Tried searching. Hope this hasn't been covered already. I'm a MINI noob.

The 405 freeway in Southern California has lines cut in to the road, to channel moisture away from the surface. I'm sure this is done everywhere.

On this, and other freeways with gutters carved in to them, I feel like my tire treads are getting caught in the lines. The resulting effect is that the car is being pushed around, back and forth. Similar to high winds. I have to keep a good grip on to the wheel. Any other surfaces let the car drive exactly as it should.

I just got an alignment, and my tires are almost brand new. I am sure there are many different factors involved, but has anyone else noticed this? I have never driven another car that has done this.

Thanks.

 

I live in SoCal too. The 405, 5, 101, all of them. This happens to me as well. I've gotten so used to it that I don't even notice anymore. It's normal.

 

When I had this issue with my 03 MCS, I did two things.

New CAB's and tossed the runflat tires which ride with all the car's weight on their sidwalls....I get a sense they were both contributing factors.

FYI: I had an alignment done as a "first fix", and it was right BEFORE the CAB's had to be replaced too. These alignment guru's shouldn't even bother if the CAB;s ( Control Arm Bushings) are bad, but they do anyways.....

 

I had a pair of tires on one car that would cause this.....the ribs/groves on the tires would get stuck in the groves in the concreate on the mass turnpike in one particular section...
I'm guessing that, depending on you milage, it may be time to get some new bushings...I had a tiny bit of a wiggle on my mini at one point..was barely noticabe, but my mini guy said I had a worn bushing...he installed a set Polly bushings....and it became rock solid.

 

SoCal here too. Mine does it!

 

Same thing happens to me daily on the 110.

 

It's the runflats. I'd forgotten how it felt until I drove a new one home with the runflats on it.

 

Not any more !

I ditched the Run Flats and that problem went away quickly ! ! !

Do the same and you will be a happier Mini driver for sure !!!

 

fancy term for it is tramlining

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=47

wider tires seem to have a higher tendency to do this but it also has something to do with tread pattern. Motorcycles will do it bad. I had it on the 02-S with 17" Pir' Euf' RF's. Noticable on grooved pavement but the two open grate draw bridges felt like I was driving on ice. Different tire helped some but it was still there.

I found a perfect solution tho - I moved and no longer have a commute that takes me on such roads

 

Certainly, runflats will be somewhat more prone to doing this. But it's also a tread pattern issue. Find a tire will larger tread "blocks" or one that has the blocks staggered from one to the next so that they aren't directly behind each other as the tire rotates.