doclionel

My RFTs were too noisy and wobbly so I decided to put on 4 new Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics which cost $90.00 at the BMW dealership for mounting and balancing. But as I start driving off, the vibrations are more intense than the runflats. The whole car is shaking. Should this happen w/brand new tires or did the dealership do a shat job at balancing. I initially asked them to road force them, but they said they would only do it if something is wrong with the initial balancing. Should I try to get the road force for free from the BMW dealership?

Thanks,
Doc

carfucious

I would suspect something else is wrong. Ideas that come to mind are:

bent wheel(s),
alignment issues (does anyone else drive the vehicle-wife,adult child, valet?) or
defective wheel/mounting surface... Just some thoughts.

doclionel

I brought my car in last week and complained about the run flats shimmy and they told me that my wheels were sound and all I needed was new tires. So I did what they suggested and put on new tires.

navin

get a road force done on the wheels, that will rule out any bent wheels. Also in my experience the bmw dealerships are very bad at alignments.
twice(different dealerships) i have had to take the car to independent shops to get the alignment re-done.

DrLev99

They need a good re-balance. Alignments rarely cure vibration issues. Vibration is almost ALWAYS an tire/wheel issue.

skylolow

I'd get it back to the dealership ASAP and ask what the hell they did and fix it. Odd they won't do the road force after you asked them. Not like it really takes much more time.

Is it worse then the old tires?

doclionel

Yes, the vibrations are worse than the old tires. I had the original RFTs on before. I am currently at the BMW dealer and my SA is out testing it as we speak. I'll post their findings soon.

Doc

simba

Hi Doc,

I had this same thing happen to me when I changed my Conti's (on 172's) to GY Assymetrics on the rear - I've not had a nice ride since - am suffering the same problem as you report -> vibration plus wander/tramlining. Wheel balancing has not helped. I posted this some time back here but can't find my post.

I also emailed BMW UK and they mailed back that the only tyres for my rears were the conti sports 2(fronts had dunlop and conti as choices). The GY's cost me ?340 already and the conti's would be another ?520 for two!! I'm just bearing it - maybe you'll have a easier soln from your SA and can get your ride running smooth again. Keep us posted.

doclionel

So after getting my wheels road forced at BMW which cost $60.00 (my SA felt sorry for me since they did a shat job balancing and gave me half off the $120.00)...they were still vibrating. So I took my vehicle to a local tire shop and the front two wheels were off a bit. The left front wheel was off and the manager of the tire shop balanced it using the strobe light balancing technique. He looked at the right front and it was out of round. I saw it myself for there was a hop to it. I don't know how the BMW shop missed this. So I called Tirerack and they are going to send me a replacement for free and also pay for the balancing and alignment.

I will install them next week and also request the strobe light for the new wheel. Will post the results.

Thanks for the advice.

Doc

simba

Finally managed to get my wheels balanced at a place using the GSP9700 Road Force equipment (http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/)
Amazing difference to the crappy handling I had when I changed rears from conti's to GY Asymmetrics. The tramlining has stopped, the car is steady and has no vibrations - it's back to what a BMW should feel like - woohoo! BTW, I only had the balancing done so no tracking changes.
Well worth the ?47 (I forgot the voucher offer so paid the full price).

I certainly recommend giving this a go if you're suffering similar problems - thanks to all the ppl who recommended this in the first place!