[cdziekan]

To start this off I'm just asking for advice to solve this wheel shaking issue when driving, I'm very desperate to get this vibration resolved, id replace anything to get this fixed at this point..

My e90 335 rwd . INTERMITENTELY has vibration at 45-60 mph (NOT WHILE BRAKING) its weird its like the vibration will turn off and on without changing road terrain or speed.

What I've replaced :

Tires, old Yokohamas were in great shape (no visible separation, rebalanced multiple times myself to try to get rid of vibration, measured @ 7/32inch) , I recently replaced all 4, with brand new Bridgestone potenza sports which balanced out perfectly and I felt like i didn't have any vibration for a few days so I was very happy thinking something was wrong with the old tires...for a few days... after roughly 100 miles. it came back . intermittent shake around 55mph

Wheels were replaced as well with Forgestars. (cosmetic) They aren't bent or out of round.

My suspension looks good overall, struts seem new, never hear any wheel bearing noise, bushings look good

what should i do?

[cdziekan]

no i havent done road force balance yet

[335i54n]

once you verified your suspension it tight. torque/tension arm bushings, either upgrade to m3 arms or monoballs the latter is better

[marvinstockman]

Some shops have vibration source locators, basically a set of vibration sensors/accelerometers, which can localize your problem. You'll have to call around.

[E90Graphite07]

Originally Posted by cdziekan

To start this off I'm just asking for advice to solve this wheel shaking issue when driving, I'm very desperate to get this vibration resolved, id replace anything to get this fixed at this point..

My e90 335 rwd . INTERMITENTELY has vibration at 45-60 mph (NOT WHILE BRAKING) its weird its like the vibration will turn off and on without changing road terrain or speed.

What I've replaced :

Tires, old Yokohamas were in great shape (no visible separation, rebalanced multiple times myself to try to get rid of vibration, measured @ 7/32inch) , I recently replaced all 4, with brand new Bridgestone potenza sports which balanced out perfectly and I felt like i didn't have any vibration for a few days so I was very happy thinking something was wrong with the old tires...for a few days... after roughly 100 miles. it came back . intermittent shake around 55mph

Wheels were replaced as well with Forgestars. (cosmetic) They aren't bent or out of round.

My suspension looks good overall, struts seem new, never hear any wheel bearing noise, bushings look good

what should i do?

I would take it to a specialist and pay the extra diagnostic fee, than gambling in buying parts you think/thought was the culprit. Things that do come to mind:

Out of balance tires or bent wheel (maybe a bubble on the tire)
Worn LCAs and/or tie rod ends

[cdziekan]

UPDATE: I road force balanced my front tires yesterday myself (I work in a shop)

Front left tire only had 4 pounds of uneven road force. No worries there

Front right had 62 POUNDS OF UNEVEN ROAD FORCE! Turned out it was a bad tire from the factory, replaced it and new wheel/tire assembly turned out to only 5 pounds of uneven road force which is great!

The drove home felt GREAT!! no vibrations what so ever. it was the best feeling ride ever. Untill.......... the drive home from work today vibration/shimmy is back but not as bad but still mild/medium vibration. Im exhausted of this stupid problem......... Its like everytime I rebalance my wheels the vibration comes back the next day or two!

help

[e90yyc]

Mileage? Maintenance history (actual and not inferred)? How long have you owned it?

Thrust arms (bushings) are a definite possibility. The speed range you mention fits with that, and because they can fail and still look okay (assuming fluid has leaked out and has since been washed away) they shouldn’t be ruled out.

I’d suggest not relying on appearance to gauge the condition of suspension components. Sure, if something looks completely fucked then check it out further before moving on, but don’t rule things out just because they look okay.

If you keep rebalancing your wheels and it continues not to have any lasting effect, then I’d say your issue is not out-of-balance wheels.

You’ll need to start diagnosing it using methods that will provide you with useful information on the actual condition of a given component. Order things based on likelihood and move down the list. You can ignore wheel balance for now (unless as was mentioned you have a bent or otherwise defective wheel) and I’d think wheel bearings are highly unlikely given what you describe.

How does your steering feel? Any play/dead spot on centre? Does it respond quickly to input or does there seem to be some delay between turning the wheel and actually changing direction? Does your car require more input than you’d expect to keep it tracking straight (especially on the freeway)? Is the vibration felt ONLY through the wheel or also through the chassis?

Knowing answers to these questions will help get closer to a solution.

[Ur_mommas_n54]

Originally Posted by cdziekan

To start this off I'm just asking for advice to solve this wheel shaking issue when driving, I'm very desperate to get this vibration resolved, id replace anything to get this fixed at this point..

