Vibration and Tire Noise
08-31-2007, 05:03 PM
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Originally Posted by DrLev99' post='464598' date='Sep 1 2007, 01:47 AM
Well, I had my 5th wheel alignment and 5th wheel balance today to try and rid my car of its persistent vibration. It turns out that 2 of my new Bridgestone Potenza RE050A's are out-of-round. BMW road-force balanced them (FINALLY!), and the front tires were bouncing up and down so much that the Hunter balancer failed them both. The rears were fine.
The replica WHEELS, as it turns out, are not the problem at all. So, one more thing I get to deal with now, but one other thing ruled out. The guy who worked on my car today was a Dinan guy and had never worked on my particular car in the past re: my prior problems. This guy was AWESOME! I got to watch the whole balance and wheel alignment process.....even helped him carry the sandbags to weigh down the driver side. I even lined up the steering wheel myself to get it centered....it has been off-center twice in the past, so I wanted to make sure it was perfect.
So how's she driving now? Even with my egg-shaped tires in front, the car is driving much smoother. Of course, it was good for a few days after my last appt. So, time will tell. If by next week it's driving fine, I may not even bother getting the tires replaced, even though they are under warranty. It's just such a hassle, and I'd risk more damage to the finish on the wheels by removing and re-installing, etc. We'll see....Oh, check out my post on the M5 I drove today.....WICKED SWEET!
Have a great holiday, for all of you in the US, and a great weekend for those who are not!
The replica WHEELS, as it turns out, are not the problem at all. So, one more thing I get to deal with now, but one other thing ruled out. The guy who worked on my car today was a Dinan guy and had never worked on my particular car in the past re: my prior problems. This guy was AWESOME! I got to watch the whole balance and wheel alignment process.....even helped him carry the sandbags to weigh down the driver side. I even lined up the steering wheel myself to get it centered....it has been off-center twice in the past, so I wanted to make sure it was perfect.
So how's she driving now? Even with my egg-shaped tires in front, the car is driving much smoother. Of course, it was good for a few days after my last appt. So, time will tell. If by next week it's driving fine, I may not even bother getting the tires replaced, even though they are under warranty. It's just such a hassle, and I'd risk more damage to the finish on the wheels by removing and re-installing, etc. We'll see....Oh, check out my post on the M5 I drove today.....WICKED SWEET!
Have a great holiday, for all of you in the US, and a great weekend for those who are not!
Its fun watching them fix your car, you learn alot from them, this is what I try and always do.
did not know they put sandbags to wight the car down.
08-31-2007, 06:40 PM
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Originally Posted by pinguhk' post='464705' date='Aug 31 2007, 09:03 PM
good to hear that you fix it
Its fun watching them fix your car, you learn alot from them, this is what I try and always do.
did not know they put sandbags to wight the car down.
Its fun watching them fix your car, you learn alot from them, this is what I try and always do.
did not know they put sandbags to wight the car down.
08-31-2007, 10:01 PM
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Originally Posted by DrLev99' post='464598' date='Aug 31 2007, 12:47 PM
Well, I had my 5th wheel alignment and 5th wheel balance today to try and rid my car of its persistent vibration. It turns out that 2 of my new Bridgestone Potenza RE050A's are out-of-round. BMW road-force balanced them (FINALLY!), and the front tires were bouncing up and down so much that the Hunter balancer failed them both. The rears were fine.
The replica WHEELS, as it turns out, are not the problem at all. So, one more thing I get to deal with now, but one other thing ruled out. The guy who worked on my car today was a Dinan guy and had never worked on my particular car in the past re: my prior problems. This guy was AWESOME! I got to watch the whole balance and wheel alignment process.....even helped him carry the sandbags to weigh down the driver side. I even lined up the steering wheel myself to get it centered....it has been off-center twice in the past, so I wanted to make sure it was perfect.
The replica WHEELS, as it turns out, are not the problem at all. So, one more thing I get to deal with now, but one other thing ruled out. The guy who worked on my car today was a Dinan guy and had never worked on my particular car in the past re: my prior problems. This guy was AWESOME! I got to watch the whole balance and wheel alignment process.....even helped him carry the sandbags to weigh down the driver side. I even lined up the steering wheel myself to get it centered....it has been off-center twice in the past, so I wanted to make sure it was perfect.
08-31-2007, 10:11 PM
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wonder how much your "xi" version adds to this.
my 545i is all stock and smooth as steel silk , has never given me any shimmmy or shaking...
my 545i is all stock and smooth as steel silk , has never given me any shimmmy or shaking...
