[NJ.M5]

Hey everyone, Haven't posted in a while, cars been running great, hope eveyones doing well!

I switched to my winter setup (Blizzak LM60s) a few weeks ago, and the past few days have noticed some fairly severe vibration in the 40-50 mph range, although I swear I can feel some vibration at nearly all speeds. I checked the psi of tires and all were 45-50psi, what is the next recommended course of action? Should I just go get the tires balanced tomorrow? It just seems to have happened fairly suddenly....is there anything else it could be?

 

[Harry Madan]

I think you need to get your wheels re-balanced. I had the same issue and it turns out the wheels were not balanced properly. There should be more vibration in the seat cushion.

I would start there.
Hope it helps.

 

[NJ.M5]

do I get an alignment too? It's my understanding that this is a sizable amount more money.

 

[ChrisM]

do I get an alignment too? It's my understanding that this is a sizable amount more money.

A wheel alignment shouldn't cost more than around 60$?

 

[Harry Madan]

do I get an alignment too? It's my understanding that this is a sizable amount more money.

Is you car pulling to one side or another?

If not then you don't need an alignment. M's are very well balanced cars and they require their wheels to be well balanced. Some shop's don't balance the wheels properly or decide not to put the very small amount of weight on the the wheels. That is why you will have some vibrations as you drive.

Knowing the fact that you car was running just perfect before you put the winter wheels on, then it would be a fair guess that your winter wheels are not balanced right.

Just get them checked, if they need to be balanced they will cost you about $5-10 a wheel.

 

[chowdah]

There's a lot to point out here. 1. PSI should not be that high, nor that variable from wheel to wheel (depends what wheels you are running). 2. Vibration can be from improper lug tightening, bent wheel, etc. 3. Assuming your winter set was properly stored and your PSI is same as last season, when was your last balance/alignment?

 

[NJ.M5]

the wheels came balanced from tirerack...I used them for 3 months last year and a month this year...then the shaking started. I'll get them balanced tomorrow, no need for an alignment.

 

[lothar]

I was dealing with a very similar issue and it turns out I had multiple problems. It could be any one of the following (or potentially something else, these are just the things I checked):

1) Rebalance wheels. Cheap and easy. Some places will even spin the wheels up for free to check for problems before weighting.

2) Bent wheel. Usually fixable if so, for a reasonable amount of money (~$100).

3) Worn thrust arm bushings or ball joints.

4) Worn control arm bushings or ball joints.

5) Tie rod/idler arm issues.

If the weather cooperates, it would be good to put your summer setup back on and see if the problem goes away. If it does, you can probably rule out 3-5. Personally, I had 1, 2 and 3 done and it solved my problem. Suspension vibrations are a #$*#$ to find, I went through many diagnostic hours alone and with my local indy mechanics before we got mine solved. Best of luck.

 

[Wurger]

I had the same problem when I bought the car. I had all the wheels rebalanced and found out the (almost) new rear tyres had spun on the wheels The mechanic then told me that can easily happen in the first 10's of kilometers after install since they are not seated properly and there is a fair amount of grunt in the vechicle.

Spinning tires on wheels had not been a problem in my earlier cars :grinyes:

 

[rickc007]

I just had a shimmy because of a dented rim

If you just put them on yourself, I recheck the lug nuts for tightness

Agree, doesn't sound like you need an alignment,

 

[icanhazbeast?]

I have a slight vibration from 55 - 65, it manifests most noticeably in vibration of the back of the passenger seat. I was running tire pressures in the mid 30s (similar to how I ran previous low profile tires on other cars) and upped the pressures to 40/44. This dropped off the vibration considerably, barely noticeable now. I'm thinking my issue is with the rear tires / wheels. Annoying that's its right in the highway speed band! This is the biggest issue with my Beast right now, which in the scope of things is pretty minor.

1. Don't think it's thrust bushings, no vibration on breaking, no wandering steering
2. Had both front rims straightened and balanced after buying the car
3. Indie replaced driver's side rear ball joint as it was shot
4. New rear sway bar brackets

Possibilities:
Bent rear rim?
Repaired or old tires?

I have Dunlop SP 8080s on the car, manufacture code is late 2006 but low wear. Not sure if these have been on the car for that long or were old stock the dealer threw on before selling.

 

[VacMan]

Make sure the wheels are direct-fit, too. Some aftermarket wheels require hubcentric rings to be centered properly.

 

[BimmerGrunt]

Might go without saying but there's also a good possibility you just knocked/slung, one of the balance weights off.

Don't get sucked into the whole "there are a bunch of things that could be wrong" game. I had a brand new set of ball joints on a different car <100 miles on them. I took the car to Goodyear and told them that I had just put new pads on the front (I had) and that I had very little pedal. I wasn't able to bleed them properly so would it be possible to bleed them for me. They did a "200" point inspection whatever on it. Came back with 1600 dollars worth of work that "needed" to be done, including the ball joints I had just replaced and that they were sure air in the lines wasn't the problem. None of the things they listed could have given me the issues I was having. After I explained that none of the things they mentioned could cause what I was feeling, the mechanic finally said "that may just be the way your car is supposed to feel. My wife has a car like that and it feels about the same." I shook my head, paid my 60 dollars for a BS diagnosis and went home. I bled the lines again when I got home and it immediately fixed the problem.

Excuse my sob story. Just don't get sucked into "we found blah blah blah."

 

[vioilio83]

check balance on your wheels/tires and also if you feel vibration in the steering wheel check your tie rods.

 

[lugnuts]

Is you car pulling to one side or another?

If not then you don't need an alignment. M's are very well balanced cars and they require their wheels to be well balanced. Some shop's don't balance the wheels properly or decide not to put the very small amount of weight on the the wheels. That is why you will have some vibrations as you drive.

Knowing the fact that you car was running just perfect before you put the winter wheels on, then it would be a fair guess that your winter wheels are not balanced right.

Just get them checked, if they need to be balanced they will cost you about $5-10 a wheel.

there is more to wheel alignments then just the car pulling to one side. your car could track perfectly straight and still need an alignment.

the wheels came balanced from tirerack...I used them for 3 months last year and a month this year...then the shaking started. I'll get them balanced tomorrow, no need for an alignment.

you probably lost one of the weights on a wheel. get them balanced and then go from there. if it is still there after that then start to look at tie rods and other suspension parts.

 

[Harry Madan]

there is more to wheel alignments then just the car pulling to one side. your car could track perfectly straight and still need an alignment.



you probably lost one of the weights on a wheel. get them balanced and then go from there. if it is still there after that then start to look at tie rods and other suspension parts.

agreed.. but it is an easy tell sign

 

[NJ.M5]

thanks for all the great responses guys! Im getting them balanced on thursday and will report back with the results. I do go over some bumpy roads to and from work, so perhaps one of the weights popped off.

 

[Jacob_Seattle]

+1 on the re-balancing. The weights come off way to easy under high speed(130+) and under winter conditions (snow, water, etc). You can even look in the inner part of the wheel lip and see if there is fresh sticky glue exposed where one of the small lead weights came off. Hopefully, this should be a really easy fix, don't worry.

 

[lugnuts]

agreed.. but it is an easy tell sign

Yes for one type of issue. But tire wear is a better indicator of needing or not needing an alignment and should be checked every once in a while.

 

[NJ.M5]

Turns out I my two driver side rims were bent, probably from the rough roads of urban north jersey....I had them switch the bent rim to the rear so the two bents are in back - much better! Looking forward to warm weather and throwing the OEM setup back on. Thanks for the help guys!