Dodgy Steering?

[MikeeMiracle]

2 weeks ago I bought a 318is and have been happy with it apart from the steering which lacked feel. The previous owner had put 17" Alpina Replica's on so I was wondering if this was the cause?

My mate yesterday bought a 325i Sport and tonight I had a test drive. There is a surprising amount of feel through the wheel and I really loved it, much better than in my 318is. He has the original 15" wheels on the car.

As far as I was aware these cars are very similar mechanically. Are there any differences to the steering between the two cars or could it be possible that my 17" really have buggered the handling to that extent???

[cliffybabe]

number of things to check

condition of the spigit rings on the inside of the rims

Balance and tracking

Also steering rack condition.

I know there's mixed views over the 17 alpina reps but alot of people do have them

[Brianmoooore]

17" wheels on an E30 are for posing, not handling. 15" are best, but check the tracking on your car.

[cliffybabe]

as Brianmoooore said,

u are gonna have alot more feel for camber of the road etc using 17's but that would be the same on any car jumping a few inches from a standard rim setup

Question is do u prefer the alpina reps or would u consider going to the bbs 15's

[MikeeMiracle]

I really like the look of the reps but for me handling is the holy grail. If I could get feeling like the sport on 15's I would trade them in without a second thought. You could really feel what the tyres were doing in the sport and it's
that im looking for.

There's a set of 15's going on ebay but the action ends in 17 hours. Im wondering if I should be getting my wallet out asap?? Has anyone here got experience of driving both??

[cliffybabe]

on my other car i switch between 16's and 18's there always little difference but things like different brand tyres affect this.

It really comes down to prefference maybe some zoner wit th rep's u tell u what they have done.

I know Jamz sold his and was last looking at propper pina's 16's

I know E30_az loves his and i know oguz loves his and it handles liek the nuts but the its a tech1 with lowered supsension etc

[MikeeMiracle]

Maybe I should wait and swap wheels with my mate someday to try them out.

[MikeeMiracle]

Bump, anyone have experience of driving both a 325i Sport and an IS to be able to say if the lack of feedback is because I have 17's on the car?

[cliffybabe]

Maybe I should wait and swap wheels with my mate someday to try them out.

could do, but if it is one of the thing i mentioned above, u may not feel ont he 15 due to more rubber etc, u'd be better off checking hte spigit rings, balance etc and then try ur wheels on ur mates

[Markey]

I have the standard 14s on my car and when on the motorway and moving the wheel the car has no movement at first turn then sways over like driving a boat.
There is hardly any feel so im not sure if it is some warn bushes or the rack ?

[MikeeMiracle]

Sorted....well mostly. Just got a set of 15 BBS on there and it feels much better with more communication through the steering wheel.

[Alan31625]

number of things to check

condition of the spigit rings on the inside of the rims

Balance and tracking

Also steering rack condition.

I know there's mixed views over the 17 alpina reps but alot of people do have them

what are the views youve heard about them wheels mate?
i have them on my 325is and from my experience their bloody terrible!
all four of my wheels have cracked on the inner rims at least twice and had to be welded. and its the exact same type of crack every time-about an inch long straight in from the edge resulting in a slow leak that holds air for a day
but 17/40 tyres and irish roads dont help either

[DaveD]

`polyflex eccentric bushes and new arb bushes transformed the feedback and feel on my 325ic with 15" rims