Beowulf

I've noticed an intermittent steering wheel shake around 55 mph in my 4-day old '05 E55. It doesn't seem to do it all the time - at first I thought it might be related to a specific road anomaly, but the symptoms have reappeared in enough situations to make it suspect. The shake occurs ONLY around 55 MPH - go faster or slower - no problem. Taking it back to the dealer Friday - anyone have similar experience and what was the cure? TIA!

hotmalma

I just picked up my 05 E55 yesterday and I noticed the same thing this moring driving to work. I was planning to watch it for a few days and see what happens, but I would be interested to hear the results of your visit to the workshop.

RJC

Balance

Out of round tire(s)

Flat spotting from sitting overnight or for a few hours, but this should go away after 5-10 mins of driving.

jefrose55

It's probably from the tires sitting as previously stated and becoming out of round. The orginial conti tires had lots of vibration and after 12k miles got the Mich PS2. The tires are Mich are harsher on uneven pavement but offer more road feel. Def would recommend these as replacements

04 E55
04 Range Rover
02 M3 Cabrio six speed

jeff

Beowulf

Thanks much for the input. There's no noticeable vibration (or unusual tire sounds) at lower speeds, which is what I usually associate with flat-spotting. However, I'll have the dealer check things out when I bring it by tomorrow for installation of the new steering wheel. I was surprised by their use of Conti's on the car, figuring they'd go with something a little more in keeping with the car's performance capabilities. I'll definitely check out the Michelin PS2's.

hotmalma

Which steering wheel are you getting? I was a little disappointed with the one in my E55 - especially compared to the one I had in my 04 CLk55. The one in the E55 feels a little anemic.

Also with my steering vibration I do feel a bit of flutter-like vibration through the bottom of my seat so I am thinking that my tires are also out of round.

Also got that damm pull to the right thing.

Vetluver

I've had my E55 for a month and noticed a shake immediately when I picked it up. I thought that it might be a flat spot due to overseas trip but after a 1000 miles it was still there. I only noticed it on smooth blacktop and at 55 to 60. Took it to my tire guru who checked the balance and found them .5 ounce out on the right and .25 ounce on the left (fronts). He added the weight and it is perfect now.

I'm wondering whether AMG might have a bad wheel balancer or whether somebody is slacking. It's the first MB that I have ever bought with and out of balance tire. Normally you'll never get tires balanced like you do from the factory. I plan to mention it to the dealer at my first service.

Beowulf

It's a black birdseye maple and perforated leather grip wheel that's meatier than the stocker and really accents the maple trim nicely. I'll post a pic after the installation tomorrow.

No pulling to the right noticed yet!

Beowulf

Exactly my symptoms. I'll try to get some early satisfaction tomorrow at the dealer, but if that doesn't work I'll follow your lead and contact my tire guru (for those in the Atlanta area, I recommend Gran Turismo East over Butler Tire).

Vetluver

Beo,
I noticed you have a DRM motor in your Vette. Have you dyno'd it? Have any idea what quarter times it will run? I've been toying with the idea of upgrading my L98 but would have to see alot of performance gains before doing it. My max'd out L98 runs in the low 12's on motor alone. I'm in the process of putting a Lingenfelter Superram on now. I've run into the usual minor problems with clearances and other problems relating to the fact that my engine is not stock, so bolt on sometimes is not as easy as aftermarketers would like you to believe.

Brav

for what its worth, my E500 has had same prob. i have the ps

allenjdmb

Don't wate your time heading back to ACC for this problem. If you've got the Conti's it aint going to get a whole bunch better. If you want to get a real definitive anser to what's going on, give Harris Conner a call over at Gran Turismo East at Shallowford near Buford. They are a small, out of the way old school shop that does things the old fashioned way--that is, by hand, with real time spent on getting it right. The shop may look small, old--but they know what they are doing. PM me and I'll give you some more info if you want to use them. I suppose you can try for a trip to ACC to see if indeed the OE stuff is out of balance, and it probably is. But it's still probably out of round too. Yes, it should be a free warranty adjustment, but I really am unsure if I would want them touching my wheels. By the way, John Gavel over at ACC has been great to me as a service writer, if you don't have anyone in particular that you like.
Hope this helps..
AA

enzom

I noticed the vibration too. I felt it right out of the dealership. I checked the tire pressure a few days later and all four tires were underinflated by at least 5 lbs. I added air and it ameliorated, but I still feel a wiggle when the car has been sitting for a long time.

When I bring it for service, I'll ask them to check my tire balance.

Beowulf

allenjdmb,

See my earlier post about Gran Turismo East - I've known Harris & Jeff for over 20 years - and they've worked their magic on all my cars. Couldn't agree more that they are a class act!

Update on my steering situation:

John Spivey at ACC was the service writer who handled my car this morning. I was there to have the birdseye/perforated leather wheel installed and mentioned the vibration problem to John, who agreed to have it thoroughly checked and gave me a loaner for a couple hours. When I returned, he said the technician confirmed the problem and they think it stems from a wheel defect that prevents proper balancing. As a result, they are ordering four new wheels and mounting four new replacement tires. Only immediate problem is that the wheels come from a warehouse in Orlando, which is closed thanks to Francis, so it will be Wednesday or Thursday before they can do the swap and rebalance. So far, I'm impressed with their service.

For those that asked about the new steering wheel:

Beowulf

vetluver, I pm'd you

hotmalma

Well I have my car back from the shop and they re-aligned the front end, and rebalanced all 4 wheels. The right front was particulary out of balance. So far so good - it is not pulling to the right and the vibration is gone. Hope it lasts!

e55 baller

I had the same problem or shall I say I still have the same problem. Was diagnosed that the continental driver front was "Out of round".

I wonder if it can be replaced under the tire warranty if there is indeed one. I think I will go with Eagle F1s for the front.

Beowulf

As I noted earlier in this thread, my dealer suspects that there is a problem with the AMG wheels - they could not get them to balance properly, so they have offered to replace all four OEM wheels and all four OEM tires with new ones at no charge. I have an appointment for the swap at 11AM tomorrow - I'll post the swap results ASAP.

e55 baller

Beowulf,

Sorry if I am asking a Q you may have answered elsewhere but where (URL please) did you get that beautiful steering wheel? I want one

Beowulf

I got mine from my dealer, who happened to have one in stock. I paid a premium ($1,895.00 installed), because I couldn't wait. However, you can buy the same wheel from MBWerks for $1,195, w/o installation (http://www.mbwerks.com/osc/catalog/p...products_id=41).

Beowulf

As promised, the dealer replaced all four wheels and tires with new oem stock today. The tech spent the better part of the afternoon making sure all were properly balanced and aligned. Verdict? No more 55 mph steering shake - no shake or vibration at any speed 0 mph to 80+ (still in break-in mode). to Atlanta Classic Cars for stepping up to the plate.