E34 Wheel Vibration

Hi Guys,

 I'm new here but was wondering if any of you could shed some light on a problem I have with my 1995 E34 525i. Here goes; I've just upgraded from the standard 15" crossspoke design wheels  to new 17" E39 style "49" 5 spokes, which are shod with Dunlop SP9000 235/45 ZR17 tyres. Since then the car has developed wheel vibration (quite bad at times)from both front & back at app. 60-85mph. However having said that it isn't constant, but seems to be cyclical and come and go over a 2 minute period while running at say 80mph. As a result of this I've had the wheels balanced several times, tried a friends 17" BBS wheels, but the problem still occured. In a moment of desparation, I switched back to the original 15" and all was well again??

Has anyone else had experience of this when upgrading to 17"

Looking forward to your replies,

Mark.

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the reply. Yes it does vary with the road surface, however stupid as it seems, it appears worse on smoother tarmac roads/motorways. Its really quite severe at some speeds, and have decided to resort back to the 15" OE wheels - after all BMW designed it that way!

Cheers,

Mark

Paul, do you mean the hub-centric spacer?

If you don't have that fitted it will cause some very bad vibration, and possible damage to the wheel.

Hub-centric spacers are essential.  Some aftermarket wheel SPECIALISTS do neglect to fit them.  I had some 15' MiMs put on my old E30 by Elite Autos in Rainham and they didn't fit the spacers.  Consequently, even after having them balanced several times I still got severe steering vibration.  After I fitted the spacers myself it completely illiminated the problem.

Its simple to check if they are fitted, just remove your wheel and look either on the hub or inside the mating surface of the wheel dish.  The spacers are normally made of nylon/plasticcy stuff, usually brown.  They are simply a push in fit.

Thanks for your suggestions guys,

Just one thing of note, I've tried  a couple  of  other sets of both 16" & 17" E39 OE wheels on the car(E34), but have always got the same vibration. Could this be because the centre bore of the E39 wheels is slightly bigger than that of the E34 (think I remember reading this somewhere), and hence the wheel is relying entirely on the bolts to perfectly centre it?

Feel like I might be getting somewhere now!

Thanks,

Mark

...this one's even better:

http://www.lensowheel.com/alloy_page1.htm

Quote: Originally posted by Mark525 on 21-May-2003

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Thanks for your suggestions guys,

Just one thing of note, I've tried  a couple  of  other sets of both 16" & 17" E39 OE wheels on the car(E34), but have always got the same vibration. Could this be because the centre bore of the E39 wheels is slightly bigger than that of the E34 (think I remember reading this somewhere), and hence the wheel is relying entirely on the bolts to perfectly centre it?

Feel like I might be getting somewhere now!

Thanks,

Mark

 

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Yes the centre hole is bigger on the E39, that is why you need the hub-centric spacer (more like a collar) to fit the E34 hub and fill the gap.

You can get even E39 M5 alloys to fit the E34, but you will still need the spacer.

Hi Geraldo,

Have you checked the front bottom suspension bushes? As the E34 is quite a heavy car, its quite hard on these. From memory, its the blue bushes that fit into the sub frame that are the main culprits so I'm told by my local specialist.

Hope this helps,

Mark.