]

The real problem is the front track control rear arm bush - it allows the control arm to move, translating suspension movement into steering movement.

A stiff sidewall (such as you correctly point out on XL tyres) will transfer more energy into the bushes and thus more movement of the control arms and consequently more tramlining.

 

[lmrdave]

I got the poly bushes after looking underneath the car at the MOT station, the design of the rubber bush mentioned looked shocking poor to my eyes, just need to pull my finger out and get them swapped over, will report back what difference that makes.

 

[Gigsy]

I got the poly bushes after looking underneath the car at the MOT station, the design of the rubber bush mentioned looked shocking poor to my eyes, just need to pull my finger out and get them swapped over, will report back what difference that makes.

Yes, it is a pretty poor design. The Z3M has a solid bush IIRC.