Steering Vibration over 95mph

[IM6]

Hi Guys

Since ive bought this vehicle the problem already existed and have not been able to fix it so far.
Every time I drive just over 99mph the steering vibrates up to speeds of 130 mph, even at 130 I can feel the vibration travelling through the shaft.

The local dealer did a good job on balancing all 4 wheels which were slightly out and the tracking.
yet the problem still exists. the dealer is adamant there is no evidence of buckled alloy.
what else can It be now?
track rod ends?
wheel hub?

this is driving me nuts and putting me off this beautiful car.

[rambino]

Sorry to hear this.. My M6 makes NO vibration whatsoever at speed.. I have even had tires put on wheels from old uncalibrated machines and still cant feel any vibration or imbalancing. This car does a great job of absorbing/hiding vibrations. Im also hyper sensitive to this stuff as well, and know how it can make you turn your feelings against a car (I had this problem with my 911 Turbo)...

So.. Heres how to solve it... it may take a few steps but you should find the solution and enjoy this car.. its a very solid and tight machine.

Possible problems:

1. Find a custom shop that has a tire machine that does the road force test.. it will give you a reading on the tire in lbs / kg if this is over 27lbs /12kg there is your culprit.. you may need to rotate the tire on the wheel to see if it balances better or have it replaced.. I found out on my 911 that the tire itself needed replaced as it was too defective to balance properly even though the Regular balancing method showed perfect. This machine should be able to tell you if you have an issue with your rims as well but that highly unlikely.

2. Make sure you have no mud on your wheels.. they act like wheel weights and can easily throw everything off.. wash the hell out of them..

3. Swap your front or rear wheels (Check if the tires are directional or not first) Does the vibration move to the other side of the car.. Try to tell exactly which wheel or side its coming from.

Your car is so new, so track rod ends, wheel hubs etc really should not be the culprit here.. it seems like a defective tire that youll only find out after a road force test.. I did 3 balance machines on my 911 till a road force showed me that one tire was way off and nothing could ever balance it..

5. Finally if all else fails, you could always try to swap different m6 wheels on, buy all new tires .. little to the extreme..

6. I might personally weigh my lug nuts on a gram scale to see if one of them was defective or way off..

7. Hand torque your own wheels to 103 ft/lbs. If the shop is over stressing the lugs using a gun, this stress could translate to vibration. I hand tighten all my lugs and I swear it makes things a little smoother..

Good luck for the hunt.. trust me when I say this car does an excellent job of hiding imbalances.. so you def have a culprit on your hand somewhere.. I run Michelin Super Sports and have had 0 issues, even one road forced to 26lbs which is the limit and I still feel nothing at 120mph.. im sure ull find it.. the car is awesome and well worth the hunt..

[IM6]

many thanks for your input Rambino. The dealer has rotated and tires and re-installed the spacers and I shall see tonight how it rides. will give my feedback soon.

[rambino]

Oh what size are your spacers.. that may be the issue.. You cant do anything more than 5mm or the next step up is 12.5 then 15 etc.. anything in between will not allow enough of the hub center to align the wheel right.. this will def cause vibration at 90+..

[bemami]

Check rotors...

[lfc3153]

Take the spacers off and throw them away! I bet that is the problem.

[DATM3]

Originally Posted by IM6

many thanks for your input Rambino. The dealer has rotated and tires and re-installed the spacers and I shall see tonight how it rides. will give my feedback soon.

Take the spacers off. I noticed it on my car above 95 with 5mm spacers in the rear and when I took them off there was no more vibration up to 155+.

[IM6]

The vibration existed before the spacers were installed. They are 10mm all round.
The dealer is not happy and keeps pointing to the lowered springs and spacers, we agreed to have them taken off but due to tight clearance without spacers inner arches was touching, so they left them on.

The service manager is really good, he fought on my behalf and managed to get approved lower suspension arms and bushes to be replaced under warranty. Apparently my car was literally 11 days outside the faulty production line.
on previous builds torsion/lower suspension arms have been replaced.

