Clunking/rubbing problems w/16" E34 M5 snow tires [Archive]

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flipwils

11-15-2006, 10:33 AM

Hi guys, I met some of you at the E34 meet in Chicago over the summer. I have one of the silver 3.8 liter euro M5's that showed up. My wife and our 6 month old son were there as well.

I have a question about some snow tires I just mounted. I used some E38 7-series wheels on my M5 for this snow tire setup. They are 16x8 et23 I believe, running Nokian 225/55/16 tires. I was told that these would be a great setup on the M5 since my car does not have the big brakes of the '95 3.8 liters so the 16" will clear (and they do work fine in that respect).

The issue is this. I'm getting a strange clunk as if something is hitting ONLY on the left front. It only happens when I turn (left and right) and it is clearly something to do with rotation as it is a *clunk*/*clunk*/*clunk*, etc with the noise varying with speed. Like something on the wheel or tire is sticking out and smacking the suspension, tie rod, or something. I can't see any obvious signs of an impact on the wheel or tire, outside or inside. It is fine when I drive straight and sometimes with slight left or right turns, but it comes on roughly at a 45 degree or greater turn, or full lock.

I just put these on yesterday afternoon before I went to class, and the test drive was on the way to the train station so it was too late to do anything. When I got home last night it was raining and I didn't feel like pulling my wife's X3 out of the garage to investigate further. Plus it was 10:30 at night when I returned so I only tried a little bit of investigative work. I swapped the left front and left rear tires to see if there was an issue with the wheel/tire on the front. It still makes the noise. I also trimmed a bit of the fender lining in the front where it was sticking out a bit into the wheel well. Didn't fix it.

Has anyone encountered anything like this before with E38 basketweaves? Tonight I plan to jack the front of the car up to spin the wheel with the car turned right and left to see if I can reproduce it. But it might have something to do with the suspension being under load so I'm not optimistic that I can reproduce it that way.

Adam Wilson
www.e12m535i.com

Digita1 Ecstasy

11-15-2006, 06:17 PM

http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=27740&highlight=series+tires

This thread may help you.

Sounds like your just rubbing.

genphreak

11-15-2006, 06:41 PM

Look for what it's hitting, probably an inner splash guard is loose/poking out and touching. Unless your thrust bushings are allowing the wheel to move in and out when it touches something like the chassis rail, making the noise you describe.

Be very careful with clearnace- many of us take risks with tyre sizes which sometimes only cause problems in extreme situations (like braking/cornering hard enough to avoid killing a pedestrian that forgot to look). The bushes necessarily allow the overall geometry to give a little under pressure, you must allow for this too. It's a dynamic setup, static inspection seldom says much when you are right on the edge. What is the difference in track, rim width and tyre profile and width between these wheels and your other ones?

:) Nick

flipwils

11-16-2006, 10:09 AM

Anthony (M5 in Calgary)

11-16-2006, 02:01 PM

Thanks guys, that helped. I took a look at it last night and the tire and wheel weight are just barely hitting the strut (for the left wheel only). Odd that it doesn't do it on the right side.

I talked on the phone with Scott Hersted about it and the solution seems to be to locate some H&R 3mm spacers for the front. I just ordered a pair this morning from TC Kline Racing, they should come tomorrow.

Thanks,
Adam

Is the space between the wheel lip and the strut tube the same on both sides? Maybe you have a bent strut. I've run E38 style 15 wheels before and had plenty of space and it was equal both sides.