08-31-2007, 10:23 PM
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Originally Posted by cocy00' post='464736' date='Sep 1 2007, 02:01 AM
Tires out of round usually are caused by bad absorbers.... anyway, hopefully they solved your problem. I had the same problem on my E46. Changed everything ie wheels,tire,balance alignment and etc... guess what finally did it? Ihad to change the long shaft... as it was out of balance. Maybe the dealer can look at the long shaft.
From what I've researched, an out-of-round tire/wheel, or a stiff spot in a tire can cause vibration even in a perfectly balanced tire (as mine are). In this case, forces would be expected to cause vibrations to be present regardless of vehicle speed. In my case, the vibration goes away at around 75-80mph. Also, an out of round tire is most frequently caused by a bent rim or uneven tire wear. You can't put the cart before the horse, so to speak. And, I have neither bent rims nor uneven tire wear....so, I still think it is manufacturer defect.
If you've seen some prior threads of mine, all of the vibration started in my car as soon as I drove it off the lot in May, brand new....with original wheels, tires and springs. So, I don't think my H&R springs made things worse...shimmy was same with OEM's and replicas after drop. None of the vibration has made sense since Day 1. My OEM tires have only 1200 miles on them.
I haven't driven on my OEM's more than 5 miles since they were last balanced a few weeks ago, so I won't know how those tires/wheels ride till November or so. Unfortunately, I didn't bring the OEM Continentals with me today for road force balancing, so I don't know if they are out-of-round as well. I guess that would have been a nice test, but I won't be taking those back for a check...pain in the ass already. I can always rotate those in any direction, front or back.
08-31-2007, 10:31 PM
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Originally Posted by DrLev99' post='464748' date='Sep 1 2007, 01:23 AM
The Dinan mechanic chalked it up to out-of-round tires due to a manufacturing defect. They only have about 2000 miles on them, and are not worn at all. You could visibly see the tire height bobbing up and down as the balancer spun the wheel. I can't see how strut problems would change the actual physical structure of the tires, considering how new they are. And I don't see how being an xi vs. an i would matter in re: to this.
08-31-2007, 11:02 PM
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Originally Posted by cocy00' post='464749' date='Sep 1 2007, 02:31 AM
Manufacturing defect?? Hmm..... lemon law? Maybe you can get an exchange for new tires... and +1, an xi wouldn't matter compared to an i.
However, I have no doubt I will be able to get an exchange on the tires. They are only a few months old and were purchased from TireRack. A reputable manufacturer like Bridgestone will honor a warranty claim, and I have all of the necessary & signed paperwork re: the failure on the Hunter balancer.
I just want to see how it drives in the coming days before I pursue that option. The thought of taking off the current ones, having them remounted and rebalanced and the shipping back the old ones gives me a headache
09-02-2007, 05:33 PM
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My tire noise is such a bummer. I can't even enjoy driving my car this holiday weekend. I can't get over the tire noise! Has anyone experienced this? It sounds as if I hear the traction of the tire inside the cabin. It's almost like a resonating sound. I don't know if it's because I have 3 used tires and 1 new one. Is the new tire defective? Is my wheel bearing/hub out? Is it my bent wheel? I am going nuts racking my brain on this!
HELP!
HELP!
09-02-2007, 08:02 PM
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Originally Posted by sandglass' post='465167' date='Sep 2 2007, 09:33 PM
My tire noise is such a bummer. I can't even enjoy driving my car this holiday weekend. I can't get over the tire noise! Has anyone experienced this? It sounds as if I hear the traction of the tire inside the cabin. It's almost like a resonating sound. I don't know if it's because I have 3 used tires and 1 new one. Is the new tire defective? Is my wheel bearing/hub out? Is it my bent wheel? I am going nuts racking my brain on this!
HELP!
HELP!
09-02-2007, 11:54 PM
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Originally Posted by DrLev99' post='465187' date='Sep 2 2007, 09:02 PM
Do you have the same size tires front and back? If so, try rotating them around and see it the noise changes. I have noticed that my car has more noise since my 19's were put on, but it's not a problem, per se. A Hunter road-force wheel balancer can diagnose if it's the tire(s) or wheel(s), and a lot of other issues related to them. Give that a shot.
I've had 19's since I got the car but this noise that I'm hearing, I've never heard before, it's foreign to me. My fiance just told me I am crazy, hence that's why I am here to get feedback :-).
In regards to the Hunter road-force... the foreman at the service dept said that they use the Hunter machine and that the bent wheel balanced fine. But I don't really trust these mechanics at the dealerships because I already have had several bad experiences at 2 different dealerships. Basically, at times, I feel like I know more about BMW's more than the techs do sometimes. These techs don't really care about the ultimate driving machine because most of them don't pay the kind of money we pay to drive these machines. They're not in tune to these machines as we are. Anyways, enough ranting for tonight...