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[SCL_///M3]

When I took delivery of my new M3, the car had a real bad vibration at high speed (>100km/h). It turned out 3 of the tires had flat spot on them, so dealer replaced all 4 tires with Michelin PS2 245/35/19F 265/35/19R. After that the car drives fine on the freeway, but whenever I'm cruising around 90km/h there is a noticeable vibration through the steering wheel, going at any lower and higher speed the vibration disappears. Dealer told me that that's the nature of this type of wheel & tire combination, and they justified it by putting a set of 18' OEM wheel/tires on my car and asked me to test drive it. The car drove like a completely different car. The ride was so much smoother and there was no vibration at any speed whatsoever. Now I know that my car does not have any suspension problems, I'm just wondering if anyone had experience the same issue with the OEM 19'wheel/tires. Would it help if I switch to a different brand of tires (keeping the same specs)?
Thanks in advance.

[A-Man]

the brand of tyres are fine.. did the dealership balance the wheels after putting the new tyres on?

btw, what were the techs doin to your car before u took delivery.. a lil joy ride?

[SCL_///M3]

Originally Posted by A-Man

the brand of tyres are fine.. did the dealership balance the wheels after putting the new tyres on?

btw, what were the techs doin to your car before u took delivery.. a lil joy ride?

Yes, all the wheels are road force balanced.
I doubt it. The car only had 15kms on the clock when I took delivery.

[Periokid]

Sounds like the tires are out of balance or the new tires are bad. It happens more often than you might think. My 19s ride great at all speeds.

[Gearhead999s]

My 19's ride great with no vibration issues at all and the ride quality is much better than my wifes 335 with the factory run flat 19" setup.Find a tire dealer who knows what they are doing and you will be a lot happier.Where are you located?

[SCL_///M3]

Originally Posted by Periokid

Sounds like the tires are out of balance or the new tires are bad. It happens more often than you might think. My 19s ride great at all speeds.

They had them road force balanced twice and said that the wheels are perfectly balanced. However the vibration at 90kms is still there.
Btw, what brand of tires do you have on?

[bobbyd1961]

i have no vibration . alignment?

[SlammedR8]

instead of putting 18" OEM wheels to test drive your car, why dont you ask them to put another set of 19" OEM wheels, see if those vibrate still. If they don't, you know something is wrong with your 19" setup

[SCL_///M3]

Originally Posted by slammedm3

instead of putting 18" OEM wheels to test drive your car, why dont you ask them to put another set of 19" OEM wheels, see if those vibrate still. If they don't, you know something is wrong with your 19" setup

They didn't have another set of 19" OEM wheels in stock. And they told me my wheels and tires are fine from performing the road force balance.

[ucla1995]

Originally Posted by SCL_///M3

they told me my wheels and tires are fine from performing the road force balance.

Why do you trust them? Go somewhere else. Not normal.

[Gearhead999s]

Originally Posted by SCL_///M3

They didn't have another set of 19" OEM wheels in stock. And they told me my wheels and tires are fine from performing the road force balance.

I had a truck that had a bad vibration at 110-120 kph and Pirelli sent me to their star dealer to have the tires road force balanced twice and it still vibrated like crazy in that speed range even though the road force balance was pronounced OK.I finally took it too an old guy who spent about a half hour a wheel on an old machine but that got totally rid of the problem.Road Force balancing is not the cureall for vibration as people would like you to believe,but more the skill of the technician that can sort this out.

[JCtx]

Sounds like a balancing issue to me. With bad wheels or tires, you'd have a constant vibration. And the 18" wheels were proof there's nothing wrong with your suspension or steering. But I'm stumped wheels are not balanced with a road force balance showing zeros . Were the tires properly inflated? That's about the only variable I can think of that could change balance after showing zeros. Please keep us posted.

Hope when I'm done with powdercoating my wheels car does not vibrate. It drove perfectly before dismounting tires; hope they're not damaged with two mounting procedures. Tech had a hard time removing and reinstalling the rear ones (doing fronts Monday). As a side comment, I'm glad that decided on black wheels for my SSII. Now that I have the rear wheels black and fronts stock, looks much better with black. I wasn't sure I made the right decision since I've never been a black wheel guy (especially on a black car), but it was a good decision on this car. Will post some pics when it's done.

[M_ZVER]

I have the same problem, but its only very slight, by slight I mean you have to be very picky to feel it. Just had my wheels balanced yesterday. I don't trust the dealer so I take it to a private shop who I been trusting with all my beemers and has never failed me.

Remember that everyone has a different perception of vibration. Like mentioned above mine only vibrates at about 70mph anything above or below its gone. Again what you feel might be normal for other people and hence they interpret as normal no vibrations. Do yourself a favor and go to a private shop, but make sure they are using proper equipment (not your average shop). So I'm pretty frustrated as well. I can't wait until these run-flats wear out so i can get regular tires.

P.S. don't do anything to your alignment, its a brand new car, unless you know that you hit a big pothole or feel the car pulling.

Good Luck

[Periokid]

Originally Posted by SCL_///M3

They had them road force balanced twice and said that the wheels are perfectly balanced. However the vibration at 90kms is still there.
Btw, what brand of tires do you have on?

Michelin PS2

[driverwannabe]

It is easy to get the wheels mounted incorrectly - I do it in error half the time. Seems that it's important to ensure that the wheels are flush on the wheel hub. I've had the same thing with three sets of wheels, but resolved it by jacking the car up, loosening the bolts a little bit, and being real careful to get the first two opposing bolts tightened properly. I've never had this kind of problem with any car before, but it's been easy to fix.

With two of the sets, I went and had them rebalanced only to find out that balancing wasn't the solution.

[montreal red]

its possible that the wheels werent balanced properly. but if it is indeed balanced then i would say its totally possible that 19s give a harsher ride compared to the 18s. best way to test this out is to sit in another car with 19s and to see if the vibration you are feeling is the same. some people are more sensitive to noise, vibration, etc then others.

[bobbyd1961]

it seems my rear tires rub when i cut the wheel all the way. any others have that problem

[SCL_///M3]

Originally Posted by driverwannabe

It is easy to get the wheels mounted incorrectly - I do it in error half the time. Seems that it's important to ensure that the wheels are flush on the wheel hub. I've had the same thing with three sets of wheels, but resolved it by jacking the car up, loosening the bolts a little bit, and being real careful to get the first two opposing bolts tightened properly. I've never had this kind of problem with any car before, but it's been easy to fix.

With two of the sets, I went and had them rebalanced only to find out that balancing wasn't the solution.

Don't think the wheel hub is the problem, because when they putted on the 18" wheels the car drove very smooth.
My car used to vibrate at high speed, over 110km/h, when the original Continental tires had flat spots on them. With the new tires the car drives fine at low/high speed, but the steering wheel only seems to vibration at around 90km/h. I'm very frustrated at this point. I don't know what else I can do to fix the problem.

[kd6lor]

I will skip the painful story, but I had a similar issue and I would bet you lunch it is a balance issue. I ended up going to a mom and pop tire store and had my balance checked on a standard machine. All were off balance, two wheels by a bunch. Rebalanced on the standard machine very carefully and respun to check, the ride was 100% better. Paid the small fee to balance and tipped the mechanic running the machine nicely.

BTW, my dealership said that BMW didn't warranty vibration over 60 MPH.

Paul

[Trier Germany]

Dude get your shit checked out! These bad boys come from the factory ready to rock 150+Mph. You should have zero vibration

[racefromaroll]

thats balancing man...get your 19s and take em to a wheel shop and have them balance it

[M3 vert]

What dealer is this?