[Nexus313]

I'm in dire need of help diagnosing my front end vibration issues on my 2009 335i. As soon as I hit the highway and go 100km/h (60mph) or above I get really violent heavy vibrations in the steering wheel + seats in the front end.

I've done the following:
Changed ALL control arms in the front TO M3 CONTROL ARMS (UPPER AND LOWER, LEFT & RIGHT)
Changed ALL tie rods to OEM (LEFT AND RIGHT, INNER AND OUTER)
Changed all 4 tires to BRAND NEW winters + balanced them
Alignment was also done two times now.
Road Force balanced, (front tires were REALLY off)
Absolutely 0 bends or problems with my wheels. (Run out done and everything)
One tire in the back had bubbles, so replaced that tire.
Wheels were all re-torqued BY hand.


Really stumbled as to what else it could be?? It feels like ive done everything.. and they're not minor vibrations, they're very harsh and you can feel it through the entire front end.


Here's what else I think it could be:
Alignment was done to a wrong spec (I requested to max out negative camber on front end but the guy didn't do as requested, still doesn't explain the vibrations)
Drive shaft issue/Flex Disc or center support bearing.
The wheel bearings are bad. (No noises)
The motor/transmission mounts are bad. (Wouldn't make sense, only 120,000 KM)
The installation of the front end overhaul was incorrect (I double checked everything my self and nothing is loose)
Front shocks are bad (Doesn't make sense for heavy vibrations, and these seem to be in great shape)
Sway bar links are bad (How would this cause vibrations? Also checked condition of these, and they're good too.)
Warped Rotor?

Anyone have any suggestions, should I start at getting the alignment and balancing done again, if so what specs for the M3 arms?

Here's my current alignment specs on the M3 control arms:



Thank you.

[david in germany]

Are your wheels torqued to the proper spec? I had a un curable vibration in my e87 the pproblem was cured just by properly torquing the front wheels properly.

[Nexus313]

Originally Posted by david in germany

Are your wheels torqued to the proper spec? I had a un curable vibration in my e87 the pproblem was cured just by properly torquing the front wheels properly.

Have not yet checked this but I had the new control arms and tie rods done today at the shop, and they wouldn't leave the bolts on the tires loose..

open to more suggestions and will check this however!

[david in germany]

Originally Posted by Nexus313

Have not yet checked this but I had the new control arms and tie rods done today at the shop, and they wouldn't leave the bolts on the tires loose..

open to more suggestions and will check this however!

I am not talking about being loose. They need to be right at 110nm or 81flbs. Over or under torquing can cause issues.

[Nexus313]

Originally Posted by david in germany

I am not talking about being loose. They need to be right at 110nm or 81flbs. Over or under torquing can cause issues.

Hmm really? That would mean that every car that goes into that shop to get repaired comes out with front end vibrations..? They just tighten them with a impact wrench that's it. But will check that.

any other suggestions?

[david in germany]

Originally Posted by Nexus313

Hmm really? That would mean that every car that goes into that shop to get repaired comes out with front end vibrations..? They just tighten them with a impact wrench that's it. But will check that.

any other suggestions?

Any shop that just tightens wheels with an impact would never get my business again.

[YoungBlood]

Have you had your wheels tested for runout? Just looking at them doesn’t tell you anything. That being said I have a similar issue, with the exact same things replaced. It followed from one set of wheels to another as well and I had a wheel repair shop test the runout and it was perfect

[Nexus313]

Originally Posted by YoungBlood

Have you had your wheels tested for runout? Just looking at them doesn’t tell you anything. That being said I have a similar issue, with the exact same things replaced. It followed from one set of wheels to another as well and I had a wheel repair shop test the runout and it was perfect

You're right.. Looking at the wheels doesn't tell much.. That being said some wheels do have minor curb rash.. not sure if that makes a difference.. but will definitely have that checked..

More suggestions would help too!

[YoungBlood]

Originally Posted by Nexus313

You're right.. Looking at the wheels doesn't tell much.. That being said some wheels do have minor curb rash.. not sure if that makes a difference.. but will definitely have that checked..

More suggestions would help too!

You could have a wheel with lateral and axial imbalances and it would look perfectly fine, but vibrate like crazy. A stuck caliper, a crappy tire balance, a bent wheel, all of them can come into play. I’m doing my rotor, as well as end links soon so I’ll let you know if that helps mine. Can you drive in or out of the vibration? Mine starts up above 65 but is gone by 80

[TemjinX2]

are the m3 control arms oem or aftermarket?

there was a another guy who had front vibrations for years but ignored it and didn't notice it was gone until he eventually replaced his aftermarket front control arms he installed previously with oem control arms.

[SaugaSoul92]

hey.. ive been having same issues to , my mechanic found a seizing u joint in the drive shaft..ask them to look into it...my symptoms were after a 20 min drive doing 120kms from downtown to sauga car would shake like the wheels were fallin off.. then when slowing down it was ok..

