The phenomenon of BMW “floating” on the road – what is the reason and how to fix it?

BMW driver question

I bought a BMW 3 and had a full geometry done. Everything is well aligned, and something strange is happening. When overtaking, the car starts “walking” all over the road. The wheels are balanced and I have a sports suspension. Please help – what needs to be done to eliminate this problem?

The problem affected the BMW 3, but it can also happen in other models.

Response from BM Cars service

To eliminate the problem of “floating” on the road, you should first check the steering and suspension of the car – front and rear. Then it is necessary to eliminate all clearances. It is necessary to examine the shock absorbers front and rear on the diagnostic path. A very common cause of the car’s oversteer especially when driving on roads with damaged pavement – ruts – is the wrong tire size, which is too wide, for a given model.

Visual considerations in the selection of wheel size do not usually coincide with driving comfort and safety. For each model, the manufacturer has provided a range of acceptable tire sizes. The use of other sizes, in addition to lack of comfort, is dangerous and reflects very strongly on the rate of depletion of wheel suspension components (control arms, bushings, pins).

For an accurate diagnosis, we invite you to schedule a visit to our service center. We provide a two-year warranty on all work.

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• Replacing and repairing front control arm pins on a BMW 3
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