My e90 335 rwd . INTERMITENTELY has vibration at 45-60 mph (NOT WHILE BRAKING) its weird its like the vibration will turn off and on without changing road terrain or speed.

What I've replaced :

Tires, old Yokohamas were in great shape (no visible separation, rebalanced multiple times myself to try to get rid of vibration, measured @ 7/32inch) , I recently replaced all 4, with brand new Bridgestone potenza sports which balanced out perfectly and I felt like i didn't have any vibration for a few days so I was very happy thinking something was wrong with the old tires...for a few days... after roughly 100 miles. it came back . intermittent shake around 55mph

Wheels were replaced as well with Forgestars. (cosmetic) They aren't bent or out of round.

My suspension looks good overall, struts seem new, never hear any wheel bearing noise, bushings look good

what should i do?

Hey friend. I’ve also had an issue as well with what you’re talking about. I have yet to replace this myself yet, however my mechanic has narrowed down (because I have also replaced my entire suspension &#128580 that it HAS to be the power steering rack and pinion. And with replacing that comes dropping the subframe and blah blah, basically tons of labor on top of a part that’s about a grand. So I’ve been putting it off. It’s not horrible, I don’t daily my car but it is a concerning shake/vibration that I hate.

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by Ur_mommas_n54

Hey friend. I’ve also had an issue as well with what you’re talking about. I have yet to replace this myself yet, however my mechanic has narrowed down (because I have also replaced my entire suspension &#128580 that it HAS to be the power steering rack and pinion. And with replacing that comes dropping the subframe and blah blah, basically tons of labor on top of a part that’s about a grand. So I’ve been putting it off. It’s not horrible, I don’t daily my car but it is a concerning shake/vibration that I hate.

Funny you mention the rack… About to do this job any day now (reman rack is sitting in my garage ready to go). My primary concern is solving some steering issues, but I won’t be surprised if it cures the vibration I occasionally feel. (Mine seems to get worse the faster I go too.)

Like you, I’ve also replaced practically every suspension component and have also replaced a ton of driveline components, so there’s not much left at this point .

Is your car RWD? If so, rack replacement doesn’t require dropping the subframe.

[cdziekan]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

Mileage? Maintenance history (actual and not inferred)? How long have you owned it?

Thrust arms (bushings) are a definite possibility. The speed range you mention fits with that, and because they can fail and still look okay (assuming fluid has leaked out and has since been washed away) they shouldn’t be ruled out.

I’d suggest not relying on appearance to gauge the condition of suspension components. Sure, if something looks completely fucked then check it out further before moving on, but don’t rule things out just because they look okay.

If you keep rebalancing your wheels and it continues not to have any lasting effect, then I’d say your issue is not out-of-balance wheels.

You’ll need to start diagnosing it using methods that will provide you with useful information on the actual condition of a given component. Order things based on likelihood and move down the list. You can ignore wheel balance for now (unless as was mentioned you have a bent or otherwise defective wheel) and I’d think wheel bearings are highly unlikely given what you describe.

How does your steering feel? Any play/dead spot on centre? Does it respond quickly to input or does there seem to be some delay between turning the wheel and actually changing direction? Does your car require more input than you’d expect to keep it tracking straight (especially on the freeway)? Is the vibration felt ONLY through the wheel or also through the chassis?

Knowing answers to these questions will help get closer to a solution.

Mileage is 118k , looks like front end has been redone considering the visual appearance of bushings etc. including Bilstein struts. Car didn't vibrate at all when i got it a year ago, id say it started vibration after a few months of ownership.

You're right, I realized I'm focusing on balancing / tire problems too much. Especially after what happened today. Ill explain in the reply below this.

I think i need to do a thorough suspension diagnostic .

Oh and forgot to say, the car handles PHENOMIAL... the only problem is the vibration around 50. Only felt in steering wheel not seat at all

[cdziekan]

Originally Posted by cdziekan

UPDATE: I road force balanced my front tires yesterday myself (I work in a shop)

Front left tire only had 4 pounds of uneven road force. No worries there

Front right had 62 POUNDS OF UNEVEN ROAD FORCE! Turned out it was a bad tire from the factory, replaced it and new wheel/tire assembly turned out to only 5 pounds of uneven road force which is great!