[Nexus313]

Originally Posted by YoungBlood

You could have a wheel with lateral and axial imbalances and it would look perfectly fine, but vibrate like crazy. A stuck caliper, a crappy tire balance, a bent wheel, all of them can come into play. I’m doing my rotor, as well as end links soon so I’ll let you know if that helps mine. Can you drive in or out of the vibration? Mine starts up above 65 but is gone by 80

Nope can't drive in and out of it.. it stays consistent throughout. I heard end links have nothing to do with vibrations. But yeah I'm really starting to doubt the wheel itself for bends, bad balance, and bad allignment. Can someone tell me if the allignment in OP is correct or off?

[Nexus313]

Originally Posted by TemjinX2

are the m3 control arms oem or aftermarket?

there was a another guy who had front vibrations for years but ignored it and didn't notice it was gone until he eventually replaced his aftermarket front control arms he installed previously with oem control arms.

OEM m3 arms by TRW from fcpeuro.

[Nexus313]

Originally Posted by SaugaSoul92

hey.. ive been having same issues to , my mechanic found a seizing u joint in the drive shaft..ask them to look into it...my symptoms were after a 20 min drive doing 120kms from downtown to sauga car would shake like the wheels were fallin off.. then when slowing down it was ok..

Who is your mechanic? I'd like to visit him and see if he can solve my issue, I'm in Ontario aswell.

[JuniorB]

Alignments won't cause vibrations in the car. Alignments are to keep the front wheels tracking the same as the rears A stuck caliper will pull the wheel when applied,or it will pull the wheel if it's stuck. A bad rotor will vibrate when pressure is applied, I could go on, but diagnosising vibrations in wheels could be a number of things. You can rule out alignment,+ tires, I would assume they checked out the front suspension when they did it. If your still feeling after this, look into unjoints, center bearing, driveshafts, and mounts. Honestly, it sounds like your center bearing is wasted.

[JuniorB]

Sorry stupid spell check. I should b more specific about alignments, there made to track the car straight, the same as the rears, there should always be a center point when doing an alignment on anything. You can do just a front wheel alignment, but the vehicle will track sideways. You will see this mostly on semi trucks and trailers. The next time your behind a trailer, look at how you can see the left side of it. Your alignment spec looks pretty good, your left camber will decrease when you sit in it, looks like it took into account the driver

[Nexus313]

Originally Posted by JuniorB

Alignments won't cause vibrations in the car. Alignments are to keep the front wheels tracking the same as the rears A stuck caliper will pull the wheel when applied,or it will pull the wheel if it's stuck. A bad rotor will vibrate when pressure is applied, I could go on, but diagnosising vibrations in wheels could be a number of things. You can rule out alignment,+ tires, I would assume they checked out the front suspension when they did it. If your still feeling after this, look into unjoints, center bearing, driveshafts, and mounts. Honestly, it sounds like your center bearing is wasted.

I'm really low KM (Just hit 120,000 KM or 74500 miles) to have a center support bearing or Ujoint wasted to be honest, I would notice clunky transmission downshifts too if it was the U-Joint, and its only front end vibrations.. But I guess i'll have to check those aswell..

[FEDE/E92]

Bent wheels.... get them check

[Nexus313]

Originally Posted by FEDE/E92

Bent wheels.... get them check

Will be getting that done this week hopefully..

[Adieu]

They messed up (or ignored) your right front camber


And their target number are entirely in the opposite direction of what you want.... here you are buying shit to get moar negative camber. And these clowns are fighting it (and ignoring everything else....including, for some reason the right front wheel in its entirety)


PS camber stuck at unwanted angles and unworkable can be a bent strut or strut mount

Originally Posted by Adieu

They messed up (or ignored) your right front camber


And their target number are entirely in the opposite direction of what you want.... here you are buying shit to get moar negative camber. And these clowns are fighting it (and ignoring everything else....including, for some reason the right front wheel in its entirety)


PS camber stuck at unwanted angles and unworkable can be a bent strut or strut mount

Agreed, bent parts will cause the above, but at the end of the day, the guys working in these shops aren't mind readers. If you don't tell them what you want they'll do a half decent job of getting you "in the green" and send you on your way.

OP get a roadforce balance. Check runout of both your wheels and tires. I'm betting that one or the other will be the issue.

[Nexus313]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Agreed, bent parts will cause the above, but at the end of the day, the guys working in these shops aren't mind readers. If you don't tell them what you want they'll do a half decent job of getting you "in the green" and send you on your way.

OP get a roadforce balance. Check runout of both your wheels and tires. I'm betting that one or the other will be the issue.

You guys are right. The guy who was doing my allignment insisted on having it this way and didn't really even try to give me more negative front camber even though I asked him 5 times and tried to tell him I've just had the M3 control arms put in.. He just claimed this is the way it should be since he's been doing allignment for "15 years" ... I'm going to redo the allignment elsewhere and do a road force balance and get a runout of the wheels. I just never have time to get this stuff done at proper shops because all of them close or are too busy by the time I finish work. Anybody know a shop in the GTA area that's good with these kind of things?