Understeer in E46, is something wrong?

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Recently I seem to be getting slight understeer in situations where the DSC would normally kick in. Never in the dry, it feels quite nose-heavy.

I also seem to get a sideways slide if going rather clumsily into a high speed sharpish corner (you know the ones).

I've checked my tread and all looks/feels fine and quite deep... that's about the extent of my car knowledge so what else should I check? Anyone experienced the same?

Cheers
(It's a E46 325Ci)
 
Yep, previous owner put all brand new (I forget the make but they look expensive) on when I bought it. Will post the make when I check after work.

I'm pretty sure it's not the tyres as they still have a lot of tread, I've checked the pressures as well (which seem quite high 2.4 and 2.8) but it is all as is meant to be.
 
[TW]Fox;16087781 said:
Do all your tyres match?
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More importantly, what tyres have you got on the car?

In mine, you have to driving like an utter moron to get understeer. Even in the wet, i'm utterly confounded to how it is so planted around bends.
 
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Understeer's a bit of a trait on the E46 M3 but less so on the lighter engined E46's.

First thing I would look at it what brand of tyres you've got on. I found massive diffrences in grip levels between brands when I had a 330ci and on the M3.

Second, I'd check all your springs are in tact. Broken springs aren't always obvious from external inspection but after having a few E46's and many broken springs, it was not something that would induce understeer from my experience.

Third, check all bushes, check for bent arms etc.

Finally, and probably the most likely cause, you might just want to slow down a bit! It's not uncommon for the nose to go a bit squiffy in damp conditions!
 
Thanks for the suggestions, as I said above I will let you know what tyres are on it once I am home about 6/7ish.

They look expensive to me just based on the fact that they look new I guess, but I see your point and will check this out. But I have had this car for a while now and never had any real understeer issues unless I was being really ham-fisted.

Out of curiosity, Gaygle, what tyres have you put on yours?

HummuH1, are springs and bushes easy to check or should I take it to Sytner?
 
nuvpal said:
Out of curiosity, Gaygle, what tyres have you put on yours?
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I've got Bridge Potenza RE050A's all round and i could not be happier with them.

nuvpal said:
HummuH1, are springs and bushes easy to check or should I take it to Sytner?
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Bushes/springs should be easy to check. Any competent mechanic will be able to check them - no need to take it to the dealer. It might be an idea to check back over your previous MOT's to see if any advisory's have been issued regarding the bushes. They degrade over time, rather than just suddenly going so if they are worn, it might have been noted in the past.
 
Cheers Gaygle, I have just had Inspection II done (a few weeks back) and all they said were my break pads were getting low but it's nothing major. I will have a look through all the service history though to confirm fully.

So you would recommend Bridge Potenza RE050A's? Maybe I will fit them to see if it makes any difference. First I will measure my tread properly and check the tyre make and post back here with results, but maybe I should upgrade anyway... Cheers.
 
nuvpal said:
HummuH1, are springs and bushes easy to check or should I take it to Sytner?
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As Gaygle says above.

Out of all the cars I've owned, replacing the bushes on BMW's make the most noticebale difference, particularly on the E46 IMO.

I changed bushes at every major (insp I and II) service on both the 330 and M3. Costly, but really does make a noticeable difference to the sharpness and feel of the car.

It's a well known weak point on the M3 and CSL, but I couldn't believe the difference it makes with keeping the rear trailing arm bushes fresh.
 
nuvpal said:
Cheers Gaygle, I have just had Inspection II done (a few weeks back) and all they said were my break pads were getting low but it's nothing major. I will have a look through all the service history though to confirm fully.

So you would recommend Bridge Potenza RE050A's? Maybe I will fit them to see if it makes any difference. First I will measure my tread properly and check the tyre make and post back here with results, but maybe I should upgrade anyway... Cheers.
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Check pressures while your at it too.
 
nuvpal said:
So you would recommend Bridge Potenza RE050A's? Maybe I will fit them to see if it makes any difference. First I will measure my tread properly and check the tyre make and post back here with results, but maybe I should upgrade anyway... Cheers.
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Yeah the Potenza's are great, but there are a few other tyres to consider - namely, Eagle F1 Assymetrics, Vredstein Ultrac Sessanta's and Continental Contisport Contact 3's.

I wouldn't bother upgrading if you have good tyres with good tread, as in that case, it's likely that it'd be your driving or the bushes are worn. :)
 
Sounds like the previous owner fitted a set of Ditch finders before he sold it.
 
OK I've checked my tyres and they are 'Bridgestone Potenza RE040 *' Are these as good as those RE050A ones you use Gaygle?

They're 225/40ZR18 88Y at front and 255/35ZR18 90Y at the back (No idea what any of that means except the width and rim size).

All have a rotation arrow as well and they are all rotating the correct way.

I haven't measured the tread but there is no need as there is tons of it...

I'm thinking I should take it to a garage to get them to check the bushes/springs. Cheers for the advice guys.
 
I dont think they are as good but they are certainly not bad enough to cause problematic handling with the car, they are far from ditchfinders.

The tyre size is correct and the load index seems fine as well.

Have you thought about getting the allignment checked by somewhere with a Hunter Allignment machine?

You've nothing to lose, most places will check it for just £5. If it needs doing it should be done even if its not causing the problems.
 
nuvpal said:
OK I've checked my tyres and they are 'Bridgestone Potenza RE040 *' Are these as good as those RE050A ones you use Gaygle?

They're 225/40ZR18 88Y at front and 255/35ZR18 90Y at the back (No idea what any of that means except the width and rim size).

All have a rotation arrow as well and they are all rotating the correct way.

I haven't measured the tread but there is no need as there is tons of it...

I'm thinking I should take it to a garage to get them to check the bushes/springs. Cheers for the advice guys.
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I'm not overly familiar with the RE040's except i know that they came on a lot of performance Honda's and many people reported that they were notoriously bad in the wet, but alright in the dry.

But like i said, this is only feedback from people with a totally different type of car/driving style.

However, i can confirm that RE050A's are fantastic in the wet and dry.
 
Wouldn't they have taken care of that when they did the big Inspection II service? Or do they not bother with those kinds of things?

I'll have a call around at local places to see who has a Hunter, I'm taking it to Birmingham to fit some speakers this weekend so will prob have more luck finding one there than in my little town. Cheers Fox

EDIT @ Gaygle: Hmm, maybe I could do with an upgrade of tyres then... I'll see if the alignment helps, if not I'll get the bushes checked. Last port of call, upgrade to your RE050A's. :) Thanks
 
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IME - incorrect tyre pressures usually causes understeer issues in e46s. Check these are correct - if you still have issues, get it aligned.

I had massive understeer issues on my e36, an alignment completely sorted it.
 
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