We just have the standard little tires on a standard just a cooper, and the way it drives over bridge grates has us freaked out. We noticed it first this summer, driving both ways over the Currituck Sound to Nags Head. The only way I can describe is to say that the car drifted, and we had to decrease speed dramatically to feel back in control. Now we're heading to Brooklyn, and the thought of driving over the miles of metal on the Verrazano Bridge has us terrified. Has anybody else had the problem and is there anything we can do to counteract this effect???

 

get a boat

 

Happens all the time to both my Cooper S and my wife's Clubman when we go over our local suspension bridge. I just get used to it. It is a little freaky at first when it happens.

 

Used to feel that way in my Neon sxt... Big time movement.
Just slow down. Impatient drivers can go around. Safety first.

 

I don't know enough about these things to know for sure, but from what I've read in the Suspension forum, the Alta Positive Steering Response System might help. From the look of the how-to in the second issue of the NAM Alliance magazine, the labor to install them could be expen$ive.

 

We had to go to Manteo 2 weeks ago for a funeral. My Clubman didn't seem to have any issues going over the sound. At lest if it did it didn't make itself that evident. Maybe check tire pressures, alignment, etc. Could also be tires, maybe. Odd though.....

 

Just out of curiosity, what tires do you have? With my current S and even with my first S I noticed with tires that had many parallel ribbed grooves they would tramline and follow in-road above-ground tracks, train-tracks and bridges grooves. My snow tires that have more horizontal sipes for biting into snow have far less of an issue tramlining.

 

16" bridge spokes here and I notice grates as well. I just got used to it...kind of like going over raised bumps and having the car and steering wheel jerk you in one direction....now I hold on tight to the wheel when I see I'm approaching bumps.

 

It's called tramlinning, if you search for it you'll see it's common occurrence in OEM tires, and some after market ones, certain tires are just more prone to it than others, tread patterns and overall tire width factor into it.

 

It can be unnerving. Try it on a motorcycle!

 

LMAO

 

Put some 20's on that bad boy........