Tito TW

I'm having a hard time identifying a vibration on my 2009 S550, these are the symptoms;

At 60+mph you can feel a gentle vibration on the steering wheel and at the same time, it feels like somewhat on the floor, at that speed you can clearly see the passenger seat shaking( when not occupied) under 60 mph is very hard to tell, at 80+ you can feel it a little less;

What I have done so far;

Balanced the wheels (this are one piece 20 inch wheels) at that time I was running Sumitomos. After balancing the tires the car felt good for a few weeks and soon after the same vibration was there again.

Balanced the wheels 2 times and the same as the first time after a few weeks the vibration came back.

I then installed bran new Michelin Pilots Super Sports, they checked the wheels and they were straight, while we were doing that we felt that maybe it was related to the front rotors been worn so we replace those too, and again re balance the wheels and tires, again the car felt good for a few weeks, and soon the vibration is back.

Last week I replaced the transmission mount, I found it a little worn, a new unit was installed but no progress yet, while we were there I checked the driveshaft flex plates and visually they look ok, so before I embark into changing them I wanted to ask here.

Any suggestions?

konigstiger

Check your PM.

Mike5215

OEM 20's with a 43mm offsets, not lowered, alignment all in spec, correct?

Any unusual wear pattern in the Sumis when they were pulled?

Tito TW

OEM 20's with a 43mm offsets, not lowered, alignment all in spec, correct?

No, I was told they are TWS wheels however I don't have anything to confirm that, no markings or paperwork on them, I was told by the wheel place they worth $7,000 I don't know about the offset none mentioned that, I did mention about the center hub, and the wheels have them, alignment is all in order right after I installed the Michelin's I did that, car is not lowered.

Any unusual wear pattern in the Sumis when they were pulled?

The front one's had very light wear on the outside, one tire was newer than the rest plus I was not happy with the ride so I changed them.

Picture attached of the wheels.

Mike5215

Same problem myself, aftermarket wheels and mine had a 35mm offset. The passenger seat headrest would shake. The way we ruled it out on my car was to pull in another 221 with stock OEM wheels and fresh tires from the used car lot and swap them onto mine, and then take a ride with the tech. Immediate end of the vibration problems.

I replaced the wheels with OEM and bought a set of Michelin Pilot Sports and she was as smooth as silk again.

So you have aftermarket wheels that require a hub ring, an unknown offset and something is wearing the tires unevenly. I'd dump those rims.

aznevoviii

my 22" one piece wheels with some cheap tires to make some vibration after 65+ mph.
i balance them using road force, made a little improvement, but still have little vibration.

i just drive slow that help.. haha

Mike5215

Yeah, 22's, cheap tires and a full drop are not a recipe for a smooth ride on an S Class. They do look good though.

Tito TW

I wish I could dump this wheels

Mike5215

You may not need to but they have to be ruled out as the cause of the vibration. Can you possibly swap on a set of OEM temporarily...they can be 19's or 18's or whatever. You just need to see if the vibration stops when the aftermarkets are off.

aznevoviii

I have 2012 18's off my s550 if you need them.. Lol
Dealer put brand new tires when i bought them with less than 1500 miles on them.
If you are local, you are more than welcome to use them to rule out your wheels.
Im in daytona beach, fl.

Tito TW

Thank you guys! I will try to swap them for the test.

aznevoviii

thank you! so close and so far away, I'm in Ft.Lauderdale, do you deliver he he!

aznevoviii

Hey, i can ship then to you, you can just buy them off me! Haha

Anyways, today i found out that the tires were problem of the vibration.
There were bubbles inside tire wall.

So my new tires are coming tomorrow so we shall see.

Im getting them rebalanced and alignment done (again) to rule out some stuffs.

Tito TW

aznevoviii Good luck with the new tires! If I find bubbles inside the tire walls of these $1300 Michelins, I will be Mad!

Mike5215

You definitely want to avoid running the new Michelins on those wheels if they're causing that uneven wear you described.

natcahd

AZ...can you see the bubbles inside the tire wall, or are you a doctor with an Xray machine?

Hd

aznevoviii

Inside meant inner side tire wall.
So when you take off the wheel, medial side of the tires have bubbles.

So check them out!

natcahd

AZ...learning experience for me.

Hd

Mike5215

I forgot to tell you (if you didn't already know) that when you do the drop or whenever you change the drop the car has to be realigned, so it's best to live with the drop for a little while and decide exactly where you want it, and then get it aligned once you're happy with the height and ride quality.

What problems are you having? And did you use the medical term "medial" to describe the inner tire? Nice!

aznevoviii

Lol i have no idea what else to describe. Haha

Mike5215

Subluxations!

aznevoviii

Nice! Talking chiro!