Thullz

Hi folks

I have an 04 530 with newish goodyear tires. i just bought the car and i can feel a lot of vibration while driving, most pronounced under 120km/h. Could it be wheel balancing? The tires were installed at the dealership 3000k ago and I can see the balance weights on all the tires, although I suppose one could have fallen off.

The reason im asking before getting them balanced is that my rpm needle fluctuates continously too. This happens regardless of what gear Im in and it vibrates at idle and while driving. The idle though is smooth as silk, no roughness. This has me stumped, could it just be a shakey or loose needle or could this be the cause of the vibration while driving.

The car is perfect otherwise but these two issues are bugging me. Im glad I went with 530 from my previous benz-e!

Great forum too.

Any thoughts on the rough drive and the shakey rpm are welcome.

Gene

first off, to the forum. Second, there are numerous threads regarding "vibration". Try running a search in the upper right hand of the screen in the search bar.....good luck

DrLev99

Hey, welcome to the forum! I think I am the reigning "vibration king" on this forum, or at least I was for almost a year. Vibrating steering wheel and/or seat, etc., are almost always due to the wheels and/or tires, especially on newer cars. I have forgotten how many balances and alignments I've had done in the past 11 months! It turned out it was something unrelated to the wheels or tires, but that's something you don't need to be concerned with...was a lowering springs issue. You don't have lowering springs do ya?

Anyway, either the wheels are out of balance, or you have a out-of-round (or badly worn tire) or bent wheel(s) or any combo of these. In most cases a wheel balance will fix your problem...at least it's where I'd start. If you still have the vibration or shimmy in the steering wheel around 50-70 mph, then I'd suspect a tire and/or wheel problem. You could kill 2 birds with 1 stone if you get a Hunter road-force wheel-balance. This will not only check your overall balance but will also determine if you have an out-of-round tire, bent wheel or both.

Alignments don't usually fix vibration of shimmy, but it's worth getting done if you are able to determine if it's been a while or if you notice uneven tire wear like heal-toe/saw-tooth wear, etc.

If the shimmy or vibration goes away at higher speeds and is not palpable at lower speeds, it's definitely a wheel balance or wheel/tire related issue. If the vibration is constant at all speeds, regardless....then it could be other suspension issues like worn struts, bushings, wheel bearings, etc. I don't know too much about that stuff, though.

One last question...Do you have OEM rims or after-market? And if they are not OEM, what kind are they? This could be your problem as well. If you do a search as suggested above, you'll probably see my saga of posts and threads related to my prior vibration issues.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Thullz

Cheers for the reply!

Im sure it is a balancing issue since the shimy occurs at low speeds and smooths out over 120km.

One of the rear tires was low on air, 5psi low. Im not sure if this can impact ride quality but it seemed to drive better after I filled it up. The vibration is as you described, steering wheel and seats. There are no lowering springs or any other mods, the wheels are 17in OEM.

Im going to ask around for Hunter road-force wheel-balance and see if there is a garage that has the right balancer.

I will keep you posted. It is such a minor issue but annoys me to no end!

DrLev99

It's one the most annoying problems...a shimmy/vibration in the steering wheel. Another pet peeve of mine is a crooked steering wheel when going straight. If you can't find a Hunter road-force balancer, just make sure you get the balance done on a newer "standard balancer" that at least uses the latest computer software and technology. My dealership has both types.

Also, please update your location in your profile settings.

monacobmw

Hmmm... and I thought that my 200 or so posts on vibration were the tops here.

I am happy to concede the "vibration" king position any day. I had replicas. Bad idea. I now have OEMs, and all is good.

skylolow

Being low around 5 PSI could have an effect. Like you said it felt better afterwards. Find someone with the Hunter equipment and have them do a balance on the tires. Check out www.hunter.com They use to have a listing of shops by zip code of people who have the equipment, not sure if they still do. On many high end cars just the slightest things off with the wheels will result in exactly what your talking about, that is why there is so many people with issues dealing around vibrations. Just a slight uneven wear can result in it that the shop may not even catch unless there being very anal about everything there checking.

DrLev99

You can still be king of vibration! 200 posts have me beat. It's not a title one cherishes.

Thullz

I have no desire to dethrone either of you so I hope a good wheel balance will solve the issue. I will check the air again and try and get it right. I was going for 29 and 35 F/R, but one of the rear tires is only at 32 still. I work in the middle of nowhere so I have to fill it in the morning on my way out of the city when the tires are still cool.

I know what you mean about the slightest imbalance or imperfection throwing off the drive. A lot of people don't seem bothered by it, many never notice the vibration but I hate it.

I will read your posts over the weekend and try and find a Hunter/Road Force balancer. BMW dealer might do it- I will check. The Hunter website doesnt list retailers anymore.

Cheers

Thullz

BMW quoted me $230 for a Road Force balance, is that reasonable? Im assuming this will include the actual balance and any remounting if required.