OK, nothing new here, my M5 has the shimmy that a lot of us have experienced. At about 50MPH, I could feel the shimmy in the steering wheel and I just lived with it as I know it's a known issue. So this past weekend I put on a set of 15MM spacers, mostly for appearance. I like the look of the wheels out a little bit as opposed to stock, and I get 2 side effects that I didnt expect:
1. A little but of understeer, which is fine with me. It loosened it up just a little and I like it.
2. Here's the suprise, the shimmy is all but gone!
I can understand the understeer, but does the shimmy going away make sense? I don't understand the physics of it all, but whatever it is it worked (for now anyway)
I have no experience with spacers on M5's, but have used them before on other cars with no ill effects. I don't know why the shimmy would be gone, but I'd love to see some pictures of the car with spacers. I assume you put them on the front?
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02 M5 Carbon Black/ Black Sport/ M-Audio/ Remus exhaust
nope, wheel spacers on the back. i'll post some pictures shortly
Wow 15mm's on the back! I was thinking that I might be able to get away with 5mm without any rubbing. They are pushed out pretty far as it is. I absolutely love the look of wheels with a "dish" pushed out as far as possible without going beyond the fender.
Let's see some pics!
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02 M5 Carbon Black/ Black Sport/ M-Audio/ Remus exhaust
OK, nothing new here, my M5 has the shimmy that a lot of us have experienced. At about 50MPH, I could feel the shimmy in the steering wheel and I just lived with it as I know it's a known issue. So this past weekend I put on a set of 15MM spacers, mostly for appearance. I like the look of the wheels out a little bit as opposed to stock, and I get 2 side effects that I didnt expect:
1. A little but of understeer, which is fine with me. It loosened it up just a little and I like it.
2. Here's the suprise, the shimmy is all but gone!
I can understand the understeer, but does the shimmy going away make sense? I don't understand the physics of it all, but whatever it is it worked (for now anyway)
Anyone else experience this?
i had the same problem. . .it would come and go at different brake speeds. eventually, i got my brake rotors replaced under cpo. happened again. was told it was my driving habits. . .too much heat, etc. by the selling dealer (open road bmw in nj --- btw, don't ever go there. sales/service are horrendous). independent dinan dealer told me i had loose control arms and worn out bushings which all contributed to the warped rotors. i'm not sure who to believe but since i replaced the rotors and bushings (had to pay for that) as well as a wheel alignment, i haven't had any shimmy.
check your rotors. they should be covered under warranty.
shimmies are extremely common on bmw's. The most frequent culprit is the 'thrust arm bushings', you'll find a lot of info here using the search feature.
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Mike
91 M5 Alpine White II, Silver Gray 3/90 production
17x8/17x9 M system with PS2, 20mm touring roll bar; Ground Control Coilovers; EAT Chip, CD43; bmw/nardi blackline steering wheel, 3.8 Cam Gears
08 535i / 6 speed
Space Gray; Gray; Sport/Premium/Nav
00 M5 Ti Silver; Imola/black sportiv --Sold
Engine:
Supersprint Headers, Dinan CAI kit and MAFS, Throttle Bodies, Cams, Ported heads, Exhaust, Custom dinan software, Evosport Pullies, Dinan clutch and lightened flywheel; Ignition solutions plasma coils
Suspension:
Dinan Stage 3 with front and rear Strut Tower Braces, Beastpower Sway bar brackets, Dinan Wheels with 275/285 PilotSport, X5 Thrust arm bushings, Stoptech 355mm 4 piston front, 355mm 2 piston rear brake kit, Dinan 3.45 diff
Interior/Misc:
Eurodash, updated steering wheel, Bluetooth retrofit, Sirius Retrofit, hardwired V1, Widescreen Mk4 nav, M audio retrofit, Ice Link, BSW Stage 1 speaker upgrade, bmw towbar