First thing someone is likely to say is "search it" so I thought I should say that I already did put a little effort into finding an answer. And I kind of did, in this post:
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthre...loose+steering. However, I'd like a little input on this issue, I think my circumstances are a little different.
I have an '06 Z4MR, with about 8500 miles on the clock. Lately, actually for a while, I've felt like the car has had very loose steering. On straight lines, I'm tramlining all over, driving like a moron that can't keep his car in a straight line. The issue is present predominantly in straights, but it also is ever so slightly present in turns. Barely noticeable while turning, though.
The steering wheel also feels like it has too much play in it, definitely in straight lines, but also noticeable when I go over bumps. The wheel used to snap when going over imperfections, now it just... wobbles? That's not the right word, but it's not as crisp in its feedback.
A lot of this seemed to start right after my first HPDE event last year. I'm trying to make sure I'm not just romanticizing how the car "used to drive" in my mind, but there is definitely something different than the day I took it home, and the 6 months of summer that year.
All signs seem to point to FCABs - except for the 8k miles bit.
First thing I did was change the tires. They were the OE tires. They were a little dry rotted, so I figured maybe the sidewall wasn't great. I switched to Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Positions. Not much changed.
Next up, I had an alignment done. Try as I might right now, I can't find the paper I was given showing me the exact figures. Long and short, most numbers were off by just a bit, except for the front left toe - it was actually out. The tech brought the numbers back to BMW recommended, despite me asking for a little more toe-in in the front. I actually think this made things a little worse.
So, does anyone have any suggestions for why I might be experiencing this vague and loose steering? Anything would help tremendously.
Thanks!