Wheel Balancing Experts get in here!

[m3f_bmwstephen]

My tire guy shared some disappointing news to me today that my set of original ds1s exhibit some form of deformity (not visible to untrained eye) on their wheel balancing machine.


I guess with age, road conditions, and use these imperfections are inevitable.


It is my understanding and common practice to load wheel weights on the car to get it balanced (which I am fine with).


But does that address vibration issues or are vibrations something I will just have to live with short of actually sending these wheels out for machining and refurbishing

[m3f_Hasan Shaikh]

Very slight imperfections in the wheels should not cause vibrations.


If you feel vibrations after balancing and your tyres are not too old, you will need to get the wheels repaired.

[m3f_fiveightandten]

BMW wheels from this era generally all have some level of deformation. They're soft wheels, as they're engineered to bend rather than crack.


Small bends can be compensated for with counter weights, and if the balancing is done properly, you won't feel it. However, once a wheel has a bend in it the metal has been deformed and is more prone to further deformation in that area.


You can get bends repaired for pretty reasonable prices in most areas. This will buy you some time.


Wheel bends are a fact of life. If you want perfectly true wheels, buy a brand new set and don't ever drive the car again. Other than that, forget about perfection. Your goal is to minimize any deformation that your wheels have.


-Drive on high quality wheels. Basically, the best wheels you can afford. 20+ year old M3 wheels are likely not going to be perfect.

-Inflate your tires to the proper pressure.

-Constantly monitor the road for pot holes or other imperfections that may inflict hard impacts on the wheels. Drive around them, or slow down to reduce the impact if you can't avoid them.

-Keep your suspension in good condition, particularly your shocks. Don't drive around on a slammed stanceworks suspension setup.

-Run tires with the proper sidewall size for the wheel.

-If you get a significant bend in a wheel (something you can see), have it straightened rather than "balanced out". The straightened section won't be as strong as if it never happened, but it will be more resistant to deformation than leaving the bend there.


As enthusiasts, most of us are hyper sensitive drivers. Non enthusiasts have it easy. Not only do they drive around with wheel shakes and not even notice, or care, but they generally have tires with huge sidewalls on their commuter cars.

[m3f_bmwstephen]

^thanks Really pick me up advice there. The bends arent visible to the naked eye. I specifically requested to see any bends before mounting my tires which I am sure thats why a light bulb went off on my tire guys's head to upsell me on straightening services and scare me on vibrations. Otherwise I am sure he would have just proceeded with some wheel weights

[m3f_MordFustang]

^thanks Really pick me up advice there. The bends arent visible to the naked eye. I specifically requested to see any bends before mounting my tires which I am sure thats why a light bulb went off on my tire guys's head to upsell me on straightening services and scare me on vibrations. Otherwise I am sure he would have just proceeded with some wheel weights

It's also important to know if the shop using a Road Force balancing machine. If they are not, then I'd move on to the next place and see if you can get a second opinion on it. Old school machines, if that's what is being used, won't have the technology like the new Hunter machines do where they can easily balance out a bent wheel (especially if it's not a visible bend, leading me to believe it's not a serious bend of course).