Need help with steering problem!

[dannyhsu]

Wondering if anyone can help. I've just put on a set of 17inch rims. When i drive over 60mph on the highway, the steering wheel starts to shake. It was fine with the 14 inch stock wheels.

[Jordan]

$5 says the centerbore of the 17in wheels you just put on is larger then 57.1mm (stock e30 wheel centerbore)

e30 wheels are not centered by the lugs as some cars are, they are centered by the hub centerbore.

You will need centering rings or hubcentric spacer.

[dannyhsu]

hub centric ring

Thanks for the reply jordan. The spacer that came off the car was too big for my car. It's weird because the 17inch rims came off a 87 ic, and I have a 87 is. I tried to put them on myself first, but the spacer touches the brake pad. So i took it to a tire shop, and he sold me another pair of spacers that have more clearance. I didn't put spacers on the back. Do you think the h & r spacers would do it?

[dannyhsu]

will the wheel fall off in the meantime?

[Jordan]

They shouldn't fall off, but I wouldn't be driving it like that.

[elemental]

Centering the Rim:

If you have the correct lug nut's for the 17inch wheel's and you correctly torqued them they should be centerd. True the hubsentric wheels that we have stock help you center the wheel to put it on but the holes for the lugs are bored in the hub and that all should be centered or somthin is wrong, Aftermarket wheels most of the time have cone style lug's stock rims have ball style they are not interchangeable no matter what anyone say's

Vibration :

Did you get the wheels balanced? are they new or used if they are used are they bent or have flat spot's, first I would take them and swap front to rear and see if the vibration changes, some of the rims might be more bent/flat than the others you whant the mose messed up ones on the rear, if it changes i would get them ballanced again if it stay's the same, FRONT end work need's to be done in order , CHECK Ball joint's then tierods' then check the rack for play then get your wheels balanced.. but you said that it was fine with the stocky's so I would think that the prolbrem lies with the wheels and not your front end

[dannyhsu]

Thanks for the reply elemental. I just got hub centering rings and it still rattles above 55. I was going to get another set of spacers from eibach. but now i think i'll just change the lug nuts to see if anything changes.

[arnoldgtr]

Sorry to pi$$ on your parade, but I wouldn't give you 25 cents for all the spacers and plastic hubcentric adapters in existence.
Plus the fact that taller and wider wheels are automatically more susceptible to vibration.
BMW's are very sensitive to wheel balance. You may just have a bum balance job.
Elemental,
Stock lug bolts are cone style, not ball.
To repeat what Jordan said:
BMW's require hubcentric wheels....the lug bolts are not enough to center the wheels.
Of course the threaded holes in the hub are centered....BUT
The lug bolts have some play in the threads. If you don't believe it, remove a wheel and thread the lug bolt part way into the hub. Now jiggle it. See?
The lug bolts are most easily tightened with the weight of the car on the wheels, so YOU NEED MORE THAN LOOSE FITTNG LUG BOLTS TO KEEP THE WHEEL CENTERED.
Sorry for the shouting, but I get a little heated when someone comes along and says something that has been proven wrong over and over and over and over again.

[MattM20]

Thanks for the reply elemental. I just got hub centering rings and it still rattles above 55. I was going to get another set of spacers from eibach. but now i think i'll just change the lug nuts to see if anything changes.

plastic hub centering rings, even if they are the right size to adapt to a larger center bore, can still cause rough steering wheel vibration. maybe you should try a different brand or size, or try to modify your existing rings because even if the wheels are a few thousandths of an inch off center you will get the same 55mph vibration.

[Jared K]

Check for bent wheels...Jack the car up and spin each front wheel. Examine the lip where the tire meets the rim carefully while the wheel is spinning. If it goes up and down while spinning, you've got a bent wheel. I would say with used 17" wheels this is very likely to happen.