Front Wheel Vibration

[sweetlilbug]

I had a problem with some aftermarket wheels awhile back but that problem was fixed when I had those wheels taken off my car and had my factory wheels put back on, or so I thought. The reason the aftermarket wheels were taken off is because they caused a really bad vibration on my front suspension. Thing is the aftermarket wheels are gone, stock put back on and the car still has a vibration. The vibration wasn't there prior to the aftermarket wheels. Now what I want to know is did the wheels on my car need to be put back on the same place they came off? In another words do I need to take my car to a tire shop and have them balance my tires?

[WardJ]

i'm guessing you had the aftermarket tires balanced before you put them on? usually that's the indication of vibration on the front tires. balancing and rotating them should help. it might be worth it to have the shop balance and rotate. sometimes the man just gets in the way! damn the man!

the only other thing i can think of (thats tire related) is that they might be low on air pressure..but that's an obvious thing that you would have caught.

good luck!

[ldsbeaker]

It can be combination of other things as well. Work from the outside in...
1. wheels balanced
2. alignment
3. tie rod ends
4. steering rack

Or the ever popular "worn bushings". Any shop you take your car into will recommend new bushings as soon as they see what year your car is. While these are important, unless one (bushing(s)) is/are totally mangled beyond recognition, one of the four I listed should just about solve all of your vibration woes.

[sweetlilbug]

My car has new control arms and bushings. So it's not them. The custom wheels were removed from my car because they caused a vibration. I have the factory wheels back on my car and no they weren't rebalanced before being put back on my car.

[sweetlilbug]

the factory wheels are back on my car. Yes the custom wheels were balanced before being put on my car. However the vibration was horrible after wheels were balanced. The vibration is still there now that the factory wheels are back on the car and my alignment is off.

[and0pand0]

Hit any curbs recently? =) The camber/caster angles are non-adjustable on these cars, so if you don't have a camber kit an alignment shop is just gonna "set the toe and let 'er go!", as they say. The car is very old, and can easily have bent steering/suspension components. Does the vibration happen all the time or at high speed/low speed? I'm sure that you checked your tires wear patterns and pressure, right? Try getting underneath the car, and grabbing suspension components and pulling/pushing on them. They should feel tight. If not, replace whatever is moving freely. Hope this helps, I'm not much of a suspension guy =(

[sweetlilbug]

I've never hit anything with my car. Everything underneath was replaced on the suspension and still there is a vibration. Tires have no wear patterns as of now. I have no idea what is causing my vibration. Before I had the custom wheels put on my car did not vibrate.

[325eXTATIC]

Find a better quality tire and wheel shop... call around and ask for "High Speed On Car Balancing" They will literally run your car on a dyno type device (no it doesn't stress the engine, the car is in neutral if I remember right). If that doesn't remedy it, take a look at motor mounts. If the mounts have worn or broken, the engine may buck in rhythm with one or more of the piston throws. Have seen that happen on a couple muscle cars actually. It can feel like the front end is all outta whack and that 1 or more wheels are out of balance.
If that doesn't remedy it, I would say you have some sort of a chassis issue. Maybe go to a body shop and have them check the chassis for being square.

I am not yet a Bimmer EXPERT, but based on my other car experiences, and the fact that you say all the suspension has been recently replaced... These ideas should get you pretty damn close!

Hope this helps!!!

Josh W.