316i steering problems.

[brianbettley]

Hi,
I have a 1995 E36 316i and have replaced the 15 inch steel wheels with 17 inch alloys from another 3 series. Unfortunately, they seem to have come from an E46 not an E36 as i first thought! Are the offsets for these two wheels different as the steering has been affected. On certain road surfaces the kick-back/tram-lining has dramatically increased, almost yanking the steering out of my grip! Also, at dead centre, the steering has become more vague than usual. Q. Will fitting spacers solve the problem or could i machine the alloys for a different offset. Failing this should i find alloys from an E36 as i am on a tight budget.
The front bushes were replaced with Power-flex M3 style adjustable ones.
If i reset them for more castor (i don,t know how much yet), will it help sort out the problem and remove the vagueness and tram-lining ect.

Any feed-back at all would be much appreciated at this point!

Thanks,

B. Bettley.

[witeshark]

Until you find a correct solution, I think your car might be better off with the original wheels.

[darkhorse737]

although caster will be the frst line of suspicion given the symptoms you experience, i don't think caster is affected significantly by the change size of wheels. you should be more concerned by the change in camber and toe-in as a result of the change of the offset and the new "footprint" that your new tires have.

the offset in wheels effectively changes the wheel track and you need to figure out the difference from the original track and then adjust accordingly.

[brianbettley]

Hi there,

thanks for the comments so far Dark Horse and witeshark!

I can report some improvement on the steering now that i have had the wheels balanced.

The kick back is more or less back to normal and the car has stopped vibrating over 60mph!

I will be fitting some spacers though, as the front wheels chafe on full lock.

I will also be looking into possible camber/toe-in changes due to the wider footprint, but apparently the offsets between the two different wheels are similar.

Thanks again folks,

brianbettley.

[darkhorse737]

nope... not similar ;-)

if they were, you wouldn't need spacers but all the same, we're happy you figured out the prob.

Cheers