[lfc3153]

IM6 - how old is the car? When was it first registered?

[IM6]

Originally Posted by lfc3153

IM6 - how old is the car? When was it first registered?

2013 plate may build

[lfc3153]

The early cars all had this problem, some more serious than others. It was put right in an upgrade in mid 2013, yours may have missed this. There was a recall but you had to ask for it! Seriously though an M6 does not need spacers they are such a cause of trouble, chuck them away! KW HAS all you need! Get your dealer to ask M in Garching about the recall if they are having problems sorting it.

[Eurohorses]

Originally Posted by lfc3153

The early cars all had this problem, some more serious than others. It was put right in an upgrade in mid 2013, yours may have missed this. There was a recall but you had to ask for it! Seriously though an M6 does not need spacers they are such a cause of trouble, chuck them away! KW HAS all you need! Get your dealer to ask M in Garching about the recall if they are having problems sorting it.

Would you happen to know what the service/repair/replacement the dealer performs to correct this vibration issue?

[lfc3153]

Front suspension items including wishbones and rubber bushes I believe.

[IM6]

Originally Posted by Eurohorses

Would you happen to know what the service/repair/replacement the dealer performs to correct this vibration issue?

lower suspension arms and bushes.

[IM6]

The dealer replaced the lower suspension arms and bushes and the wishbone bushes.
New Passenger side tire replaced, spacers taken off of all wheels. Vibration is still there WTF?!!!!!!!!!!!!

what's next I can F...g point out to, its 6 months now I' feel like driving this car into the HQ at 140 mph.

[Eurohorses]

Sorry to hear pal. My question is how does BMW justify giving the car back to you with the same issue being apparent? They may not want o test drive at 95 mph plus for liability issues but you may want to strap a SM into your passenger seat and go for a ride.
It may even an unbalanced driveshaft at this point. In either case, its unacceptable.

[BMWM5NYC]

What tire pressures are you running? I have found that both the E and F series M cars have been very sensitive to tire pressures when it comes to vibrations at high speed. If I run 34-37psi I get slight vibrations at 90mph -95 mph. If I raise it to 38-40 psi, they pretty much go away. But of course ride is slightly harsher at those pressures. I keep my F10 M5 at 38-40psi.

[IM6]

thanks for your input forum buddies.

Ive never checked whats tire pressure in this M6, haven't had a chance to ever check, but will take your point on board and try it out. The vibration comes at 104 mph above.

[IM6]

Originally Posted by Eurohorses

Sorry to hear pal. My question is how does BMW justify giving the car back to you with the same issue being apparent? They may not want o test drive at 95 mph plus for liability issues but you may want to strap a SM into your passenger seat and go for a ride.
It may even an unbalanced driveshaft at this point. In either case, its unacceptable.

Hi Mate

Do you really think it can be a warped drive shaft? there are loads of m5s on the forum who have complaint about vibrations , even M6s. its baffling how can BMW produce faulty cars from factory. This particular line has had too many problems. Great car to drive but with many faults. especially high oil consumption.

[E90Fleet]

Sounds like a bad set of tires to me.
They could have a internal problem, be out of round or have flatspots.

Not unheard of for even brand new tires to have this.

Maybe find another set to swap out just for a test drive to see ?

[Eurohorses]

Originally Posted by IM6

Hi Mate

Do you really think it can be a warped drive shaft? there are loads of m5s on the forum who have complaint about vibrations , even M6s. its baffling how can BMW produce faulty cars from factory. This particular line has had too many problems. Great car to drive but with many faults. especially high oil consumption.

High power stresses the entire drive train. I wouldn't dismiss the idea of an unbalanced driveshaft.

[Eurohorses]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Sounds like a bad set of tires to me.
They could have a internal problem, be out of round or have flatspots.

Not unheard of for even brand new tires to have this.

Maybe find another set to swap out just for a test drive to see ?

Road Force Balancing addresses this very issue.