bmw2mb

i just got new mich tires to replace my cont. my steering wheel has a slight shake from left to right between speeds of 40 and 65 mph. just the front wheels need a re-balance or 4-wheel alignment?

mkassab

Does it do it after 10 or so miles? It could be flat spots on the tires from being parked that work themselves out after a few miles. If it's not flat spot from parking, it could be balance or a bad tire. Rotating tires will determine that. I would dought alignment is a problem.

Mark

RAI

mkassab is right- a slight shake that goes away after
a few miles could well be a "morning flat spot" that
is normal (especially with Z rated tires- the H rated tires
are much less prone to this). If it doesn't go away,
then the problem is almost certainly imbalance in one
or more tires. Alignment problems do not cause vibration-
they cause pulling, drifting or abnormal tire wear.

bmw2mb

yes..it does it all the time, after awhile of driving too. i think i will have them check the balance.

FJPM

You should check only the balance of your front tires.

If the rear ones would be unbalanced, the entire car should vibrate (not the steeringwheel, but the dash, the seats, etc...) at speed above 120 kph (70 mph).

By the way, what Michelin tires have you selected at. I am about to change my conti sport contact 2 after 30000 km for Primacy's

alewifebp

When it comes down to balancing issues, you should make sure that the dealership or shop doing the balance uses the Hunter GSP 9700, or other equivalent Hunter machine. These machines are the best in the business, and I'm pretty sure that most MB dealerships should have one, but it is worth it to make sure.

High performance tires demand a near exact balance to give a smooth ride.

Also, although this is rare, the actual new tires could have one that is physically out of round.

bmw2mb

i got the Michelin pilot hx mxm4 245/45 r17 95h. i think they are quiet (especially in sport II) and handle just as good. they also look a little more sportier.

but the most improvement, my car doesn't right drift as much.

i guess the balance machines sometimes miss a balance.

RAI

One other point- the 17" rims are harder to balance than the 16" rims that come on the E320. The 16" rims have a "lip" on the back side of the wheel (though it has no lip on the front side), while the 17" rims have no lip on either side. The lip is an easy and good place to put a balance weight, and it allows wieghts to be placed on two places on the wheel (on the lip and on the side
of the wheel "dish"). This makes it easier to balance the 16" rim than the 17" rim, since the 17" rim really only has one place to add weights. I have seen new E320 16" rims with weights on both places whereas new E500 rims only have weights on the one place, and I've been told by 2 tire stores that it makes it harder to balance a wheel perfectly if it doesn't have a lip to add weights to.


The point of all this is that the 17" rims are a bit harder to balance than more pedestrian rims that have lips on them, so you'll need to pay more attention to geting a primo balancing job.
I had quite a time getting mine properly balanced- even the MB dealer couldn't get it done perfectly. So, seek out a shop with the very best equipment possible and get the best man/woman they have to do the job (won't hurt to give him/her a tip BEFORE the work is done either).

You might think that a new car would already be perfectly balanced- but unfortunately that is often not the case. I've driven
several brand new MBs (and BMWs) that simply were poorly balanced from the day they arrived at the dealership.

The other point is to make sure that the shop checks both your rims and your tires to make sure no rim is bent and no tire is out of round or is otherwise defective. In my experience, Michelin is the best you can get in this regard, but it's still worth checking this out. It's not very hard to bend a rim enough to get a shake in that wheel. I did it several times on with my latest BMW, and it had either 55 or 60 aspect ratio tires. Watch those potholes!!!

All this is well worth the effort though, believe me. Before I got my wheel shake straightened out, I hated going over 65 mph and it bothered me every time I drove the car. Now it is pure heaven, and cruising at 76 or 80 is unmitigated bliss!!

mkassab

I disagree with your statement "17" rims only have weight on one side...."

If a wheel balance weight can't be attached to either outside lip, then stick-on weights are used in place of the lip attached. A good "balance person" will devide the stick-on weight so they can be hidded behind a spoke.

Mark

RAI

Just passing on what 2 reputable tire dealers have told me, buttressed by my own experience of having a VERY difficult
time getting my 17s balanced, even by the MB dealer...

RJC

Let me jump in here...wheels that don't have the lip do use the tape weights on the inside and out if needed, but the closer the weights are placed to the edge of the wheel the better the balance. Also the Hunter 9700 is the best I know of but 2 things to keep in mind 1 the machine has to be calibrated properly and regularly 2 the operator of the 9700 really needs to know what he/she is doing.

bmw2mb

my weights are on the inside of the rim in the middle or on the edge. i have no weights on the side.

RAI

Well, what we all agree on is that it's worth the time and effort to seek out people with the right equipment who know what they're doing.