Kabouter

The tramlining is a problem atm, not too bad but it is there. The bigger problem is the twitchiness at highway speeds. To the extend where tramlining and a bit of a cross wind can make the car hard to keep in a straight line, looking a bit like a drunk driver. It is a completely different driving experience to the astra but needs way too much input on the steering wheel to my likingand making it unsafe for a slightly less experienced driver(wife). What do you recon on the tyre pressures Tony? Taking into account that the tyre widths on the astra is only 10 mm less?

No I can not move it by hand. It could move it with the rubber bushings previously. I forgot to mention that I also replaced the ARB rubbers with polyurethane. I still need to do the complete back end of the car. I do not think my problem could be too serious as the MOT was only done a month ago, after I have done the front end work.

Hi again, it has been a while. I have bought a 2001 330d BMW touring a few months ago. Replaced front control arms, so have new ball joints and replaced to old bushings with polyurethane bushes as I have noticed the rubber bushes can cause the front wheels to move forward and backwards quite a lot under a bit of strain like braking and uneven road surfaces. When driving at lower speeds the steering is nice and solid but quite heavy, faster speeds there is a slight nock on the steering wheel.( not wheel balancing,more like a slight play) The car tramlines quite a bit and is a bit unstable to drive at higher speeds. Before replacing the cheap wanli tyres for T1R proxes and the bushes the drive was a bit more stable except for under braking, where it sort of chose by itself which way it wanted to swerve.(not good) I have an Vauxhall astra with a fully polyurethaned suspension, fully adjustable coilovers and Toyos that has been set up by Tony that is an absolute pleasure to drive. Stable at any speed turns on a penny at any speed and the feedback from the suspension is progressive, ie. do not just break away, it let you know what it is about to do. The BMW has a M-tech II suspension and I feel that it could be much better than it is at present. Even my wife prefers the astra as she says the BMW is a scary drive. I know I have to take it to Tony for a good seeing to before jumping to any conclusions but some feed back and experience would help in getting this setup just right. I am also using the standard tyre pressures as printed in the manual, 2.9 bar on the rear and 2.4bar on the fronts. Are those pressure for RFT? I assume that it might have to be different because of different stiffness in the sidewalls? Sorry for the longwinded post but i suppose the more info, the more accurate the replies will be.

Firstly I need to give a big thank you to Tony for his help and patience. I promised feedback on the work done on my astra and here it is. It is unbelievable what a difference it makes if someone knows what they are doing and take pride in doing it. I have added two 1mm spacers on the left rear stub axle bottom two bolts . I can confirm that it makes a difference in the way the car behaves when pushed into corners, more predictable and more positive feel. I suppose I would have to get it on a track at some stage to really try and see what all the extras will do for me when pushed closer to the limit. When I come in for the fine tune, if we can have a look at getting the "natural feel" of the steering wheel more to the middle of the road as it has a tendancy to feel natural in a slow left corner. LOL hope that makes some sense? Hannes

Hi this is my first post on here. Found this threads but says tbc. Then look at the date and it is 2006? Not complaining just eager to read up and understand all this suspension jargon. Can you try and explain the rest as promised Tony? Been reading on here for a while and find it very informative but it is a lot to take in!! LOL.