The drove home felt GREAT!! no vibrations what so ever. it was the best feeling ride ever. Untill.......... the drive home from work today vibration/shimmy is back but not as bad but still mild/medium vibration. Im exhausted of this stupid problem......... Its like everytime I rebalance my wheels the vibration comes back the next day or two!

help

UPDATE 2

After getting the "defective tire" on my passenger front replaced it had a road force of 5 pounds BEFORE putting it on the car (VERY LOW)

Now......... after a few days of driving it around and the vibration slowly came back. I put it back on the road force machine and that new tire is now at 42 POUNDS of even road force!! Something on the PASSANGER front is destroying the structure of my tire and giving it uneven road force after a few days of driving! Now this explains why the vibration slowly comes back. This has to be suspension related right? Vibration is still intermittent at a stable speed though with 42 pounds of road force atm.

[Ur_mommas_n54]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

Funny you mention the rack… About to do this job any day now (reman rack is sitting in my garage ready to go). My primary concern is solving some steering issues, but I won’t be surprised if it cures the vibration I occasionally feel. (Mine seems to get worse the faster I go too.)

Like you, I’ve also replaced practically every suspension component and have also replaced a ton of driveline components, so there’s not much left at this point .

Is your car RWD? If so, rack replacement doesn’t require dropping the subframe.

I could be mistaken as far as needing to drop the subframe. From my understand the job is just labor intensive. But yes it’s awful, I will be replacing this soon hoping this resolves the issue. Let me know if this solved the issue 🤝

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by cdziekan

UPDATE 2

After getting the "defective tire" on my passenger front replaced it had a road force of 5 pounds BEFORE putting it on the car (VERY LOW)

Now......... after a few days of driving it around and the vibration slowly came back. I put it back on the road force machine and that new tire is now at 42 POUNDS of even road force!! Something on the PASSANGER front is destroying the structure of my tire and giving it uneven road force after a few days of driving! Now this explains why the vibration slowly comes back. This has to be suspension related right? Vibration is still intermittent at a stable speed though with 42 pounds of road force atm.

I think you’re still focusing too much on the road force thing. Maybe it’s telling you something useful—that your issue might be on the passenger side—but the forces acting on the tires of a vehicle under normal conditions (no suspension issues) on normal roads are immense. If your issue was truly destroying your tires in such an impossibly short timeframe the vibration would be so severe your car would be undriveable. (Over time you might get cupping or other tread issues, but in a few days? Highly unlikely.)

Just because the PO put Bilsteins on it doesn’t mean they replaced the tension struts, or anything else for that matter. This isn’t a hard rule, but generally when someone does a lot of maintenance on a car they are quick to share this info with a buyer because it adds value. Issues like yours can be really tricky to pin down even when you’re methodical in your approach.

Saying it handles phenomenally is unfortunately too subjective and has to be qualified in the context of things like what your last car was, whether you’ve owned another E90, etc etc. Pardon the cliché, but you can’t miss what you don’t know. I’m sure it does handle great, but could it be better? And could whatever is causing your issue be the reason it’s not as good as it should be?

Just a few things to consider.

If you have another set of wheels, swap them on so you can rule out your current set.

If you don’t, rotate the wheels and see if the issue moves with it. (My guess is this isn’t your issue—I’d expect a bent rim to be worse at higher speed, but rule it out anyway.)

You’ll need to thoroughly inspect your control arms (especially tension strut).

[cdziekan]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

I think you’re still focusing too much on the road force thing. Maybe it’s telling you something useful—that your issue might be on the passenger side—but the forces acting on the tires of a vehicle under normal conditions (no suspension issues) on normal roads are immense. If your issue was truly destroying your tires in such an impossibly short timeframe the vibration would be so severe your car would be undriveable. (Over time you might get cupping or other tread issues, but in a few days? Highly unlikely.)

Just because the PO put Bilsteins on it doesn’t mean they replaced the tension struts, or anything else for that matter. This isn’t a hard rule, but generally when someone does a lot of maintenance on a car they are quick to share this info with a buyer because it adds value. Issues like yours can be really tricky to pin down even when you’re methodical in your approach.

Saying it handles phenomenally is unfortunately too subjective and has to be qualified in the context of things like what your last car was, whether you’ve owned another E90, etc etc. Pardon the cliché, but you can’t miss what you don’t know. I’m sure it does handle great, but could it be better? And could whatever is causing your issue be the reason it’s not as good as it should be?

Just a few things to consider.

If you have another set of wheels, swap them on so you can rule out your current set.

If you don’t, rotate the wheels and see if the issue moves with it. (My guess is this isn’t your issue—I’d expect a bent rim to be worse at higher speed, but rule it out anyway.)

You’ll need to thoroughly inspect your control arms (especially tension strut).

Okay ill see if i can find something wrong with the suspension. never really felt any play while physically grabbing the wheel when the car is lifted and feeling for movement