adam81osu

So... I"ve had an interesting 6 months or so with my car. I have an 05 530i with 60k miles and the sports suspension/package w/ 19" m5 wheels. I hit a pretty significant pothole back in December of 08 that blistered a tire and really jarred the car. Ever since then my car just hasn't driven the same. It's very unnoticeable at speeds under 40-45, but at speeds over, I have a SERIOUS vibration felt through the seats and steering wheel. It's VERY obvious to anyone who rides in my car with me, and varies in intensity based on the condition of the road I'm on. I had a local German car specialty shop check out the car and they were convinced there was no suspension damage. I purchased a new matching tire (Bridgestone Pole Position 050A) and had an alignment done and all four tires re-balanced but the car still wasn't the same. I was detailing her yesterday and noticed something very odd. My rear passenger tire sits WAY deeper into the fender wall than my drivers rear. I went ahead and measured the difference and it's quite significant. My passenger rear is so tucked, I cant even fit one finger inbetween the tire and fender. My finger has to be at an angle to get it to clear. On the driver's side rear, I can get two fingers inbetween quite easily. Any ideas on what would cause my car to sit significantly lower on one side over the other? My trunk is always moderately full of work gear but it's evenly distributed and isn't enough weight to affect anything. It just doesn't make sense. I'm quite disappointed though that the ride quality I used to take for granted is gone and won't seem to return no matter what I do.

Ricracing

A few pics would or could help.

But "hitting pretty significant potholes" and having "rear passenger tire sits WAY deeper into the fender"
tells that some wheels, springs or shocks may be broken, in worst case also some small bends in the axels
or other chassis parts.

But please take your car to a proper BMW dealer and spend some money on repairs and service.

DrLev99

The passenger side is always lower than the driver's side on our cars.

EBMCS03

But not to the extent to what the OP said. Sound like something is wrong. Was that the same tire that blew out when u hit the pot hole?

Bad shock?

adam81osu

No it was my front passenger tire... but I then continued through it with my rear. It was nasty. We had 12" of snow for about 10 days out here which in Portland is EXTREMELY rare. After the ice finally melted away I was going about 55 on a back country road and came over a small hill and NAILED it. Proably about 10-12" wide, and 6" deep. I'd say the difference in ride height is about 1/2-3/4" of an inch.

C's Bimmer

Wow...something is definitely off. Put the stock wheels back on the car. Take it to your local dealer. Put it side by side to another 530 and have the techs do some measurements. Sounds like something is bent.