[nhhiep]

I put this question in another forum, but not getting any responses. Please help me out guys.

After 35k miles with 162s 18" RFTs, the steering is fine. I switched to Yokohama S.Drive normal tires 1 week ago at Discount tires store.

The car is way more comfy now, but the steering wheel vibrates a little from 40-60 mph, which I didn't remember noticing that with old tires. is it because of new, not broken-in tires or do I need alignment? would bad alignment cause the steering wheel to vibrate?

is it possible that the guys at Discount tires didn't balance the tires correctly?

I drive very careful and never hit anything, that is why I didn't do the alignment because I only paid $700 for 4 tires and alignment costs around $150.

[mike3000fl]

steering vibration can be warped rotors. this can happen from too much heat or in your case.... the monkey at the garage may have used an impact wrench to reinstall your lug bolts, warping the disc.

loosen the bolts and retighten by hand, with a torque wrench.

if this doesn't fix it, try to find a place that does "road force" balancing. i believe they use a machine made by "hunter"

if this doesnt work, a tire could be defective. if you run a square setup (same tires front and back) switch the front wheels/tires onto the back. if it quits shaking the steering wheel, then the wheel/tire combo is suspect.

[TroyDeJ]

Originally Posted by mike3000fl

steering vibration can be warped rotors. this can happen from too much heat or in your case.... the monkey at the garage may have used an impact wrench to reinstall your lug bolts, warping the disc.

loosen the bolts and retighten by hand, with a torque wrench.

if this doesn't fix it, try to find a place that does "road force" balancing. i believe they use a machine made by "hunter"

if this doesnt work, a tire could be defective. if you run a square setup (same tires front and back) switch the front wheels/tires onto the back. if it quits shaking the steering wheel, then the wheel/tire combo is suspect.

I only get my tires aligned on hunter machines. My dad sells hunter the lenses that go into their machines and they are very strict in their tolerances and get an almost PERFECT alignment.

[nhhiep]

so this steering vibration does not associate with alignment?

[mike3000fl]

usually no.

[VTECaddict]

tire balance most likely. brake rotor warpage should only manifest vibration under braking. alignment issues would be pulling and/or accelerated tire wear.

[CirrusSR22]

Defective tire or poor balance job.

[username604]

yup, i'm pretty sure alignments don't cause steering vibrations. take it back to the shop where you had them installed and take them for a spin and let go of the steering wheel so they can see the vibration. they should re-balance it, or at least help you figure out the problem considering it happened after they installed the tires you bought from them. be friendly.

[John 070]

Hopefully it's the balance--imho it was fine before, new tires and there's an issue, I'd be optimistic that it'll get fixed. Steering is one of the best things about a BMW....

[blacknbean]

its the balance. got new non-rfts from americas/discount tire and noticed a vibration. went back for a second balance and it was fixed. they rotated the tires left to right and rebalanced.

[iBoost]

+1 not balanced properly

[tibra1]

Originally Posted by nhhiep

I put this question in another forum, but not getting any responses. Please help me out guys.

After 35k miles with 162s 18" RFTs, the steering is fine. I switched to Yokohama S.Drive normal tires 1 week ago at Discount tires store.

The car is way more comfy now, but the steering wheel vibrates a little, which I didn't remember noticing that with old tires. is it because of new, not broken-in tires or do I need alignment? would bad alignment cause the steering wheel to vibrate?

is it possible that the guys at Discount tires didn't balance the tires correctly?

I drive very careful and never hit anything, that is why I didn't do the alignment because I only paid $700 for 4 tires and alignment costs around $150.

Check the balance on all the tires u replaced this is the likely culprit..also keep in mind new tires need about 200-300 miles to properly break in..check the balance and drive it for a while..then go from there

[michaelalex17]

definitely a balance problem.

[tomz17]

Most likely balance is off, get it checked first... I'll also add that if the vibration goes away after a few miles then it could be flatspotting.

My RFT's never flatspotted. The Kumho summer tires I replaced them with flatspot every day. There is a very mild (almost imperceptible) vibration in the steering wheel for the first 3-5 minutes of driving in the morning, then it's buttery smooth.

