Shake between 55 - 60 mph but not from steering wheel.

[Unregistered]

My 525i has developed a slight shake between 55 mph to 60 mph. However, I don't feel the shake from the steering wheel. I only feel the shake from the seat (maybe the whole car)... Any ideas? All four wheels have been re-balanced. Also, if I under inflate the tires (22 psi - cold tire), the shake seem to go away or very very slight. But I don't want to drive around on a under inflated tires.

[mmaddock]

I thought shake at 55-60 on the E34 was built in by BMW as a standard feature which turns itself on at 100k!

There are any theories surrounding E34 shimmy, in my experience the front suspension of these always goes off at around 100k and every garage you visit has a different bit they replace to 'fix' the problem.

I would suggest that although your steering wheel may not appear to be affected, the fact that if you reduce the tyre pressure would indicate that it is suspension related. Got to a decent independent BMW specialist and get them to check the front end suspension out.

Don't know about US specs, here in the UK/Euroland we prefer things to be quite hard, whereas traditionally US don't. So BMW US might soften the suspension up for you guys, different setup etc. from UK, who knows!

Don't ride around on tyres at 22psi! Well, in the UK tyres are 31 front 36 rear - 22 would be mighty low - but as I said, may be diff. for US.

[NoSpeedLimits]

ha, ha, ha...yah...it's a great feature! No problems mixing the cocoa and milk, she is the best mixer I've owned! ;)

[AZ_Jason_S]

I have the exact same problem. My steering wheel is fine and I know its not my thrust arms, they are new. However, I have a shake in the whole car around 55 mph. Do you have stock wheels or aftermarket? I am suspecting my aftermarket 17" wheels may be the source. I think I will try to swap the stock wheels on this weekend and take the others in for a balance.

[DaCan23]

I have a shake similar that might be a bent rim.... as adjusting AP up & down makes it feel different

[Unregistered]

Yes, I have 17” BMW E39 wheels with hub rings (74.1-72.52). The shake has developed recently and I had the wheels for a long time. I think it’s coming from the tires. I have Falken Azenis ST-115 tires that are about three months old with 1k miles on it. I can’t believe the tires could go bad this fast. I put the old 15” back on and the shake is gone. I brought the wheels to Discount Tires and they re-balanced the wheels. They said the rims are straight and tires also look good. Then why am I getting the shake with these wheels? I think the techs from Discount Tires don’t know how to check for bad tires or am I missing something here?

[jplacson]

Ok... I have the shimmy too, but my steering wheel shakes as well. The shimmy varies in intensity depending on the condition of the road I'm on.

Could the rear subframe bushings cause this? I'm asking since my bushings were just changed 4 months ago. I haven't had the time to bring my car in for repairs so I'm still gathering as much info as possible.

[Unregistered]

There is a way to have them balanced under a load. I can't remember the name of this system, but it will place an appropriate load on the tires, and balance them under load. This accounts for some tire variance...could maybe be a solution?

Pat Washburn
Wausau, WI


Yes, I have 17” BMW E39 wheels with hub rings (74.1-72.52). The shake has developed recently and I had the wheels for a long time. I think it’s coming from the tires. I have Falken Azenis ST-115 tires that are about three months old with 1k miles on it. I can’t believe the tires could go bad this fast. I put the old 15” back on and the shake is gone. I brought the wheels to Discount Tires and they re-balanced the wheels. They said the rims are straight and tires also look good. Then why am I getting the shake with these wheels? I think the techs from Discount Tires don’t know how to check for bad tires or am I missing something here?

[AZ_Jason_S]

I have aftermarket wheels with hubcentric rings. I don't have Falkens, but I do have Hankooks also a "Budget" tire. I am going to put my original wheels on and see if it goes away. While they are on, I am going to get my others balanced. If a balance doesn't fix it, I might try a mismatch of 2 fronts and 2 rears to see if I can isolate a problem wheel.

I got my wheels and tires from Discount Tire. I doubt the techs there know how to check for dirt in the ground. I don't know if I want them to do this balance, I might try someone else. Also, perhaps some new hubcentric rings would help. Maybe one of them is not quite "centric" anymore.

I'm betting its either the rings, the cheap tires, or the combination. I don't think it is a coincidence we both have the same problem with similar tires/wheels.



Yes, I have 17” BMW E39 wheels with hub rings (74.1-72.52). The shake has developed recently and I had the wheels for a long time. I think it’s coming from the tires. I have Falken Azenis ST-115 tires that are about three months old with 1k miles on it. I can’t believe the tires could go bad this fast. I put the old 15” back on and the shake is gone. I brought the wheels to Discount Tires and they re-balanced the wheels. They said the rims are straight and tires also look good. Then why am I getting the shake with these wheels? I think the techs from Discount Tires don’t know how to check for bad tires or am I missing something here?

