Shake between 55 - 60 mph but not from steering wheel.

[Unregistered]

There is a way to have them balanced under a load. I can't remember the name of this system, but it will place an appropriate load on the tires, and balance them under load. This accounts for some tire variance...could maybe be a solution?

Pat Washburn
Wausau, WI

Yes, I have 17” BMW E39 wheels with hub rings (74.1-72.52). The shake has developed recently and I had the wheels for a long time. I think it’s coming from the tires. I have Falken Azenis ST-115 tires that are about three months old with 1k miles on it. I can’t believe the tires could go bad this fast. I put the old 15” back on and the shake is gone. I brought the wheels to Discount Tires and they re-balanced the wheels. They said the rims are straight and tires also look good. Then why am I getting the shake with these wheels? I think the techs from Discount Tires don’t know how to check for bad tires or am I missing something here?

[AZ_Jason_S]

A while ago, I was asking around about tire balancing. Someone told me about a place that had a system that would even tell you which wheel to put which tire on for the best balance. I will have to look into that again.

There is a way to have them balanced under a load. I can't remember the name of this system, but it will place an appropriate load on the tires, and balance them under load. This accounts for some tire variance...could maybe be a solution?

Pat Washburn
Wausau, WI

[Giles]

God, I think that every E34 now has that bloody shake at 55-60. Mine has been around for a while but was made much worse when i changed my tyres, despite having them balanced twice :-(

UK 525i 1994 140,000miles

[AZ_Jason_S]

I found a Firestone shop here in Phoenix, that does some kind of advanced balance. They charge around $130 for it as opposed to $40 for a normal balance. They unmount all four tires from the wheels in the process. I didn't get to talk to a tech, just the office girl, so I don't have a good description of the process. I might try this.

A while ago, I was asking around about tire balancing. Someone told me about a place that had a system that would even tell you which wheel to put which tire on for the best balance. I will have to look into that again.

[Rick L]

I heard that correct way to rebalance the wheel is to deflate the tire first and release the beads from the rim. Over inflate to 45 psi. so the beads are correctly seated and deflate to correct tire pressure. This way, if the tire is “out-of-round”, this process might fix that problem. Also, make sure the tire tech doesn’t counter balance the weights either.