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[Lemans_Blue_M]

Originally Posted by TheRealDC

I had this issue and had several local tyre fitters balance the wheels to 0. Finally, one of the folks spotted that there was play between the non-standard wheel and the hub i.e. they put wheel on car with one wheel bolt finger tight and there was vertical play. Solution was simply to buy hub centre rings as the wheels were designed for the slightly larger E39 5 series hub. If I hadn't been able to do this and resolve I was definitely going back to stock as I hated the shimmy and it irritated me immensely ....



DC

It's somewhat surprising, to find out that the average wheel buyer is not aware that a large percentage of wheels are built to 1 'common' center bore diameter.

This is done to cut manufacturing costs for the wheel company, by making their standard center bore for the vehicle with the largest wheel hub. That means one car will have a direct hubcentric fitment (perfect), while all the other cars with that same bolt pattern will be forced to use hubcentric rings, in order to close that small gap.

If you don't do this, there is no way to properly center the wheel on the cars hub, creating a shaking sensation at speed.

Just another way we get screwed in the grand scheme of things...

[JCtx]

Thank you for your answers folks, but remember I have STOCK 19s. The rear hubcentric 'rings' don't fit my wheels like a glove, meaning there's a very small gap since I can easily push the wheel in and out without having to 'shove' it in place. Yes, the wheel is beveled to make it easier to install the wheel, but there's minute play when fully mounted with no lug bolts inserted. In addition I had to sand the rusted 'rings' a little to remove all that crap, but shouldn't make a difference with 400 grit sandpaper. I honestly don't think that the 'rings' are an issue just at 60-65 mph; if there was a wheel 'bouncing' problem it'd increase with speed, correct?
My guess is probably balancing, but who knows. Wonder if BMW would pay to check that. Thanks.

[ScheerSpeed]

since i got my car from the factory i have had the wheel shimmy... it's annoying...

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by ScheerSpeed

since i got my car from the factory i have had the wheel shimmy... it's annoying...

Is it also intermittent, and between 60 and 65 mph? Wonder if it's wheel/tire or suspension/steering related. Mine is not bad enough to do anything about it now, but will be watching it. Thanks for your comment.

[Lemans_Blue_M]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Is it also intermittent, and between 60 and 65 mph? Wonder if it's wheel/tire or suspension/steering related. Mine is not bad enough to do anything about it now, but will be watching it. Thanks for your comment.

You should have your front wheels spin balanced to see if one of your wheels are bent.

If that is ruled out as the root cause, then it's very likely that you have a brake rotor problem. (embedded brake pad deposits)

The reason it only shows up at certain speeds, is due the centrifugal force involved in spinning a large round object like a wheel, brake disc, or tire.

There is a point where the revolutions per minute (rpms) are just right to re-create the shaking (vibration) which results in a out of balance condition.

You'd think the shaking would be consistent with predictable linear progression...but it's not. It's very sporadic due to the harmonic balancing issues mentioned above.

It only takes a small shift in the overall weight distribution of a wheel, tire or brake disc to cause this shaking problem. (just a few grams in fact)

This has happened to me more times than I care to remember, because I'm always changing out the tire and wheel combos on my cars. (I get bored with the same look)

+1 to the guy that said it's annoying.