Tramlining and tyres

[littlefeller]

oh yeh almost forgot front 225/40r18. rear 255/35r18

 

[roadvoyager1]

Gails E89 has 225/35 front and 255/30 rear on 19" but are Brdigstone Potenza RFTs but I don't recall any significant tram-lining.
So does the larger side wall soak up minor ripples, RFTs are so hard that all the road profile changes is transmitted into the suspension without any flexing in the side wall. Its a bone cracking ride at times though.

Maybe need to add which model of Z is being reported on also.

The E89 is designed to have RFTs and the suspension set-up will have been tuned to avoid any undue effects such as tramlining. Our E36/7s were only fitted with 15/16/17" wheels as standard.

Certainly a can of worms opened up. It will be good to see what comes out.

 

[Redline]

you dont think that maybe tram lining and convertibles kind of go hand in hand due to flex?
when i brought mine it was fine till i fitted different wheels (larger) then it tram lined, so the smaller 15 inch went back on.
i always assumed it was the wheels/tyres that had caused this, but in hind sight it may well have been the fact that the 15s had much higher sidewalls, could this have hidden the tram lining?.
since then i fitted 18s and it came back, though not as bad as the first time.
i recently fitted new rubber and so far its been fine though to be fair it will never be as sure footed as it was with the 15s. (again this could be due to the higher side walls)
so maybe you need to include Tyre sizes as well as tread pattern to and build up a more comprehensive data base.
i cant remember the make or pattern of my previous sets but here is mine

rear
View attachment 30233
front , the fronts are new. tram lining (at the moment) is minimal

View attachment 30234

Your fronts do have several wide grooves which somewhat destroys my theory - but, its still a useful exercise finding out which tyres and wheels sizes exhibit the effect on which cars - only by pooling out collective experience might we just learn something

 

[littlefeller]

true, maybe you can answer the question most have asked at some point, personal i do believe it has alot to do with the side walls (the taller walls hide/mast the problem, there again was not the z3 originally based on an e36 compact - 15 inch wheels, though my reasoning here kind of goes out of the window if you include the z4)

 

[littlefeller]

oh yes just to confirm, my wide grove fronts are only 3 weeks old so may muddy the water some what.

 

[Redline]

oh yes just to confirm, my wide grove fronts are only 3 weeks old so may muddy the water some what.

No - Thats good to know.

I got mine back in Sept last year - I''ve not experienced any other tyres although I'm watching for any changes as the tyres wear.

I'd noticed how much mine bounced around and pulled when you hit a ripple or groove in the road. What caught me out was to was the first time I drove home from work down a road I've driven hundreds of times. One right hand band in particular caught me out big time. I've since learnt to drive much deeper into the corner in the Zed and let the much better grip get the car out the other side rather than straighten the corner out and hit the white lines and join in the tarmac.

I guess another question is (albeit difficult to answer as I guess you don't notice it happening) is do your tyre change significantly as they wear?

 

[Brian H]

Great thread @Redline

Just go throw my 2p in, as well as the tread pattern the side wall stiffness will play a major part in this, it is know that the larger size wheels generally produce more tram-lining, of course to keep the rolling radius of the wheels the same the larger the wheel the smaller the sidewall, I.e. Less flex.

I have run several different tyres on my car including semi-slick track tyres, for me the stiffer the side wall the more the car wants to eject me in to a ditch.

 

[Redline]

Great thread @Redline

Just go throw my 2p in, as well as the tread pattern the side wall stiffness will play a major part in this, it is know that the larger size wheels generally produce more tram-lining, of course to keep the rolling radius of the wheels the same the larger the wheel the smaller the sidewall, I.e. Less flex.

I have run several different tyres on my car including semi-slick track tyres, for me the stiffer the side wall the more the car wants to eject me in to a ditch.

Looks like we're getting a pattern on the tyre profile - but, I suspect there's still some differences across different tyres and tread patterns on the same size and profile. It looks like the 18" on both Z3 and E85 Z4 are a common theme. Does anyone not get significant tram lining on 18"s? If so, is it tyres or significant suspension upgrades that have cured it?

 

[DavidM]

I haven't noticed any tramlining on my 18's. I'll get the make and a tread photo up tomorrow evening, The front tyres have been on the car for 3 years+.

 

[billz]

I have had 18" on both Z3s and the Z4 and with the contis i can honestly say tramlining has been very minimal. When we got the Z3 it had 17s on and tramlined terribly

 

[EnthuZiaZT]

Monty ran on 18inch Rims with Falken 453s non runflat, No hint of tramlining at all. Unfortunately I do not have a picture to put on the thread. Alpie runs 19 inch wheels with Bridgestone runflats, again no hint of tramlining.

Mike

 

[littlefeller]

@Redline i have never realy noticed a difference as they wear, what i have noticed though is that out of all the cars i have owned it is only the rear wheel driven cars that tram line

 

[Aceman]

I am in the middle of this dilemma myself and have narrowed it down to either Avon ZZ5's on the recommendations of @swamper or Hankook evo2 K117 or k110. Favouring the Avons tbh as they are known to be good on the zed.

My previous tyres which were Pirelli's were absolutely awful on the zed and made it almost undriveable so have experienced how tyres can spoil the fun of driving a Z3 hence my apprehension towards making the correct choice.

 

[t-tony]

My 108's came on Goodyear F1 Eagles and I do get some tramlining on very bad tarmac joins in the road surface. On smooth tarmac roads none at all. If I can get some pictures before Fla. I will.
Another important part is played by tyre air pressure @Redline so it may worth be noting what people run theirs at Ian.

Tony.

 

[hard top]

Ran winter rubber all year round, softer side walls, never had a problem. Not got a close up pic though, sorry.

 

[swamper]

I am in the middle of this dilemma myself and have narrowed it down to either Avon ZZ5's on the recommendations of @swamper or Hankook evo2 K117 or k110. Favouring the Avons tbh as they are known to be good on the zed.

My previous tyres which were Pirelli's were absolutely awful on the zed and made it almost undriveable so have experienced how tyres can spoil the fun of driving a Z3 hence my apprehension towards making the correct choice.

Ian if you want a go of mine before you buy some then we can arrange it ?

 

[Alan W]

I've have now got conti's all round albeit that the front and rear are different versions, and l like to have them inflated at 30 psi all round which seems to give the best ride. They were bought as part worns imported from germany and I can get a little bit of tramlining at low speed on uneven surfaces or white lines but know the motorway she drives beautifully and inspires confidence.. whereas the previous Dunlop sp sports made the car twitchy at high speed with a bit of wandering. I have another pair of part worn conti's in the loft and once they're all worn out l will get my spare set of wheels refurbed and buy a nice complete set of new tyres, probably uniroyal rainmasters which have a nice soft sidewall and really grip in the wet. I also like the look of Nokian tyres.

 

[brilie]

Just replaced falkens (which tramlined like a gud un)
With Pirelli p7 on the front (cured in a flash) no tram lining
Quieter and generally a far better ride ,very pleased

Here's the pretty pattern that has cured my blues

 

[Aceman]

Ian if you want a go of mine before you buy some then we can arrange it ?

Thanks for the offer Wayne I will let you know.

 

[t-tony]

Just replaced falkens (which tramlined like a gud un)
With Pirelli p7 on the front (cured in a flash) no tram lining
Quieter and generally a far better ride ,very pleased
View attachment 30327
Here's the pretty pattern that has cured my blues

What sizes are you running Bri, and how much were the P7's please?

Tony.