So I got my car back and....

[F87LUV]

it feels really weird. The body shop swapped out my runflats for my winter dunlops.... Im not sure if its because it was realigned from the accident or its having nonrunflats but the car feels REALLLLLLLLy loose... Im a little scared to really drive it now.... am i just being paranoid? is it the tires? or could something be wrong?

[smidley]

Hmmm... what all did you take it in for?

[ianbiz]

is this your first time driving it in the snow?

[Reach]

I'm using non-RFT Blizzaks and it handles as confidently, if not more so, than before with the OEM 18" runflats. Something is wrong if it is handling differently than before.

Thinking about your wheels, are you sure the wheels are balanced appropriately? Sure your center bore is 72.5mm? If not, are you using centering rings? Crappy plastic rings or good metal rings?

Just trying to throw you some questions to help you diagnose it.

[Artz 330]

Originally Posted by ZGirl4U

it feels really weird. The body shop swapped out my runflats for my winter dunlops.... Im not sure if its because it was realigned from the accident or its having nonrunflats but the car feels REALLLLLLLLy loose... Im a little scared to really drive it now.... am i just being paranoid? is it the tires? or could something be wrong?

check the power steering fluid. or check all the bolts and connections of the front suspension.

[F87LUV]

1. its not snowing [i just swapped to winter tires as i live in the northeast]
2. accident




3. I spoke to the body shop manager and he says that everything looked fine and they didnt touch the front end...

im gonna take it out again and see how it feels but it feels really flimsy...

i know that most of the suspension parts on the side of impact were replaced, including the shock/spring... i dont think it would be due to uneven wear... car only has 9k on it.

[Dammmittt]

Define loose.

[F87LUV]

the steering wheel feels loose, even on fairly paved roads, the wheel seems to be all over the place... sorry if my descriptions suck... theres no reason that my fx should feel tighter than my bmw with the non RFTs theres definitely less jerk in the car but its more my steering

[Reach]

Could be suspension. Have it in to BMW stealer to do an inspection, just pay for it if you have to. Its important to get the car back to proper driveability.

Your symptoms sound like unbalanced wheels or a poorly matched setup (center bore!). Suspension is possible but start by ruling out these likely causes. What wheels are they (on the car now)? Are you sure they were road force balanced when the tires were installed?

[F87LUV]

Originally Posted by Reach

Could be suspension. Have it in to BMW stealer to do an inspection, just pay for it if you have to. Its important to get the car back to proper driveability.

Your symptoms sound like unbalanced wheels or a poorly matched setup (center bore!). Suspension is possible but start by ruling out these likely causes. What wheels are they (on the car now)? Are you sure they were road force balanced when the tires were installed?

my car was fixed at a bmw dealership


i have my stock 18s on dunlop winter sports.... 225/40/18 all around... brand new

[Hawkeye]

Those pictures make me sad

[F87LUV]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Those pictures make me sad

No this will





How do you think I feel? Someone blows a light and now my car is fd up for life and im stuck with it



Ugh and i just found overspray on my fn window

[soeharyo]

i am so sorry to hear that.

I hope you still heart your car just as it was before.

[plasmasmp]

Very Sad. Can't imagine how I'd feel if it happened to my Coupe

[ianbiz]

Originally Posted by ZGirl4U

No this will





How do you think I feel? Someone blows a light and now my car is fd up for life and im stuck with it



Ugh and i just found overspray on my fn window

Take it back and make them fix it. Also, if you have time, take it to another dealer and act stupid and say "the car feels weird, whats the problem ". See if they will do it under warranty work, if not, go back to the dealer that fixed your car and be like fix it, or buy it back. Then you can get your M Roadster

[Dammmittt]

There's no reason for your steering to feel loose. Since the impact was on the rear of the car, sounds like the screwed up the wheel alignment or maybe didn't torque your lugnuts enough...

[Rick Hunter]

Sorry to hear about your woes, ZGirl4U. I guess you haven't had too much luck with your sports cars (both Zs). I hope things will be better in the new year.

I'm thinking alignment and balance issues... ?

[pbdm4k]

If they had to replace a lot of the suspension components, were the mounts damaged at all?

If any of the suspension mounts were slightly bent it can throw off the whole geometry of the car.

I'm assuming they did a proper alignment when they finished fixing the suspension? IE toe angle, camber, alignment, the works! And I don't mean just the back corner they fixed, but they should have done all 4 corners.

[Reach]

You're still not addressing the basic concern fully: the wheels.
You said now you had new tires, but you didn't say they were re-balanced properly. At least with the oem wheels you can rule out fitment issues. Still, make sure someone didn't just swap the tires without making sure the wheels still run true. Road force balance! They may have needed to be re-weighted.

You picture of the teardown sure didn't look like the work is being performed at a BMW dealer. If it was, for the love of g-d take it back and demand proper work. If it wasn't, or wasn't entirely done at the same place, start tracking down where issues could have been introduced. It seems like you did track and follow the progress, even I don't usually have in-progress pictures from a body shop.

If all else is failing, take it to an independent shop. None of us are going to be able to fix it from here.

[RussRamz]

Snow tires will definitely reduce the handling performance of your car on dry roads. We don't get much snow here in this part of Germany, so I am using a high performance set of all-season tires (Goodyear F1 AS). If it does snow, I just won't drive.

I suspect the 'loose' feeling you are describing may be a result of the snow tires.

[soeharyo]

my snow tires do not feel that different. They just handle better in the snow, as it they grip the snow better because they are still sticky under cold conditions. that is my two cent. I am using hankook winter tires.

I definitely don't feel 'loose' cause i don't just go around and start sleeping with everyone i see.

[aequitas330]

Wow, that sucks... I hope it gets resolved..