So it really was just warped rotors

[Isaacus]

I've had my 525i for more than 3 years and in that time have never gotten rid of front end vibration under braking. I'm talking about a vibration that's a dead ringer for the 55-65mph shimmy that happens when you have blown control arms.

At first it ended up being horrible control arms, which started vibrating at speed and gave away the telltale that let me know they were blown. Then I gradually went about replacing the smaller components in the front end until I'd replaced all of it.

The vibration stayed.

I swapped unevenly worn tires, even the somewhat bent wheels, and it stayed.

Well I finally got around to doing the second of the two front rotors, and damn it's finally gone. This would have been done a long time ago but I'm shockingly lazy.

So yeah if you ever have the vibration that only starts under braking (more than 30mph for me) then definitely check the rotors.

[E34Kevin]

Mine was a combo of bad rotors and unbalanced tires.
Car shook like crazy after braking from a freeway exit. It should really bad, you could probably see it from the outside. I got the brakes replaced, and it calmed it down a bit. No more pulsing when slowly braking and shaking when braking at high speeds. After getting new tires all of the vibrating stopped. The unbalanced tires had to do with the 55-65 shimmy.
It felt great after getting that taken care of, congrats.

[Stir Fry A Lot]

Been there done that. Never discount the rotors.

[94530inh]

Everyone knows thats the first thing you check, if the vibration is under braking.

[Isaacus]

Everyone knows thats the first thing you check, if the vibration is under braking.

Yeah well in this case it happened all the time at first so I had to go through the process of elimination, which metaphorically speaking was removing crap from the car.

[JesterMX6]

some people will tell you that warped rotors is just a myth :rolleyes

[garrettpier]

I found that the vibration came back after replacing the rotors, and everything else up front. I just did the wheel bearings--the old ones where toast. I hope that this solves the prob. I have gone for a short test drive but cannot guarantee it yet. What a pain in the ass problem though; the shimmy that never leaves.

[obeypixel]

some people will tell you that warped rotors is just a myth :rolleyes

Those people don't have girlfriends.

[zubbie]

I've had this occur with brand new rotors right out of the box. Yep, warped, replaced and fixed

[bustedbmw]

I've had this occur with brand new rotors right out of the box. Yep, warped, replaced and fixed

What brand?

You know, so I can learn from your mistake. :D

[94530inh]

hey, our front ends are temperamental with all the ball joints and bushings.. Glad your car is rolling well now, just like mine after the front end rebuild.

[zubbie]

What brand?

You know, so I can learn from your mistake. :D

not on my BMW so I'm not sure it is relevant. ATE on an F-150 IIRC