Rubbing on stock suspension and stock wheels

Absurdium · 03-05-2017, 01:42 PM

Hello everyone.

I've been getting a rubbing sound on the driver side front during moderate to great compression. I wasn't sure what the sound was at first and took it to the dealer many times to get the tech to look at the struts. However everytime, they told me they found nothing wrong. Today however, I found a hole directly on top of the front driver side wheel in the liners. I subsequently checked the passenger side and there were some signs of rubbing as well but not nearly as severe and definitely no hole.

I'm running OEM 220M wheels with 245/35/19 & 255/35/19. Pretty much oem spec tire size except rear is slightly smaller.

My hypothesis right now is that there is too much suspension travel due to bad struts perhaps? Has anyone else experienced a similar problem?

Updated with an inked pic to show the damage.

Update Mar. 9th 2017: Took it to the dealer and their conclusion was that there is no mechanical defect. When I asked for their reasoning, I was just told this was what the technician said. When I asked to speak to the technician over the phone, I was simply told "no, we don't normally let the customer speak to the technician." I'm going to try and escalate this issue BMW Canada... Clearly something isn't right here

roastbeef · 03-05-2017, 08:11 PM

i can't see a whole lot in the pic, but you shouldn't be rubbing with those specs. does your car feel bouncy when you go over a dip? edc?

Absurdium · 03-05-2017, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i can't see a whole lot in the pic, but you shouldn't be rubbing with those specs. does your car feel bouncy when you go over a dip? edc?

Yeah my car is on EDC and ZCP suspension. It doesn't feel particularly bouncy but I've noticed the car tends have a very pronounced "lean" into the front left and right side during cornering.

roastbeef · 03-05-2017, 09:13 PM

i'm not 100% sure what triggers an EDC light, but i would imagine there could be a scenario where it wouldn't trip the light. try pushing down on the front corners of the car above the strut. see if one side behaves or bounces different than the other. maybe do the same thing while running through the different EDC settings.

Absurdium · 03-06-2017, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i'm not 100% sure what triggers an EDC light, but i would imagine there could be a scenario where it wouldn't trip the light. try pushing down on the front corners of the car above the strut. see if one side behaves or bounces different than the other. maybe do the same thing while running through the different EDC settings.

Hmm are you thinking that it's the EDC that's faulty? When I cycle through the different modes, there is a significant difference you can feel so I didn't think that could be the culprit. No malfunction lights have shown up either so I'm not sure this is an electrical problem.

roastbeef · 03-06-2017, 04:24 AM

thats my initial thought, but i could be wrong. maybe you have a cracked spring... that would certainly cause issues, but not necessarily an edc fault. the car is balanced enough that it may mask the cracked spring until the car really leans on it.

Absurdium · 03-06-2017, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roastbeef

thats my initial thought, but i could be wrong. maybe you have a cracked spring... that would certainly cause issues, but not necessarily an edc fault. the car is balanced enough that it may mask the cracked spring until the car really leans on it.

This is my thought process as well. Maybe something in the sway bars too? Either way I've booked an appointment with the dealer to get it looked at under warranty. Just wanted an idea of what it might be to point them in the right direction; I've already reported this problem twice with no results.

Will update once I get some results, in case anyone else has the same problem.

roastbeef · 03-06-2017, 10:13 AM

If it was a swaybar I think it would be more obvious. You'd definitely hear some clunking.

Richbot · 03-06-2017, 02:08 PM

Please point to where the bad man touched your fender liner, that potatocam looks like a bunch of normal holes to me

You could have perished bumpstops allowing the wheels to travel too far. Broken swaybar endlink would allow too much roll, that coupled with the bumpstops being worn out could do it

PandaM3 · 03-06-2017, 02:32 PM

Could be something else rubbing like the front felt covers behind the bumper air ducts. These frequently get torn and maybe air at speed is pushing it down far enough to rub on bumps and turns but moves back out of the way when stopped.

Richbot · 03-06-2017, 02:42 PM

There are enough fasteners elsewhere on the liner to the body that even if the undertray is gone it shouldn't move that much way up there by the strut something else is rotten in denmark

Absurdium · 03-06-2017, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richbot

[IMG]https://www.geek.com/wp-content/uplo...ot-625x440.jpg[/IMG]

Please point to where the bad man touched your fender liner, that potatocam looks like a bunch of normal holes to me

You could have perished bumpstops allowing the wheels to travel too far. Broken swaybar endlink would allow too much roll, that coupled with the bumpstops being worn out could do it

The hole I'm referring to is right next to the spring in the picture. I'd try to take a better picture but it's hard to get a clear one without the wheels off. If you look closely, there is a black ring of liner that is darker than the rest. That's the hole I'm talking about where the liner has been grinded down to expose a hole.

Absurdium · 03-06-2017, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PandaM3

Could be something else rubbing like the front felt covers behind the bumper air ducts. These frequently get torn and maybe air at speed is pushing it down far enough to rub on bumps and turns but moves back out of the way when stopped.

I'm not sure this is the case as there is some slight signs of rubbing on the other side too. I don't think the liners on both side would fail like that at the same time.

