Went to 20s and need help
 

I recently upgraded to 20s with TOYO PROXES and AFS wheels. Upgrading to 20s from 17s is the best thing that has happened to the X. Having said that, I have one issue that I am trying to fix and figure the source. Any help will be appreciated:

1. I followed advice and the moment I received the wheels and tires (already mounted and balanced), took them to a balance shop (tire plus). They mounted and rebalanced (Road force setup). The tires according to the guy (who knew what he was doing) were good and rims were not bent or out of round.

2. I put the wheels on (with included hub rings) and everything is hunky dory till a couple of weeks back I started noticing minor vibration/shimmy while driving in the 55-65mph range.

3. I have checked tire pressure, retorqued the lugs but still feeling it.

4. I have searched the acrhives but am lost to where to start now. Would an alignment help? The truck does not pull left or right but I have not had alignment done ever since I purchased the X. My question is, will alignment help in this case.

5. What else can I check without taking it to a stealer? I am guessing perhaps the shimmy was there but not that noticeable because of smaller rims and wheels.

I know its not the rotos and pads as they were changed some 5k-7K miles back. Should I first go with an alignment before checking anything else?

Help ME! Plz.

An alignment would be good, but you'd probably have to do it at a BMW dealer. All kinds of red flags start flying when you take your X5 to the local shop and they hook it up to the alignment computer.

While you're there, check all of your transmission's rubber boots and make your drive shafts are in good shape.

JV

MiCk,
I dunno what an alignment has to do with wheel shimmy at 55-65?

Wheel shimmy diagnosis is like chasing poltergiests...
-The shimmy is induced or, apperent/exacerbated by the new wheels, as you did not state you noticed shimmy before with your 17s.
-I'd have your wheel guy re-check/re-do the balance job and recheck the wheel and tire runout.
-That brake job 5-7k miles ago: you may have some rotor thickness variation, which is simply now noticeable, magnified by the 20s.
-JV mentioned trans and drive line; poss.imo, but a tough "check"
I'd also have front suspension bushings checked, but be leary, as it won't be a hard task for someone to diagnose "bad" control arms, bushings,etc., which may or, may not have anything to do with the recently noticed shimmy.

Does the steer. wheel shimmy, at speed, under hard/vigorous braking?

I still think it is wheel/tire/brake rotor or, some combo, connected...my 2Cts

GL with this hunt: wheel shimmy at speed is a real PIA.
GL,mD

PS: OT...read ya'll in a few days again...I can barely make this site work, lately.

One quick thought, Mickey - IIRC, on my '02 X5. the front wheels did not require centering rings, but the rears did. (Odd setup, that...)

I would start with the centering rings first. Are they intact? Damaged? Seated correctly? Some of them fall out with little provocation. Plastic or metal? The plastic ones can become deformed or can be mounted off-center. I'd look there first since this is an easy thing to mark off the list. These wheels and tires have a bit more unsprung mass than your OEM wheels, so any imbalance will be very noticable. One question: Do you feel the vibration in the steering wheel or the seat/pedals? If it's in the steering wheel, look in the front first. Otherwise, start in back.

Regarding an alignment...it's a good idea to do one when you mount new tires just to make sure everything is in spec. Have it done at a BMW dealer as they have very specific guidelines they use to perform the alignment (i.e. weights in the seats, trunk, etc. to simulate a loaded car).

I've pulled my hair out over centering ring issues in the past with other cars, but I never had any problems with my 20" Style 87 replicas. Good luck!

Mike

Sounds like something simple to me. You did not have the "shimmy" previous in fact even when you first put the new wheels on.

I reckon simply one of the weights has come of you know the wee lead weights that they stick on to balance the wheels.

Your tires were not balanced correctly. Go to a different shop that knows what they're doing. This should not happen with new wheels and new tires. My shop is 100 times more sophisticated than BMW service. Find a good one and you won't be sorry.

What kind of weights did they use? I had this issue once on a different car...many shops can handle the old style clamp on weights but with the stick-on weights, there is lateral wobble if the weights are too far toward the inner or outer side of the rim--they can figure out where on the radius to stick the weight, but not all shops get the secondary measurement right.

I just purchased the same tire rim package from AFS. I have no problems what so ever. I had mine checked as well when I got them and the balance was perfect and rims were true. Not sure why you had your tire guys re-balance them? The use the Hunter GSP 9700 Vibration Control System to balance the tires. This is one of the best systems out there right now.

Not sure if this helps you, but since I bought the same tires and rims from the same guys, I thought the info might help.

Good luck, let us know how you made out and what the problem was.

Oh and another thing. I always ask my tyre fitter the last time they calibrated their wheel balancer.

Worth a check to find out before you get the next tyre shop to do balancing

Oh almost forgot. I am not sure what they sent you, but they sent me a ton of spacers. There are 2 different size spacers that you need to use. I forget which ones went on the front and rear, but they are both different. If you find they are still balanced and the rims still true, check your spacers. If you really get stuck, PM me and I will pop off a front and rear rim and let you know what I used.