[AZ_Jason_S]

A while ago, I was asking around about tire balancing. Someone told me about a place that had a system that would even tell you which wheel to put which tire on for the best balance. I will have to look into that again.


There is a way to have them balanced under a load. I can't remember the name of this system, but it will place an appropriate load on the tires, and balance them under load. This accounts for some tire variance...could maybe be a solution?

Pat Washburn
Wausau, WI

[Giles]

God, I think that every E34 now has that bloody shake at 55-60. Mine has been around for a while but was made much worse when i changed my tyres, despite having them balanced twice :-(

UK 525i 1994 140,000miles

[AZ_Jason_S]

I found a Firestone shop here in Phoenix, that does some kind of advanced balance. They charge around $130 for it as opposed to $40 for a normal balance. They unmount all four tires from the wheels in the process. I didn't get to talk to a tech, just the office girl, so I don't have a good description of the process. I might try this.


A while ago, I was asking around about tire balancing. Someone told me about a place that had a system that would even tell you which wheel to put which tire on for the best balance. I will have to look into that again.

[Rick L]

I heard that correct way to rebalance the wheel is to deflate the tire first and release the beads from the rim. Over inflate to 45 psi. so the beads are correctly seated and deflate to correct tire pressure. This way, if the tire is “out-of-round”, this process might fix that problem. Also, make sure the tire tech doesn’t counter balance the weights either. :)

[E34N]

I've done quite a bit of research on this.. here's what to do, in order of cheapest to most expensive

1. check and balance tires
2. check shocks
3. replace flex discs
4. replace u joints
5. replace center bearing

recommend doing 3, 4, and 5 at same time if $$ permits since labor will be same (roughly)
note: on some years, such as mine, 1990 535i, 3,4&5 have to be replaced at same time.. don't come separately. will cost anywhere between $600 and $1500 depending on year of car and of course your mechanic.

[Rodericb]

I've done quite a bit of research on this.. here's what to do, in order of cheapest to most expensive

1. check and balance tires
2. check shocks
3. replace flex discs
4. replace u joints
5. replace center bearing

recommend doing 3, 4, and 5 at same time if $$ permits since labor will be same (roughly)
note: on some years, such as mine, 1990 535i, 3,4&5 have to be replaced at same time.. don't come separately. will cost anywhere between $600 and $1500 depending on year of car and of course your mechanic.

I had a simular problem.
First I checked the wheel balance.
Result: Driver side rim bent. Got another rim and had it balanced. Somewhat fixed the problem but shimmy still remained.

Next I replaced the thrust/control arm bushings.
Result: Front end really tight and nice ride but shimmy still there at 45-55

Finally I replaced the front rotors and brake pads.
Result: Shimmy completely gone. Silky smooth ride and very tight...almost new feel to the steering.

It seems that my rotors although within spec as to thickness were severly warped. This seemed to cause the shimmy at 55-60 and also when braking at high speeds. This may not be your problem but this is from my own experience. I hope this helps.


BMWCCA #330940
Bayou Chapter, Louisiana

[kbchia]

Off- car balancing, where the wheels are put on a machine to balance, does not take into account the load and other harmonics of the suspension system. So the way to go is to balance the wheels while they are on the car.

However, there are two ways to balance the wheels on-car. One system jacks the wheels up and attaches a sensor to the ball joint. The wheel is then spun .. then balanced with the appropriate weights. Here the sensor is lightly attached.

The other systems jacks the car up and the wheel us rested on a jack-stand-like contraption with a sensor built in. Here the springs are compressed by the weight of the car. The wheel is spun and balanced. This is probably the prefered choice.

I have been to another shop that balances the wheels on the car but no electronic sensors are involved. Everything is done by "touch" i.e. using the hands on the car to detect vibration. Satisfactory results. Have tested wheels balanced this way with method #2. perfect balancing!

Just my two cents.

cheers.

kbchia

[Unregistered]

Where can I find a place to balance this way?



Off- car balancing, where the wheels are put on a machine to balance, does not take into account the load and other harmonics of the suspension system. So the way to go is to balance the wheels while they are on the car.

However, there are two ways to balance the wheels on-car. One system jacks the wheels up and attaches a sensor to the ball joint. The wheel is then spun .. then balanced with the appropriate weights. Here the sensor is lightly attached.

The other systems jacks the car up and the wheel us rested on a jack-stand-like contraption with a sensor built in. Here the springs are compressed by the weight of the car. The wheel is spun and balanced. This is probably the prefered choice.

I have been to another shop that balances the wheels on the car but no electronic sensors are involved. Everything is done by "touch" i.e. using the hands on the car to detect vibration. Satisfactory results. Have tested wheels balanced this way with method #2. perfect balancing!

Just my two cents.

cheers.

kbchia