Absurdium · 03-09-2017, 05:14 PM

Update: Took it to the dealer and their conclusion was that there is no mechanical defect. When I asked for their reasoning, I was just told this was what the technician said. When I asked to speak to the technician over the phone, I was simply told "no, we don't normally let the customer speak to the technician." I'm going to try and escalate this issue BMW Canada... Clearly something isn't right here

Absurdium · 03-20-2017, 02:21 PM

So after doing diagnosis from two dealerships, it turns out the issue was a sagging fender liner that wasn't installed correctly. Unfortunately I had to pay out of pocket for the repair as the liner is considered a trim piece. However the good news is, the rubbing has since gone away and I no longer get anxiety over every little dip

Hope this helps anyone who encounter the same issue.

03-05-2017, 01:42 PM	#1
Absurdium First Lieutenant 152 Rep 336 Posts Drives: F82 TB Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: GTA iTrader: (0)	Rubbing on stock suspension and stock wheels Hello everyone. I've been getting a rubbing sound on the driver side front during moderate to great compression. I wasn't sure what the sound was at first and took it to the dealer many times to get the tech to look at the struts. However everytime, they told me they found nothing wrong. Today however, I found a hole directly on top of the front driver side wheel in the liners. I subsequently checked the passenger side and there were some signs of rubbing as well but not nearly as severe and definitely no hole. I'm running OEM 220M wheels with 245/35/19 & 255/35/19. Pretty much oem spec tire size except rear is slightly smaller. My hypothesis right now is that there is too much suspension travel due to bad struts perhaps? Has anyone else experienced a similar problem? Updated with an inked pic to show the damage. Update Mar. 9th 2017: Took it to the dealer and their conclusion was that there is no mechanical defect. When I asked for their reasoning, I was just told this was what the technician said. When I asked to speak to the technician over the phone, I was simply told "no, we don't normally let the customer speak to the technician." I'm going to try and escalate this issue BMW Canada... Clearly something isn't right here Attached Images Last edited by Absurdium; 03-09-2017 at 05:15 PM..
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

03-05-2017, 08:11 PM	#2
roastbeef Lieutenant General 11585 Rep 12,724 Posts Drives: E92 M3 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (4)	i can't see a whole lot in the pic, but you shouldn't be rubbing with those specs. does your car feel bouncy when you go over a dip? edc? __________________ Instagram; @roastbeefmike
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-05-2017, 09:13 PM	#4
roastbeef Lieutenant General 11585 Rep 12,724 Posts Drives: E92 M3 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (4)	i'm not 100% sure what triggers an EDC light, but i would imagine there could be a scenario where it wouldn't trip the light. try pushing down on the front corners of the car above the strut. see if one side behaves or bounces different than the other. maybe do the same thing while running through the different EDC settings. __________________ Instagram; @roastbeefmike
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-06-2017, 04:24 AM	#6
roastbeef Lieutenant General 11585 Rep 12,724 Posts Drives: E92 M3 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (4)	thats my initial thought, but i could be wrong. maybe you have a cracked spring... that would certainly cause issues, but not necessarily an edc fault. the car is balanced enough that it may mask the cracked spring until the car really leans on it. __________________ Instagram; @roastbeefmike
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-06-2017, 10:13 AM	#8
roastbeef Lieutenant General 11585 Rep 12,724 Posts Drives: E92 M3 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (4)	If it was a swaybar I think it would be more obvious. You'd definitely hear some clunking. __________________ Instagram; @roastbeefmike
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-06-2017, 02:08 PM	#9
Richbot Major General 2759 Rep 5,484 Posts Drives: Jerez Black E90 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: STL iTrader: (5)	Please point to where the bad man touched your fender liner, that potatocam looks like a bunch of normal holes to me You could have perished bumpstops allowing the wheels to travel too far. Broken swaybar endlink would allow too much roll, that coupled with the bumpstops being worn out could do it __________________ Last edited by Richbot; 03-06-2017 at 02:25 PM..
	Appreciate 1 roastbeef11584.50 Quote

03-06-2017, 02:32 PM	#10
PandaM3 Captain 470 Rep 988 Posts Drives: Join Date: Apr 2008 iTrader: (6)	Could be something else rubbing like the front felt covers behind the bumper air ducts. These frequently get torn and maybe air at speed is pushing it down far enough to rub on bumps and turns but moves back out of the way when stopped.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-06-2017, 02:42 PM	#11
Richbot Major General 2759 Rep 5,484 Posts Drives: Jerez Black E90 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: STL iTrader: (5)	There are enough fasteners elsewhere on the liner to the body that even if the undertray is gone it shouldn't move that much way up there by the strut something else is rotten in denmark __________________
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-09-2017, 05:14 PM	#14
Absurdium First Lieutenant 152 Rep 336 Posts Drives: F82 TB Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: GTA iTrader: (0)	Update: Took it to the dealer and their conclusion was that there is no mechanical defect. When I asked for their reasoning, I was just told this was what the technician said. When I asked to speak to the technician over the phone, I was simply told "no, we don't normally let the customer speak to the technician." I'm going to try and escalate this issue BMW Canada... Clearly something isn't right here
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-20-2017, 02:21 PM	#15
Absurdium First Lieutenant 152 Rep 336 Posts Drives: F82 TB Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: GTA iTrader: (0)	So after doing diagnosis from two dealerships, it turns out the issue was a sagging fender liner that wasn't installed correctly. Unfortunately I had to pay out of pocket for the repair as the liner is considered a trim piece. However the good news is, the rubbing has since gone away and I no longer get anxiety over every little dip Hope this helps anyone who encounter the same issue.
	Appreciate 0 Quote