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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Wheels and Tires Forum Sponsored by The Tire Rack > Hit a bad pothole. Struggling to figure out what's causing wobble



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      01-16-2020, 04:23 PM   #1
omadab
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Hit a bad pothole. Struggling to figure out what's causing wobble

Hello my BMW brothers, I am new here.
So, I live in Montreal and we have terrible road conditions. Potholes are every low-profile tire drivers worst enemy, but unfortunately we hit them sometimes. I hit a bad pothole on the left side of the car and it bent my two left rims (front worse than rear). I took it to a mechanic and he balanced all four wheels and put the worse one in the rear. While driving the car now, I get car and steering wheel wobble at ~80kph (gets worse with acceleration + 8/10 severity). So, I started to investigate a little. I decided to switch the rear wheel for a summer one and took it for another test drive. Car starts to shake at ~100kph (again worse with acceleration + 4/10 severity). I then decided to switch the front left also for a summer tire. The car now has the two left wheels with summer and two right with winter) Car still shakes at ~100 kph (gets worse with acceleration + 4/10 severity).
So, this is the first time I've dealt with something like this so I am turning to you guys for help. Mechanic says to repair the wheels and hope it goes away but I'd prefer figure out the exact problem before spending hundreds haha. What do y'all recommend I do? I am a student and don't have tons of money to drop :'(
Thanks in advance
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      01-16-2020, 11:28 PM   #2
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First and foremost, welcome to the community!!

I'm originally from upstate NY so I feel your pain. Out-of-round rims are what caused me to get a set of staggered ellipsoids for my car while I was in college.

If the hole managed to damage two rims and you've swapped them out already then I would start to question the alignment, potentially. I'm not sure a bad alignment could cause wobbling as bad as you're reporting but its worth a shot if you know someone who can check it for you without having to pay for it. Just my .02. I'm sure someone more experienced will chime in- in short order. Best of luck with getting this fixed though!
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      01-17-2020, 08:00 AM   #3
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Edit: i thought you said that the steering wheel is shaking, and that would be a result of what i mentioned below. However in your case the whole car shakes, regardless of the wheel that's on it, then something is definitely damaged with the suspension components.

You blew your thrust arm bushing on the front left.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...t/31122405861/

Not sure what car you have (328i, 335i, x dive) but would be nice if you updated that info as well.

Last edited by Wolf 335; 01-17-2020 at 08:17 AM..
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      01-20-2020, 09:04 PM   #4
dcorn
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I hit a bad pothole years ago, the dealership inspected the car and found a bent front control arm, strut, and knuckle. I'm not sure about the control arm and knuckle, but the strut was definitely bent. When I pulled the strut out of the knuckle, you could see where it was compromised. I replaced them all myself, pretty simple swap, honestly.
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      01-21-2020, 03:35 PM   #5
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I don't know if I'd be mixing the summer and winter setup. But I would definitely get under the car and inspect the suspension. Odds are the alignment is likely out and needs to be redone.
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      01-21-2020, 03:40 PM   #6
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An alignment or bent strut/knuckle is unlikely to cause a wobble or vibration. Needs to be something that rotates to cause a vibration. You most likely have a bent hub.
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      01-21-2020, 03:44 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech View Post
An alignment or bent strut/knuckle is unlikely to cause a wobble or vibration. Needs to be something that rotates to cause a vibration. You most likely have a bent hub.
+1
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      01-23-2020, 09:23 AM   #8
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Most tire shops can mount the rims to the balancing machines and tell easily if the rim is out of round. You can attempt to check on your car if you're so inclined. Just need to jack it up and and get a friend to spin it by hand. Use some sort of stick or object to use as a reference point that stays in place without moving. You then see how much the lip of the rim moves relative to your reference point. If you suspect a bent hub obviously do the test on a side you that isn't damaged. If you determine the wheel is bent you just need to take it to a rim specialist shop to have them bent back into round or buy new wheels. I believe the going rate to fix a bent rim is in the $75-100 range CAD. I've driven in Montreal enough times to know that your roads are brutal, even compared Toronto which I feel is bad so I feel your pain. Good luck!
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      01-23-2020, 09:49 PM   #9
Soravia
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Wheel bearings can be busted to cause wobble as well.
Control arm bushings can do that too.
Bent wheels and busted tires cause vibration.

New control arms with bushings are cheap on eBay
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      01-24-2020, 02:06 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soravia View Post
Wheel bearings can be busted to cause wobble as well
Good call
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      01-24-2020, 12:58 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soravia View Post
Wheel bearings can be busted to cause wobble as well.
Control arm bushings can do that too.
Bent wheels and busted tires cause vibration.

New control arms with bushings are cheap on eBay


I'm dealing with this now. I have worn thurst arm bushings causing a vibration at cruising speeds. When I brake it smooths out, but steady crusing at freeway speeds causes my steering wheel to vibrate.
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      01-25-2020, 03:15 PM   #12
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Wow thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up pulling something risky and driving with all four summers. The car drover perfectly. I took the winters to a wheel repair shop and they tell me all four are bent with a bubble in 1 tire XD. I guess the previous owner was a pretty garbage driver. Anyway, I am just gonna live with it like this.
Yall should go check out my newest post XD. Things have gotten from bad to terrible haha.
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      01-27-2020, 09:32 AM   #13
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Don't risk with summers. Tirerack can get you a set dropped off in 3 days. $900 for the set or $2,000+ for bumper replacement alone. You can see the better choice.
Sport Edition A10-2 looks nice there.
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      01-27-2020, 04:31 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soravia View Post
Don't risk with summers. Tirerack can get you a set dropped off in 3 days. $900 for the set or $2,000+ for bumper replacement alone. You can see the better choice.
Sport Edition A10-2 looks nice there.
ye was pretty dumb but I picked a day that was really dry and warmer
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      01-28-2020, 08:49 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by omadab View Post
ye was pretty dumb but I picked a day that was really dry and warmer
Nearly nailed a curb on parking lot one time with all seasons in winter. Never again!
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      01-28-2020, 09:21 AM   #16
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I live in Tennessee and we don't get much snow here. The last time we got real snow, 3 years ago, my dumbass decided to go out and play. Summer tires... I ended up sliding into a curb, hit pretty hard. Destroyed my suspension. $8,000 repair. I made an insurance claim, so luckily I didn't have to pay, but yeah. I don't do that anymore.
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      01-28-2020, 08:00 PM   #17
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Oh my God. You got rekt buddy 😂😂. Happens tho. We all make costly car mistakes at one point in our lives 🙃
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