WOBBLING, SHAKING, WTF!! - BMW Forum

kraze0g · 07-05-2004, 02:33 PM

My problem is with the steering wheel wobbling and the car "shaking" when I'm driving my 97 328i. I have 18" rims on my car and it's lowered about an inch with lowering springs. It'll start when I'm going about 20 mph and will get to its worst at 40 mph. It'll then dissapear almost at around 55 mph. At 40 mph it'll be almost unbearable to drive so this is NOT normal. The crazy thing is that I had ALL 4 tires replaced on my car 3 times now (thinking it was a defect on the tire) but it still does it. Then I took my car to BMW and had a bmw tech look at the whole thing for a whole day, and he said "there is absolutely nothing wrong with anything on your car"... So now I'm stuck with a car that shakes uncontrollably (everyone in the car can feel it) and a steering wheel that wobbles enough to throw my arm out. I can't imagine anything being wrong on the car if the BMW tech told me everything is perfect. And I had my tires replaced 3 times now with brand new sets. I had it balanced/aligned and everything check AT bmw.

This is not normal, it feels like my wheels are FALLING off when I'm driving 35-40 mph.

WHAT IS THERE LEFT FOR ME TO DO TO FIX THIS? I DON'T UNDERSTAND. IF IT'S NOT THE CAR AND ITS NOT THE WHEELS. WHAT IS IT????

THE ONLY THING LEFT IS IT BEING THE RIMS BUT I'VE ONLY HAD THEM FOR MAYBE 2 WEEKS AND I HAVE NOT EVEN COME CLOSE TO BANGIN THEM UP AND THE PROBLEM STARTED THE SECOND I STARTED DRIVING WITH THE NEW WHEELS.

ghead

clubin · 07-05-2004, 03:14 PM

I know jack squat about this stuff. However, what are the specs on the rims? Did you have to use spacers? What springs did you use? Did you swap out the absorbers, too? These answers might be helpful, I reckon.

kraze0g · 07-05-2004, 03:21 PM

rims are 18" , tires are 215-35-18, i used B+G lowering springs (lowered about an inch), dont kno what spacers are ;x

Autotechnica · 07-05-2004, 03:26 PM

Your balljoints or control arm bushings could be worn. If not, you may have a blown front strut or your wheels aren't balanced properly. That's all I can think of.

Bry

kraze0g · 07-05-2004, 03:28 PM

Autotechnica Posted on Jul 5 2004, 04:06 PM
Your balljoints or control arm bushings could be worn. If not, you may have a blown front strut or your wheels aren't balanced properly. That's all I can think of.

like i said, I paid 200 dollars for BMW techs to look at my car all day. they said they inspected EVERYTHING from balljoints to struts/shocks. i think they know what they're talking about if they tell me that nothign is wrong

DeefNDorf · 07-05-2004, 03:32 PM

Hmmm...The its prob nothen wrong..I have drove alot of BMWs 95s 96s etc...all have shook..some worst than others...still havnt found out the reason or talked to anybody that knew the reason....at 40mph mine has a slight shake..but only in the steering wheel....

kraze0g · 07-05-2004, 03:35 PM

if you drove my car, u wouldn't definitely say something is wrong. I mean, the steering wheel wobbles to the point where u need to put both hands on the wheel firmly and hold with all your might so that it doesn't force u off the road. and everyone in the car says "it feels like your car is gonna blow up".

This better not be normal. even all the techs that drove my car said this is insane.

Furious · 07-05-2004, 03:41 PM

this is the third related thread to this, try to keep it all in one if possible..

here is one of the threads..

http://www.bmw-forums.com/forum/index.php?...=0&#entry138767

kraze0g · 07-05-2004, 03:47 PM

you don't need to link me to something i typed, im just looking for answers. im sorry if this problem is serious to me and I'm looking for all the help I can get. It seems like I get new input from different people everytime I post, so posting more than once DOES help

Speedy-325is · 07-05-2004, 03:49 PM

maybe an axle is bent, or the driveshaft is tweeked enough to cause this wobble.

dont always go by what the mechanics say the first time. if they cant find the problem but admit it is there, then they did a crappy inspection. the best mechanics are not the ones at the dealers. those guys are trained like monkeys. (no offense) they do what the book says, nothing more.

my suggestion is to find a good mechanic in a private euro car shop. preferably one that works w/modifications as well as oem. they are not limited by company regulations and can actually do more for your car then dealers. plus they know lots of tricks that can help you and your car. plus they usually cost ALOT less $$$$$$$$.

if the driveshaft is tweeked, it can cause a wobble that you wont see when you look at it on the car. it sounds like a real annoying problem.

keep us posted.
Mark

kraze0g · 07-05-2004, 03:53 PM

Well considering I did have a BMW tech look at it all day, i'm gonna rule out it being the car itself (i mean if it IS the car and they didn't find it, i'll go back there with a few words for them considering i spent 200 dollars getting them to look at it). So that leaves me with the wheels.. the tires were replaced twice soo... it's gotta be the rims? thats the only conclusion i can make.