car shakes between 100-120 km/h

[e46it]

i get a shake on car between 100- 120 km which on most cases caused by none balanced tires.. however i get the same symtoms on two sets of rims summer and winter.

got the e46it in jan and had winter tires on it, purchased used 19 csl rims and put on the car same issue at the same speed range.

has anyone else experinaced this and what was the remedy... i find it strange for two sets of rims to have the same problem at the same speed.

[T.Dot_E30]

Best way to tell is to have someone spin them on a balancer.

I wouldn't be surprised if both sets have bends or balancing issues. Common problem with our roads, esp for the 19'' reps. This is why i hate buying used wheels.

[Axxe]

How are the front end components? CAB's? Ball joints? Tie rods? What happens under light, moderate, heavy braking? Or both sets out of balance. Start elimidating.

[jabela]

Definitely chech what the guys above said.
Another question is where you feel the shaking. In the steering wheel? Through the clutch/shifter? Through the seat?

[e46it]

well i have not checked under the car yet, but it feels good under breaking no issues..

the shakings is at the steering wheel and the manual shift knob between 100-120

the thing is i had the winter rims and tires balanced and it felt the same, so when i put the summer tires on had the same symptoms i didnt want to go and spend another 60 bucks to get them balanced, so it may be front end componant.

but my question is if its a ball joint, CAB etc wont i feel it at all times or at least in hwy speeds??

[T.Dot_E30]

Originally Posted by S62M5

the thing is i had the winter rims and tires balanced and it felt the same, so when i put the summer tires on had the same symptoms i didnt want to go and spend another 60 bucks to get them balanced, so it may be front end componant.

Not to beat a dead horse, but a wheel can balance out even with a bent wheel, so it will cause vibrations. BMWs are very sensitive to wheel balance. On other cars that wheel may be perfectly fine.
Most wheel shops don't gave a dam and just slap them on the car. You have to specifically ask them to check the rim for bends while on the balancer. (& watch them like a hawk)

But yea it could be any number of components mentioned above, wheels are just the most common.

[jabela]

One thing you can do yourself it jack up the rear end and make sure it's very stable. Then put the car in top gear look at the rims for wobble or excessive runout. If the car doesn't shake, give it some revs to get it to 100-120kph. If you don't hear/see a vibration in the back, swap the front/rear wheels and retest.
If you do get a vibration, that will help you pinpoint which wheel it is.
If you don't get anything, especially since you feel it in the steering wheel, I would suspect your suspension.

The FCABs and balljoints can cause your issue. Watch these videos to see how to check for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Pw3V8pMeI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9P403IcAYM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXoBRKQeT44

Some other questions...
Have you had an alignment done recently?
How old are your tires? Do they have any unusual wear?
Are your rims stock offset/width?

[e46it]

i just ordered coilovers when i take it to shop to get them installed i get them to check the underbody for any defects....

[Steve30]

My dads e36 had the same issue. We had the wheels balanced like 3 times. They tech always said thy were balanced but the vibration occurred at around 100-110 km/h. We got them balanced one last time and it turned out to be that putting weights only on the inside of the barrel didn't properly balance the wheel. They had to put the weights closer to the face.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Maple]

Very good point Steve30.

Make sure you take the wheels to an experienced shop that AT LEAST has a Hunter Road Force machine. To properly balance the tires you'd need at least the Hunter Road force, if people who use that machine have some brain with them , it's even better .

Get the tires remounted and rebalaced properly. Why remounted? well I can almost guarantee that they're mounted improperly right now . When you go to remount and rebalance them ask the installer what the Yellow and Red dots are for on the tire. If he cant answer that question then call him an idiot and go elsewhere.

I got a question for you, what RPM are you at when doing 100-120? Are you absolutely sure that the shake is only dependent on the speed and NOT the RPM . If the shake is only based on speed then its guaranteed that its your rims/tires.


REMEMBER !
some shitty china wheels cant be balanced even when new , because they're shitty.
Some tires cant be balanced becaseu they're shitty even when new.
Sometimes the tire will look perfectly fine but will have a broken belt in it , mostly happens to old tires. So check the date on your tires, if older then 5 years, then throw them in the garbage

E46s are extremely sensitive to anything that has to do with suspension , tires included. E46s dont like china parts and usually reject them by making all sorts of noises and vibrations. Check your car for the presence of crappy china parts and replace with quality parts

Good luck

[oakville46]

I work for a reputable tire shop and whenever a customer comes in for such an issue, we check out the entire front end suspension system to ensure that everything is good. From there we check out the balance and radial tire and rim runouts to see if the problem is there or not. Are the tires spec'd to the car for load and speed ratings by chance? Sometimes people just get a tire without knowing what the vehicle calls for with speed and load ratings and it causes vibration and false alignment issues like a tire pull.

[drivetolive]

I have the same issue, a vibration throughout the entire car above 100 km/h. It’s much more evident in the steering wheel between 100-120. Above 120, it seems to be more prevalent in my seats and floorboards.

More importantly however, it seems to vary in degree. For example, sometimes it’s barely noticeable, others times quite apparent.

I’ve replaced the shocks/springs (with coilovers), my front control arms, FCABs, rear shock mounts, steering guibo, RTABs, and recently did a complete brake job (rotors and pads).

In addition to the above parts replacement, I’ve also replaced both my winter and summer tires with new tires (Michelin Pilot SS and x-Ice 2) and still have the issue despite being hunter road force balanced.

If you, the OP, can figure out your issue please do report back. With that said, if anyone has any suggestions please don’t be shy to comment! I’ll be visiting Rocco @ RMP soon so I’ll post back here if we find anything .

[oakville46]

If the vibration is in the seat and floors, they she is coming from the rear of the vehicle.

[DIY]

Could be the driveshaft... I also have the same problem in my E30.. The drive shaft was another component mentiond to me that could be the problem ... I know I need new FCAB's but I have the unfortunate feeling it won't do the trick.. I also get the seat vibration

[Ramps]

Front control Arm Bushings (FCAB) are a common point that causes vibration and a lot of cars have a resonance frequency where things vibrate in that speed range and then it smooths out at a higher speed. There's a lot of info on FCAB checking online and even vids on youtube how to check.