vibration over 85km's

[nv325I]

smooth until above 80, gets a bit better after 110 ish ; although, the rhythm of the vibration increases as my speed increases which probably just makes it seem better, vibrates mostly in steering wheel, turning left and right on highway makes it go away, heavy braking increases vibration a bit but not much. replaced control arms, bushings, tie rod ends...have hubcentric rings on now, put on a different set of tires and no difference...

[Spencer]

Good idea replacing all that rubber up front. Did that help at all?

I had this problem when my after market wheels were bent. Are you wheels true and properly balanced?

[woods]

Originally Posted by nv325I smooth until above 80, gets a bit better after 110 ish ; although, the rhythm of the vibration increases as my speed increases which probably just makes it seem better, vibrates mostly in steering wheel, turning left and right on highway makes it go away, heavy braking increases vibration a bit but not much. replaced control arms, bushings, tie rod ends...have hubcentric rings on now, put on a different set of tires and no difference...

( would rotate the back wheels to the front (assuming they are the same size) to rule out a rim or tire balance problem. Vibration at 80km/hr is a telling sign that it's a wheel balance issue (especially since there's not much left in the front end to replace).

[Weeman83]

yup, bent rim.

[E30M20B25]

This is very very indicative of a mis balanced wheel; had the same in my 5er.

If you are CERTAIN you took it to a good place to balance your wheels, then there may be a issue with the wheels themselves.

It could have been something else but if you can outdrive the shutter, it is usually in the wheels.

[nv325I]

wheels are balanced, but not sure if they are true or not. replaced all the rubber in the front suspension, except the sway bar links...what about it going away when i go around bends in the road, does that mean anything? if the rims are bent, why would it go away on bends?

[nv325I]

oh and i changed back to original bottle caps and vibration was identical...whicj kinda ruled out the rims being the culprit, unless both sets are funky...

[M635]

I think the wheels are unbalanced. My 6'er had the same problem, but it would shake at 120km/h, got the wheels balanced, also replaced the bushings as they were toast, and everything is great.

But a question about the braking, if the disc were to be grinded again, would that solve anything?

[crunk3]

wheel bearing?

[Spencer]

Has the car ever been in an accident? Maybe something structural is messed.

[nv325I]

no accident, could be a wheel bearing.....might have to just get the fronts re-balanced and take it from there. Gonna replace the front discs anyways, so i guess i'll take it from there. Is it a sign of unbalanced tires when turning improves the vibration?

[dc42004]

uneven rotor surface shouldn't affect cruising.

it's mostly the wheel or tire, so swap it out with another one. If u dunt have a spare wheel, swap the wheel from the front too the back and see what happens. or u could borrow someone's wheel, i've got spares too.

wore bearing will have some vibation, but not as much as a bent wheel.

what kind of wheel is it? weaves or bottle cap?

[MGuy]

Suspension bushings? Check all of the front end bushings and ball joints. As said above, balance is the first thing to check, but if a set of properly balanced tires/wheels are on the car and you get a shimmy at a certain speed, which smooths out at a higher speed, (80-110km/h for ex) it's probably suspension bushings. My e32 had exactly those symptoms, and it's common on BMWs (though more common on the heavier cars.)

[nv325I]

got the aftermarkets on there now with hubcentric rings, but my original bottlecaps do the same thing. with both sets i switched front to back and all over the place to no real big diffference. to recap- smooth until just above 80, gets a bit better over 110, but doesn't really change. taking corners on highway makes it go away completely. still wondering about why it would go away on bends... gonna re-check all front end suspension components tomorrow..

[rkettner]

the only other moving parts up front would be inner and outer tire rods, upper strut bearings, struts and wheel bearings.