I would recommend getting the dealer to do it with the AFS alignment. I know, it costs much but worth it.

I swapped by Conti Touring tyres to Michelin Sports (another highly ranked tire as per Tirerack) and did the alignment with a reputed local shop who also said they did the AFS alignment.

However, even though there was no vibration at even triple digit speeds, there was a distinct play - albeit slight one - in the steering and the tires seemed sluggish in cornering. I researched it online and went by tirerack's explanation that it will probably take a couple of 100 miles for the new tires to get more responsive.

After 1500 miles later, the sluggishness had gone down considerably but I was disappointed that the play in the steering was still present. That robbed the pleasure i had in driving the car, especially during the cornering.

I went to my dealer last weekend and when doing the regular service, managed to get the regular + AFS alignment done for $200. BOY! Wish I had done it three months ago when I changed the tires. Car is back to its perfect steering and cornering and tires seem more responsive.

 

Yeah it totally agree. When you buy new tires you should always demand road force balancing. On my previous car, I had Goodyears installed which balanced fine. I drove it on the highway and had vibrations, went back had it rebalanced, went back again etc. This went on for several time and then they finally road force balanced the tires and found out that 3 out of 4 tires had problems with the belts. Mercedes Benz road force balances the tires everytime they rotate them.

 

So what did you end up doing with the 3 that had belt problems? I'm going to the dealer this Sat to have them check out my tires. Not sure what I will do when they tell me what's wrong with them. I think if they can fix it via roadforce balancing, I guess I'll pay for it. If the tires are no good, I'll have to go back to the tire store and fight for an exchange or refund. I just want all this to be over with. Ugh.

 

I know exactly how frustrating your situation is. I just spent nearly 3 months dicking the very same issue on with a set of Hankook V12's. If you have them Road Force balanced, ask for a copy of the results. The dealer told me that their spec is a maximum of 16lbs - mine measured 24. The Michelin's measured less than 5lbs.

If the tires don't pass, ask to have them replaced under warranty. Hopefully, it won't be a problem if you bring a print out of the results with you

 

Thanks I will definitely do that. I'll report back afterwards. Thanks to everyone who have posted here.

 

Here is the update on my tire situation. Went to the dealer who roadforce balanced the tires. The SA told me that everything is perfect now and the technician wanted to ride with me to make sure I agreed. When I rode with him, it was markedly better but the vibration was still there and the technician agreed. He suggested that because of this reason, there are certain tires that have a star on the tire indicating that they are BMW approved and designed for BMWs. I'm not sure how much of that is true. So I went back to the tire store and explained what was done. They looked at the tires again and pointed out that two more wheels are slightly bent. So that raises a few questions:

Why was everything perfectly smooth with the original Goodyears, even on bent wheels?
Why does rotating the Contis makes no difference in the vibration?
Will getting new wheels all around cure it?
Would going back to the original Goodyears do the trick?
Will the vibration diminish / disappear as the tires wear?

The tire store manager assured me that it's not the Contis as they are premium tires. So at this point, unless I'm willing to throw more money and time into this, I'm stuck with vibrating tires. One interesting thing the tire store mechanic pointed out is that the sidewalls of the Contis seem to be a lot more flexible and every time the tire hits an uneven patch it leaves a rubber marking on the rim. Maybe that's why the Goodyears blew out because those have less flexible sidewalls? And maybe the sidewall difference causes the vibration? Just hypothesizing...

 

Bad tires or not, you should get the bent wheels fixed first or get perfect replacements for them. I mounted DWS on my new wheels 5 months ago and have no problems with them.

 

I recently put the Conti DWS on my car. Still legal rubber left on the original Goodyear, but one tire had a slow leak.

I don't have any vibration problems. Didn't get road force balancing, but I do think it is a good idea if it is available.

The Conti DWS definitely do seem a bit more "bouncy" than the Goodyears. I'm getting used to it.

 

Im glad i came across this post. I have been experiencing the exact same issue at the exact same speed. I have had my tires balanced/re-balanced/road force balanced etc.. I finally got an answer that i agree with. I took the car to americas tires and the tech showed me how the contis were "cupping". If you run your hand over the surface of the tread in one direction you will be able to feel your hand move up and down slightly. Then if you move your hand the opposite direction you should feel your hand 'catching' on the tread for no apparent reason. Cupping is the forming of ridges for lack of a better term on the wheels causing a wave like effect, this causes the tires to bounce slightly and the driver feels it in the steering wheel. This has been confirmed as the cause of my vibrations. The crappy part is that the tire warranty does not cover "cupping". The tech reversed balanced the tires to cancel out some of the cupping and said hopefully over the next 1000 miles it will continue to fix itself but im not keeping my fingers crossed.

 

I thought cupping was attributed to the worn out suspension?