Best 20 bucks I ever spent - I had a severe shimmy between 45 mph - 55 mph. I just installed the anti shimmy kit from Bav Auto this morning, and it is gone - that too with two tires worn on the inside, up front (waiting for my 205/60/13's to arrive next week).
What a great product...and worth every penny.
Viraf
1981 BMW 320i, Ascot Grey with Tan Leatherette, 137K, 5 speed, K&N filter, Ansa Exhaust, Bilstein HD's, Rota RB's, Bumper Tuck.
2013 BMW 535i M Sport, Arctic Silver with Black interior.
1966 Ford Mustang Convertible 289 cc, 56K, Dark Grey on Black, Styled steel wheels, C4 Automatic.
1014 Porsche Cayman S, Black on Black
Tire wear on the inside has nothing really to do with the shimmy kit at all. inside wear is caused by wheel toe issues. Get an alignment when you get them installed or its coming back.
I would like to source the "Richard Bayston" Anti-Shimmy kit for a BMW e21 chassis. I bought the kit once before for another car I owned. Now, I have a second generation 320i. I called my good friend, Al, at Bav Auto today and they no longer carry the kit.
I would like to make up this kit for my car or source from somebody who might have a kit.
It looked like a doughnut. I recalled a pair of (2) off-white disks; about 2+1/2"- 3" in diameter and 5/8" thick. There was a hole drilled in the center, maybe 1/2" in diameter on each one.
Anyone know of this part and spercifications and the install?
I would like to source this part for my ride. Thank you.
bumping this, I curious to know what this kit was...
A quick google search came up with this:
http://www.bavauto.com/Assets/inst_p...nti-shimmy.pdf
Appears to be a urethane or rubber spacer to take up the gap between teh control arm bushing & the swaybar nut. If you're crafty (which owning an E21 virtually requires) you could very easily fab one up. It's an interesting concept, I think I'll search around the shop for some material & post findings.
What about the "Richard Bayston" anti-shimmy kit?
What's that composed of?
Eric P.
if someone could get dimensions i'm sure we could very easily make these
just a note for all pre 10/78 e21s. the sway connects to the lower control arms with a tapered cone bushing on both sides of the arm. not the same as the 79<.
bavauto says the kit is for 77-83. if your pre 10/78 sway is loose, you need new bushings, not a kit. see #12 here.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...09&hg=31&fg=05
Tom D
77 e21 - m42
88 e30m3
04 330 dinan3
84 r1000rt
02 r1150rs
all of them gray
14 f800gsa - red headed stepchild!
good to know, thanks tom! pre-10/79 E21s are the forgotten version of the forgotten 3-series.
These are NLA from Bavauto and have been for several years now. Is there anyone currently making these? Or have the dimensions, material/durometers so I can make or have some made? This was the most current thread about them so I am reviving it.
"Wally" Casten - 1956 Austin-Healey 100, 1985 M-B 300SD, 1987 911 Carrera, 1997 Triumph T509
"The more things change, the more they SUCK" -Butt-Head (Mike Judge)
get a set of jester's eurometric urethane bushings. if you can couple with an alpina frame bar from the guy who bought ken's jigs, or fab one up. makes for a super solid shimmy-free front end.
This is great info. Commenting so I have a reference for this thread.
1982 320i E21 Coupe, Manual, Cashmere Metallic, 162K+ miles (Daily Driver)
1997 318i E36 Sedan, Manual, Black, 388K+ miles (RIP)
I'm going to be fabricating a frame bar for my '82 in the near future. If there is interest I could easily make up a few more for other members while I'm at it.
1975 2002 - Swap in Progress
1982 320i - Well Loved
1982 323i - Cooler than first appearance
1988 M5 - The Original
Isn't the issue with the 55mph shimmy resolved by replacing all of the front end rubber and balancing the wheel to the hub? I currently have this issue however I haven't replaced the struts yet so I haven't dealt with it.
I read this article awhile back which may be of help: http://blog.bavauto.com/14140/bmw-e2...323i-3206-etc/
I might be interested in this fabricated bar as well depending on the responses from the forum members.
