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02-15-2011, 10:49 AM | #1 |
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Steering column appears "off" ?
I have a Z4MC, and the steering wheel seems to be misaligned. I'm not talking about off center when tracking straight, but I mean the entire wheel and column look like they come out of the dash crooked? Does anyone else see this on their cars? It could be an optical illusion, the way the dash is shaped, or simply the way I am sitting, as the drives completely normal otherwise. It is not a significant amount, and I just noticed it the other day. A very crude illustration below (birds eye view): the black line would be a column that is oriented "straight" and the red is how mine appears to look. Any thoughts? Am I paranoid? Searched extensively and couldn't come up with anything...hope it's normal...
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02-15-2011, 01:15 PM | #2 |
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Probably paranoid, it would take a lot to make it out of alignment like you are stating. To be sure though, can you snap several pics to post up, from different points of view? Might help.
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02-15-2011, 01:31 PM | #4 |
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I recall seeing this issue on other forums. This is how BMW designed the car from what Ive read. If you look from the hatch or from the back all owners should notice it is offset somewhat. Many theories including safety in the event of a crash.
Here is one explanation from a different forum... "I have looked at many many Z4's and they are all this way. Very irritating that BMW would build a car with a crooked wheel... I would be curious if there was a fix. The new Z4's do not exhibit this. Many cars (and the majority of small cars) don't have the steering wheel perpendicular to the centreline of the seat. It is all a function of packaging, the relationship between the wheel-well, transmission tunnel and components in the engine compartment determine the alignment of the steering column shaft. In a small (narrow) car it is generally impossible to find a position that allows the steering column to be perfectly aligned with the centreline of the seat, especially if wide front tyres dictate a large wheel well for the size of the car I've not noticed this in any car that is mid-sized and above, but have noticed it in many cars that are smaller than mid-sized."
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02-15-2011, 01:39 PM | #5 | |
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Next time I'm in for sure... This is reassuring...do you have any links to any discussion? I've searched as well as I can, and can't seem to come up with much. Probably the terminology I'm using...always come up with the "you need an alignment" threads |
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02-15-2011, 01:42 PM | #6 |
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Thank you for the edit...seems consistent with what I'm having. It really doesn't affect the driving at all...just that it's in the back of my mind. That it's normal makes more sense and I can concentrate on driving
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02-15-2011, 01:43 PM | #7 |
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You mean canted. My M3 E46 was also like that and was brought up by other E46 M3 owners as well. I believe it had to do with ergonomics.
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02-15-2011, 02:24 PM | #8 |
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I've noticed the same thing. At least our pedals are where they're supposed to be.
The old lamborghini's pedals didn't line up with where your feet would go when sitting in the seat.
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02-15-2011, 06:24 PM | #11 |
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This is how BMW has designed their cars as long as I can remember, the logic being that in a collision the column will move to one side. My daughter's E30 is the same way.
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02-15-2011, 06:43 PM | #12 |
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It's normal. Most car steering wheels are canted to some extent. Likely has to do with where the steering box/linkage is located relative to the driver seat.
In some trucks the cant is extreme. |
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02-15-2011, 06:46 PM | #13 | |
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My panel gaps are symmetric...at least now I know my eyes aren't deceiving me...and my car hadn't suffered some botched repair |
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02-15-2011, 08:00 PM | #14 |
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02-16-2011, 04:16 PM | #15 | |
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The cant can often be noticed looking closely at the distance of both sides of the wheel relative to the driver.
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02-16-2011, 06:29 PM | #17 |
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02-16-2011, 11:43 PM | #18 |
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OMG I'm not crazy. I noticed this on my car. It's not extreme but just enough to feel 'off'. If it's normal I wont worry about it.
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