Until I recently purchased my '04 545i, I have driven M3's for the last few years, so this is my first experience with an E60. I love the car and love this forum.

The only problem is that a strange vibration is sucking the joy right out of driving (ok, not totally). I feel the vibration through the steering wheel and pedals between 48 and 62 mph. Passengers only notice if I point it out to them. Now that I recognize it, I can even hear it very slightly.

The really strange thing is that the vibration "pulses" a bit faster than once a second. I don't know how else to explain it, but it comes and goes in quick succession and keeps pulsing as long as I'm between the speeds above.

I do have 20" Asanti wheels w/ Michelin Pilot PS2 that came on the car (not a big fan of chrome, but they actually look great). I did search the forums and read quite a bit about problems balancing various 20" wheels, but none said anything about "pulsing". If it was the wheels, wouldn't it be a constant vibration? If not, maybe the wheels really are the problem.

Thanks in advance for feedback from a helpful group. I wanted advice from this group before seeking help from the dealer. Any comments or advice are appreciated.

 

If I were a betting man I'd say it is 20" wheels. Check to see iff they are Hubcentric with a dia of 72mm. If they are bigger (typically 74mm) you will need spiggot rings to reduce the 2mm gap. Anyhoo thats my veiw..

 

I second that. Used to have a similar problem with my former car that had 19" rims. As stated above, you first have to make sure the rims are hubcentric; if not, purchase the appropriate size hubcentric rims to correct the fit. THEN ... look for a place that has a Hunter RoadForce balancing machine and re-balance all 4 rims. The Hunter machine doesn't balance rims traditionally by 'freewheeling' the rim off the ground. It actually places a rotating cylinder against the tire tread to mimic the actual contact that a tire experiences against the road ... THEN the balancing process starts. It's super accurate and works all the time. Never had any problems. Ride was always smooooooth as silk.

 

So are you guys saying that even if it is the wheels that it could result in the symptoms I'm having - this pulsing kind of vibration within a narrow speed range?

 

your wheels are not balanced properly.

go get them rebalanced with the counter-weights fitted inside the rim.

 

I don't know about all the hub-centric stuff - but vibration at a particular speed is almost certainly a wheel balancing issue.

I've often had to go back to tyre fitters afetr driving off and finding that they haven't balanced the wheels as well as they should.

 

Ok, here's the deal - I took the car to a shop that specializes in high-end wheels and high-speed balancing today. My Asanti's are already hub-centric and the wheels are well balanced, so that doesn't seem to be the problem.

However, they did notice some "cupping" on the tires. These are Michelin Pilot PS2's with quite a bit of tread left, so it's a mystery as to how any cupping would happen. They believe this is the cause of the vibration.

Can anyone confirm, deny or lead me down a different path? I'm not really fond of the idea of new tires when these have quite a bit left in them.

Thanks!

 

I also drive a 2004 545i, although I am driving on original equipment wheels and Dunlop RunFlats, I have alot of experience with tire cupping.

I'm sorry to tell you that your car will wear out any tire or wheel combination out there the same way. This car IMO has some defect that causes all tires to cup. You will start to feel the tire wear between 5 and 7000 miles. I'm hopefull that this defect has been corrected on newer MY cars because I'm looking at an 2007 550. Good Luck

 

Roleez,
Do you know any shop in Bay Area has Hunter RoadForce balancing machine?

Thanks

 

another thing.

the toe is off which can cause uneven wearning, thus the vibration.

you need to do a specific 4-wheel alignment.
when the car is being aligned, make sure the steering wheel is locked straight at 12 o'clock. this is a very common problem many mechanics fail to do when adjusting alignments.
i usually walk into the work area to point it out to them. many needless to say were displeased.