JIGGYGS400

whats up guys

recently i put on some 255 40 17's up front on my stock 00' GS400 wheels. There was some rubbing on the suspension so i put some spacers so the tires wouldn't rub...Anyways, in a nutshell i feel the steering wobble when i am in the range of 55-60mph only, otherwise the car runs fine...
Is their any explaination for the steering to wobble at those speeds? I know the GS has a probable with steering wobble with the upgraded 17's wheels, but is their anything else...why does this only happen at 55-60mph??

Any help in appreciated in advanced! Thanks

SpdRcr0

this is common... I get the same thing and I have 20's on my car... alot of GS owners have this same problem.. I think its just a design flaw from Lexus.

cjnmel

mine, i just feel a little vibration coming from the passenger side??? is this NORMAL???

LEXO

I had the same problem with my 20's, and took my GS to the local tire shop and I found out 3 of the 4 rims were ****in bent !?! I dought the vibration thing is normal. Have your rims checked out. most likely there bent aswell. I'm on the search for a set of new 20's.

RON430

Might want to try a search on this. There is no design flaw in the GS that causes vibrations. Biggest offenders are wheel/tire balance, bent rim, and out of round tire. I haven't experienced this yet on the GS but every bimmer I had would do this to a very great extent (always in the range from 50 to 70 - it would almost always go away faster and slower). Found a very good suspension shop that was very familiar with this on bimmers and they would do a super balance and true the tires and away it went. Problem is, it only lasts for about three to five thousand miles and then you go in again.

FYI, I was kind of shocked that a friend of mine with a ten month old bimmer has been through five rims already. He has 18's and I suspect if he keeps the car, he will downsize the rims because he has gotten of the opinion that large rims are far more prone to getting bent than smaller ones. There is some support for that here as it seems that guys with stock 16's like I have, don't really have much problem with this, although it can still happen. But the larger you go on rim size (and lower profile tire) appears to makes the chance of a bent rim a much greater possibility. I suspect my problem, if it shows up, will just be the balance issue but with about 27K miles, everything is fine.

Kbueno

I believe it is a design flaw. Mine does it too, but to a lesser degree than other GS I've found out. It's got to be some attenuation with the suspension and the bigger rim sizes. It's always 55 to 60!

sho3000cc

I have the same problem on my 1998 GS400!!! It shakes after 50mph. I've had the wheels balance a million times and still the steering wheel vibrates right out of the shop.. Even after several different people balanced the wheels.. They checked for bends and there are none. No flat spots or broken tire belts. Any suggestions....HELLLLPPPPPP!!! cjj

RNM GS3

I also have the same problem with my steering from 55 to 60. It started after i got my suspension done and put my 18in rims on. Once im over 60 its nice and smooth. Sometimes the vibration is not noticeable at all, other days it shakes a lot. The only thing i hate about my car is the steering, its very loose and now i have this vibration which really pisses me off. I feel like one of my wheels will fall off.

Any advice for how to fix this problem? Should i get my alignment checked or maybe its the rotors? I really want to fix this problem, its kiling me.

RON430

If you believe that then I can guarantee you that every BMW has the same "design" flaw.

Seriously, if you search the extensive other threads you will see a lot of discussion of this. When it showed up on my bimmers years ago I would take it to the dealer who would do something (probably not much, that is when I found out that they didn't do any alignment work but used a local tire store) but never cure it. I went to Custom Alignment and they refer to the steering wheel shake at 55 to 60 as bimmeritis. A good balance will make it go away but it will come back. The lighter weight and more responsive suspensions are more sensitive to balance and "roundness" issues. The heavier rims and tires you hang on a lighter suspension, the more susceptible it is. For me the answer is a very good alignment shop, and not just what equipment they have. Just a price to pay for these sensitive suspensions.

wheelguy

When using a spacer on your car you eliminate hub-centicity. That means that the wheel is no longer centered on the car via the spindle/hub. Alot of vibration will occur from that no matter how well the tires are balanced. For those of you who are experience vibration with aftermarket wheels, make sure your wheel company is installing "Hub Centric "Rings in you wheels. They will help center the wheels to the car. Without them, you will get that feeling of the wheel falling off the car.

RON430

And of course, the bigger wheel you go, watch out for bent rims. A fair amount of guys here have bent larger rims. Don't think anyone yet has bent up a 16.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Things like non hub-centric rims, wheels larger than the 16"s with lower profile tires (thus providing less tire sidewall absorbing vibration), after market spacers, tighter suspensions, poor alignment, bad balance, bent rims, not perfectly round tires, even WORN tires, **ALL** contribute to balance issues. It is NOT a design flaw.

Lexis11

Boy this is a popular topic on this board.
I too have this problem and have had many balances even ordered the hub rings but they didn't work in my situation. Right after I get the wheels balanced the pain and sorrow goes away and the shaking subsides but after a few hundred miles and a couple potholes later, the shaking comes back. I have pretty much come to the conclusion that the bigger the wheels the more sensitive they are and thus every little pothole or bump you hit may knock these wheels out of balnce. I also believe that since I have 20's a bent wheel isn't that uncommon especially with the roads in Massachusetts.
Well I hope you can find the solution to this annoying problem and if you do let us know, if not you may just have to live to learn with it unfortunately. Good luck.

Kbueno

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RON430
If you believe that then I can guarantee you that every BMW has the same "design" flaw.

Seriously, if you search the extensive other threads you will see a lot of discussion of this. When it showed up on my bimmers years ago I would take it to the dealer who would do something (probably not much, that is when I found out that they didn't do any alignment work but used a local tire store) but never cure it. I went to Custom Alignment and they refer to the steering wheel shake at 55 to 60 as bimmeritis. A good balance will make it go away but it will come back. The lighter weight and more responsive suspensions are more sensitive to balance and "roundness" issues. The heavier rims and tires you hang on a lighter suspension, the more susceptible it is. For me the answer is a very good alignment shop, and not just what equipment they have. Just a price to pay for these sensitive suspensions. [/QUOTE

I agree, my dealer told me I just needed a balance. Regardless, it's got to be an attenuation that's somehow amplified at that 55-60 speed. Mine is the worst when the tires are cold due to flat-spots. I've heard of "bimmeritis" but never experienced it with my father's 97 540i...it was always smooth as glass.

I do believe, however, that the wobble can be lessened or eliminated by appropriate design and engineering. We'll see with the next gen GS.

PHML

iTrader: (33)

Sounds familiar, huh?