330E Light Steering ?

[scookey]

Hi all - Newbi here with my first BMW - picked up my new (well to me!) 330E M Sport on a 66 plate. drove it back from Oxford to Wolverhampton yesterday & everything is fine, except the steering feels very very light, if I was doing the same journey in my old SLK I would have said I was driving on ice - is this normal ??? & if so do you think it may be caused by the battery pack & a full tank of fuel hanging out the back & taking weight off the front ? or what ??? - thanks for your time in even reading this & hopefully replying - cheers Steve

[scookey]

Well thanks for your thoughts ! 

Finally took it to Mr Tyre to do a wheel alignment & it was all within a degree, they said quite a few come in with the same comment about being really light & that seems to be the way they are so looks like I'll have to get used to it - such a difference to my old SLK though so it may take a bit of time.

[Greydog]

Morning Steve

Welcome to the Forum

What tyres are on the car? BMW can be sensitive to tyres and pressures. I came from AMG's to the X5 and strangely found the opposite the X felt as though the power steering was not working by comparison.

Hope you enjoy the Beemer

Dave

[scookey]

Hi Dave

I think you may have hit the nail on the head - when I bought it I saw the P6 something something on the tyre & assumed Pirelli - but they ain't - they are Rapid P609 225/45ZR18 on the front & Goodyear EfficiemtGrip 255/40R18 on the rear - on the SLK my local dealer talked me into Hankook to stop its habit of breaking away at the rear so it looks like they might be the obvious swop again - what's yours & the clubs verdict ?

Thanks for replying

cheers Steve

[Greydog]

Hi Steve 

Tyres are or can be a touchy subject with some seeing them as a necessary evil and buy cheap others only buy the best. Certainly seems someone put cheap ditch finders on for either MOT or sale.

Personally I like same make front and rear and go for the recognized brands so I would check the rear wear and make a decision based on their condition. If they are good or nearly new condition I would buy the same for the front. 

The last set on my X5 are Bridgestone before was Yoko's and before that Michelin as I look for the deals, my winter wheels have Witrac Extreme fitted.

Dave

[Upt'North]

I thought your car would be on run flats? 

I personally find the Pirelli's OK, although they do like to track tarmac imperfections. I'd never heard of Rapid and if you can why not run with all Goodyear to see if that corrects the issue, also run a couple of PSI lower in the front if steering feel is a priority. 

Upt'North. 

[scookey]

Thanks Dave & Upt'North

Rapid P609's are NOT Pirelli Upt, they are A Chinese tyre that according to reviews have little grip on normal roads & virtually none on wet roads ;-( & I expected Run flats too - they are at the back but not upfront. When I took the car in to get it's tracking checked the tyres were all at 31psi so they upped that yo the recommended 41 & I have to say if there is a difference I cannot feel it

& Goodyear's are not too in favour in Wolverhampton ever since they closed their manufacturing plant & really up'ed our unemployment figures & wrecked our local economy - they don't sell a lot here anymore, unsurprisingly.

I'm going to pop into Mr Tyre next week & I think negotiate on a pair of Bridgestone's 225/45RF18 Turanza T005 RFT MOE 70BA Run Flats that are an A on Wet Grip & a B on Economy that are £142 each, I try & negotiate on everything !, shops love me !!!

Thanks for your thoughts Guys - I'll let you know if better tyres make any difference.

cheers Steve

[Greydog]

Bridgestone are a BMW * rated and approved tyre so you should find things improve significantly. 😁

[scookey]

Thanks Dave, Bridgiez it is then 

[Upt'North]

On the tracking subject. 

I tried to get mine tracked at ATS sometime ago, they were about as much use a chocolate fireguard. It was like watching the Chuckle Brothers at work. I bit the bullet and paid a whopping £100.00 to get it done at a franchise. It transformed the car, their before and after documentation only showed minor differences but driving it was like night and day. £100.00 well spent and the strange tyre wear was well and truly sorted. I suspect it was out from new. 

Didn't know about the Wolverhampton plant closing I used to go past regularly on the 449 in a previous life. I know it's a separate question and I'm not expecting an answer but why does some numpty put lousy inappropriate tyres on a new'ish 330e? Probably because they're a numpty. 

Upt'North. 

[scookey]

In answer to the numpty question Upt, I wish I knew as it was on a 3 year lease with Hitachi Leasing and they weren't newly put on at the end of the lease, strangely everything else on the car is pristine, not even a paint chip, just the front tyres, dealer said he just had to polish it.

Sad day when Goodyear closed, put several of my mates or their Dads out of work, it's mainly a housing estate now.

Cheers Steve.

[scookey]

So . . . I ordered the Bridgestone Run Flats & negotiated £6 off each of the two tyres 😉 unfortunately Mr Tyre or Bridgestone had none in stock & delivery off Bridgestone would be at the end of March, therefore they had to be sourced from another supplier & were on a 24 hour delivery, unfortunately this scuppered my negotiated saving 😢

Had them fitted this morning, in the pouring rain, first out of the fitters I have to do a 360 round an island - & first thought through my head was " I can actually feel the car steering - it doesn't feel like driving on ice anymore!!!"

So thanks for all your help on this Dave & Upt - I may now actually enjoy driving the 330E now, instead of crossing my fingers (metaphorically) at every turn of the wheel !

[Greydog]

Morning Steve

Good news, just a shame you have had to spend your hard earned so early.

Now ENJOY

Dave

[scookey]

On 2/28/2020 at 12:52 PM, scookey said:

So . . . I ordered the Bridgestone Run Flats & negotiated £6 off each of the two tyres 😉 unfortunately Mr Tyre or Bridgestone had none in stock & delivery off Bridgestone would be at the end of March, therefore they had to be sourced from another supplier & were on a 24 hour delivery, unfortunately this scuppered my negotiated saving 😢

Had them fitted this morning, in the pouring rain, first out of the fitters I have to do a 360 round an island - & first thought through my head was " I can actually feel the car steering - it doesn't feel like driving on ice anymore!!!"

So thanks for all your help on this Dave & Upt - I may now actually enjoy driving the 330E now, instead of crossing my fingers (metaphorically) at every turn of the wheel !

So I've now had her 10 months, and I'm now totally used to the steering, in fact I get back in the SLK and its like steering a tractor!!!

Although, for obvious reasons, I haven't driven her as much as I would normally have done, mainly short distances in electric mode and with the economy setting selected, when I get her out on the open road and select sport, it's just WOW & I mean WOW!!!, I thought the SLK was quick but . . .

[Greydog]

Hi Steve 

If you want to do further on electric you must need a longer charging lead 🤣 🤣

They do have some punch out on the road though don't they you must really appreciate knowing you are going where your pointing the car

As said earlier ENJOY (watch your license !! Son Inlaw on 9 points same car)

Dave

[scookey]

1 hour ago, Greydog said:

Hi Steve 

If you want to do further on electric you must need a longer charging lead 🤣 🤣

They do have some punch out on the road though don't they you must really appreciate knowing you are going where your pointing the car

As said earlier ENJOY (watch your license !! Son Inlaw on 9 points same car)

Dave

LOL Dave ;-)

Yes I wish it had a bit bigger battery, say a 7 or 8 hour charge time instead of 5, it would be a lot more electrically usable, and I had my first speeding ticket in 30+ years less than 5 miles after picking her up down south to bring her home (traditional 50mph country road with a 30mph 100yards section with camera round a bend, c'est la vie!), found out that running in electric mode they don't slow down so quickly using engine breaking as traditional cars do, still the course was actually quite interesting, especially as it was my first ever Zoom meeting.