[kirillbmw]

definitely balance needed exactly same thing happened to me and it is currently happening right now since i changed the tires and rims again

[ttbmer]

I'm dealing with this issue too. Will check the balance tmrw.

[nhhiep]

I went in yesterday to pay $10/tire to road force balance 2 front tires per store manager's suggestion, because he said out of balance rear tires would shake the car instead, not the steering wheel. is that even true?

After they balanced it, the result is the same as before. I am very disappointed.

here is the little detail that I left out before. It only vibrates between 40-60 mph. I took the car up to 85 mph and it's as smooth as I expected.

any ideas?

I've no idea what to do now, maybe come back to pay them RFB my rear tires too or just wait for the tires to break in? (I only have about 100 miles with this new tires)

[JuppiOne]

try balance the rear tires too, the tire guy is right, if rear tires are out of balance, the car will shake, likewise, if the front tires are out of balance, the steering wheel will shake, for $20, give it a try.

Other possibility could be you have a bend rim, or suspensions damaged, but that sounds a bit remote in this case, since you don't have any issues before you installed the new tires.

other causes could be a out of round tire, in that case, take it back and have the tire store put a new one in for you. any case take it back and ask them to check to see if any of the tire is out of round.

One more thing to check, tire pressure, if it is not at or near recommended pressure, it could affect the ride, vibration included.

One last thing to check, could be the least likely, but could have been over looked easily, did the tire store put the right size tires on for you? or they mistaken put the rear tire in the front and front tires in the rear, since you have 162, and I assume they are staggered.

[Jadar]

Balance issue no doubt. Discount tire doesn't take their time when balancing and prob just gets you into spec, once I caught them lying about balancing my tires. I complain and make them redo it! They prob think I'm an asshole but I don't give a shit I drive my car not them. When I'm cruising @100mph the last thing I wanna feel is the wheel shimmy!

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by nhhiep

I went in yesterday to pay $10/tire to road force balance 2 front tires per store manager's suggestion, because he said out of balance rear tires would shake the car instead, not the steering wheel. is that even true?

After they balanced it, the result is the same as before. I am very disappointed.

here is the little detail that I left out before. It only vibrates between 40-60 mph. I took the car up to 85 mph and it's as smooth as I expected.

any ideas?

I've no idea what to do now, maybe come back to pay them RFB my rear tires too or just wait for the tires to break in? (I only have about 100 miles with this new tires)

This is a common problem where vibration happens only at select speeds. What are your pressures? Inadequate tire pressure can cause vibration and I wonder if that is your problem. On a 335 you need your fronts at minimum 36 PSI cold or vibration is very likely. Try fixing the tire pressures (run 36 PSI all around) before you do anything else. If that solves the problem then its done. If not then you need to get them balanced at a shop that uses a Hunter or Corghi balance machine (they are the most accurate and most expensive so you pay more for the balance). Tip: Stay away from cheap places like Discount Tire and find a Goodyear shop or BMW dealer with a Hunter or Corghi machine....there is a reason why the better places use those machines as opposed to the lesser machines.

[nhhiep]

Speaking of PSI, since I live in AZ, temp is around 85-110 now. Mine PSI are 40/42, which is not far off from the recommended values during "cold". I figured when they say "cold", they meant around 60-70 and because I live in a hotter place. I put in a little more PSI to compensate that.

yes, I double checked the tires' size and they are correct.

by the way, my car is 325, not 335. it's just that I am using 162s 18" set because it was cheaper for me to buy 162s set brand new with OEM RFTs from another member in here for $1000 3 yrs ago.

[JuppiOne]

Originally Posted by nhhiep

Speaking of PSI, since I live in AZ, temp is around 85-110 now. Mine PSI are 40/42, which is not far off from the recommended values during "cold". I figured when they say "cold", they meant around 60-70 and because I live in a hotter place. I put in a little more PSI to compensate that.

yes, I double checked the tires' size and they are correct.

by the way, my car is 325, not 335. it's just that I am using 162s 18" set for look.

cold mean the car have not been driven for a while.
if you have driven the car, the air inside the tire will heat up and expand, the tire pressure will be slightly higher than after the car been sitting for a while.

your tire pressure after the car been sitting should be 32 front, 36 rear