Brakes Wheels 1st Gen Tires Please Help with a shaking problem! :)

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by suzienrick18, Jul 12, 2010.

  1. suzienrick18

    suzienrick18 New Member

    Jul 12, 2010
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    Armywife
    Fort Campbell, KY
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    I have a 2006 Mini Cooper S with 29000 miles and have 205/45R17 run flats (came with when bought it). A couple of months ago it starts to shake a little like it needs to be balance so took it to be balanced and the said 1 of my rims was badly bent so a couple of weeks ago I bought a new set of after market rims Motige 17' and had them put on and balanced, went and picked it up and drove it home and it shoke so bad I took it back and they checked it out and said it was my tires and they were badly cupped, so today I had some regular tires not run flats put on. I bought 205/45R17 Brigdestone Potenza and they balanced them and even aligned my car and it still shakes not as bad with the run flats but still shakes between 40 and 55mph. I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on what I need to do? It has never shaken like this, even with the bent rim. It seems worse with new rims and tires.
    Thanks
    Suzie
     
  2. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

    Mar 30, 2009
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    I'd have a reputable shop that is familiar with MINIs look over the front suspension. You don't list a location so I'm making some guesses here. It's quite possible there is something else out of a whack in the front end. You didn't mention how the wheel was bent so here again I'm guessing it was a pothole or portholes. Possibly even some poor quality roads in the area. Check the Local Shops listing found in the main menu over on the left side for a shop in your area.

    Oh yeah...I also killed the other 3 posts on the same subject in different areas...
     
  3. Nitrominis

    Nitrominis Banned

    May 9, 2009
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    To try to help you with solution suggestions a little more information is needed.
    To name a few things:

    Does your steering wheel shimmy back and forth and if so what speed and degree of shake?

    What speed does the shake start and does it get worse as speed increases?

    Are you sure that all the suspension bushing are in order and not worn?
    Bad front bushings can cause a vibration as well as bad struts.

    Are the wheel hub bearing assembly in order, not making any noise and rotating freely?

    Were the old tires showing irregular wear pattern?
    An out of align front and rear can also cause a vibration.

    And just because you have new wheels and tires does not necessarily mean they are true. Have they been checked ?

    So maybe the best thing is as Nathan suggested to take it to a shop that handles suspension/alignment/tire/wheel concerns.
     
  4. mini_racer

    mini_racer Well-Known Member

    May 4, 2009
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    I would first take it back to the tire shop and have them check the balancing. I have quite often had to get a re-balance to finally get it right.
     
  5. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    May 4, 2009
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    I wouldn't take it back to the same shop as they have done it twice already with no good outcome.
     
  6. BThayer23

    BThayer23 Well-Known Member

    Jun 12, 2009
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    Use this to find a shop with the best balancer on the market:

    Hunter GSP9700 Wheel Vibration Control System

    I have literally watched the steering wheel shake as I drove away from the tire place, until someone showed me that even the best tech can't get a perfect balance with inferior tools.
     
  7. beken

    beken Well-Known Member
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    Jan 13, 2010
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    Have you checked your hub rings? If you have aftermarket wheels, you should have hubrings. They center the wheel right on the hub. If that ring is warped, cracked, anything (most are made of nylon), your wheels will shake at speed.

    On my other car (5-series) the tire dealer fitted nylon hubrings and the car shook so much at over 50 mph, I brought it right back. The tire dealer fitted metal rings on and all was fine. This was on a wheel that the dealer thought shouldn't need hub rings.

    So I recommend you check out the hub rings.
     

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