Ritt
11-26-2010, 01:11 AM
So, I bought a set of aftermarket wheels for my E36 M3. They're a well-known brand and model but I'm leaving that out for now.
One of the wheels was cracked - a small crack on the inside rim. I took all four wheels and the tires I wanted on them to a reputable wheel-refurbishing shop local to me. They welded the crack, then mounted and balanced all four tires for me.
When I picked up the newly joined wheels and tires, I noticed there were a fair number of stick-on weights on all four wheels. I asked about this and was told that the wheels were a bit funny. Specifically, that while they were now perfectly round and straight, there were either differences in the density of the casting across each wheel, or the bolt-holes were drilled ever so slightly off center, or there might be small differences in the thickness of the casting side-to-side, or something. Just enough to need several ounces of weight to balance each wheel, which I'm not used to.
The explanation didn't sound like something they'd say just to get me to leave; more importantly however, on my first test drive I experienced some vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds. Sort of a shimmy. It's some kind of harmonic (only between about 52 and 58 mph) but it still shouldn't be there. I did NOT have this issue with either my stock DSIIs or the set of ACS wheels I was running before. Everything is torqued equally so that's not it.
Has anyone ever had a similar experience? I'm going to swap the fronts and rears tomorrow or Saturday to see if it's isolated to one or two wheels (this setup is square). This shop has such a good rep that I'd be surprised if they'd balanced things incorrectly.
One of the wheels was cracked - a small crack on the inside rim. I took all four wheels and the tires I wanted on them to a reputable wheel-refurbishing shop local to me. They welded the crack, then mounted and balanced all four tires for me.
When I picked up the newly joined wheels and tires, I noticed there were a fair number of stick-on weights on all four wheels. I asked about this and was told that the wheels were a bit funny. Specifically, that while they were now perfectly round and straight, there were either differences in the density of the casting across each wheel, or the bolt-holes were drilled ever so slightly off center, or there might be small differences in the thickness of the casting side-to-side, or something. Just enough to need several ounces of weight to balance each wheel, which I'm not used to.
The explanation didn't sound like something they'd say just to get me to leave; more importantly however, on my first test drive I experienced some vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds. Sort of a shimmy. It's some kind of harmonic (only between about 52 and 58 mph) but it still shouldn't be there. I did NOT have this issue with either my stock DSIIs or the set of ACS wheels I was running before. Everything is torqued equally so that's not it.
Has anyone ever had a similar experience? I'm going to swap the fronts and rears tomorrow or Saturday to see if it's isolated to one or two wheels (this setup is square). This shop has such a good rep that I'd be surprised if they'd balanced things incorrectly.