_________
1980 320i - Kashmir Metallic - Sold in 1993
1985 535i - Cosmosblau Metallic - Sold in 1995
1985 535i - 1985-06 - Delphin Metallic - Sold in 2016
1983 320i - 1982-09 - Kashmir Metallic - Currently own!
2004 ZHP - 2003-08 - Titanium Metallic - Currently own!
2000 M5 - 2000-02 Titanium Silver - Currently own!
Anti shimmy receipe:
Jester's Eurometric Stage 1 bushings: Outer control arm / steering rack bushings.
Good shock inserts, good upper strut bearings.
Good ball joints, tie rod ends.
Straight wheels and brake rotors.
Very important: Excellent tires. (Chased a shimmy problem for over a year to end in a 4 worn tire set problem).
Balancing and Alignment.
Trust me, shimmy will be gone. As tightest is the front end, less shimmy you will notice. I hit from 0-100mph with out any shake at any speed.
Last edited by onedroppr; 10-04-2015 at 08:56 PM.
don't get me started...... a strut is a rigid structural member designed to resist compression. I really don't really think that's what you meant.
- - - Updated - - -
see #1 here, http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=31_0051
Tom D
77 e21 - m42
88 e30m3
04 330 dinan3
84 r1000rt
02 r1150rs
all of them gray
14 f800gsa - red headed stepchild!
I don't remember these being that expensive, but then again I bought it a few years ago now.
http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/E21-...1alpnabar.html
'81 E21 320i / '90 E30 325i / '̶9̶2̶ ̶E̶3̶4̶ ̶5̶2̶5̶i̶t (sold) / '15 Toyota XW30 / '̶̶8̶0̶ ̶E̶2̶1̶ ̶3̶2̶0̶i̶A̶ (sold)
I had a suspicion this was going to turn into a hornets nest of "oh man, you need to load the car up with polyurethane bushings, and all this other trick racing stuff". I would prefer to have the least amount of polyurethane as possible for a variety of reasons, all of which are based on having other cars with them in the past. I would never do that again in a million years in a street car.
I was hoping to avoid those by posting under a thread that was specifically about the bavauto kit. No offense intended to anyone who replied.
I have heard mixed things about basic anti-shimmy kits, some say they just move the shimmy to a different speed and some say they fix it. I am not trying to imply it is the end all-be all to stop shimmying but I am pretty close to the end of my tether with this thing. I want to try it as a potential simple solution or at least see if it makes ANY difference, as nothing else has on the extensive list of what has been done.
I would assume the polyurethane or other plastic or rubber washer in the bavauto kit was thicker than the gap between the washer and the back of the boss on the control arm to pre-load it slightly?
"Wally" Casten - 1956 Austin-Healey 100, 1985 M-B 300SD, 1987 911 Carrera, 1997 Triumph T509
"The more things change, the more they SUCK" -Butt-Head (Mike Judge)
I simply mentioned the Eurometric bushings, because they are redesigned like having an anti shimmy kit included. They fill the missing gap entirely.
Rack poly bushings, got nothing to do with comfort or ride, they just don't melt or rot with oil like the rubber ones.
The rest of the poly bushings are other part of the story.
Shimmy is produced by a combination of factors, not only resolved by an anti-shimmy kit nor poly bushings. All of them need to be addressed to eliminate shimmy. Fortunately I got nothing of it.
Last edited by onedroppr; 10-05-2015 at 09:19 AM.
In my (limited) personal experience, replacing the outer control arm, sway bay, and rack bushing with polyuerethane moved my shimmy up about 20mph.
I didn't have an alignment done before or after the bushings were swapped, but I'd bet that is the source of the problem. In my mind, the question is whether the source of the shimmy is bad alignment, failing parts, or bad alignment caused by failing parts? Regardless of the source of the problem, I'd say the best solution is to replace any suspect parts (oem or poly, your choice), and then have an alignment done.
If you have more time and patience than money, you can go through the whole process one bushing at a time, but chances are they're all chronolicly challenged, so you might as well bite the bullet and get the job done right the first time.
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