Thumping noise after changing to summer tires

[jeffnhiscars]

Check your Bentley...no tire rotation on E30.

"BMW does not recommend tire rotation. Owing to the car's
suspension design, the front tires begin to wear first at the outer
shoulder and the rear tires begin to wear first at the m iddle of
the tread or inner shoulder. Rotating the tires may adversely
affect road handling and tire grip."

I discussed this with a friend of mine who was a BMW Service Manager (who owned a full Dinan SC e36 M3 and a 308GTB). He said if you are going to rotate, do it front to rear only and often (as in every 3-5k). Once the wear patterns set the concerns mentioned in the owners manual become more relevant.

Don't shoot the messenger.

[ev87]

Update: it's solved!

Man that was a weird one. So the front left was rubbing up against the strut. Ended up putting the winters back on one at a time until I figured this out, and then un-rotated the summers to what they were last year. Everything works. I have no idea why the rubber on one tire sticks out more than on another at the same pressure, but I'll chalk this one up to the Car Gods and just enjoy everything being fine again.

Thanks again to everyone who chimed in and got me on the right path to figure this damned thing out!

[nando]

how/where were the tires stored? did you have them in bags?

[FLG]

Flat spot on the tire?

Grab the spare, try it on the front right, than the front left. If the problem is still there regardless..its an issue with the car. If the problem goes away by swapping out one of the wheels than its an issue with that wheel/tire.

[ev87]

Appreciate everyone's help.

Problem is still ongoing. It does sound like it's coming from the front. It's definitely periodic, and while I don't know what the period of the noise is, it increases with speed, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's every revolution. Any chance there's something wrong with the tire even though I couldn't find anything with a pretty thorough visual inspection?

[long tall eta]

if it's only when turning right it must be in the front. is that where it sounds/feels like it's comming from? also does it seem like it's with every wheel rotation that you hear/feel it?

[stamar]

Check your Bentley...no tire rotation on E30.

"BMW does not recommend tire rotation. Owing to the car's
suspension design, the front tires begin to wear first at the outer
shoulder and the rear tires begin to wear first at the m iddle of
the tread or inner shoulder. Rotating the tires may adversely
affect road handling and tire grip."

that is describing the tires that came with the car.

[dnguyen1963]

fuge you Bentley! you can rotate all you want as long is not stagger.

Why do you hate Bentley manual? It is an excellent technical resource to have. Yes, their recommendations can be very conservative, but you cannot go wrong by following them.

[immajackuup]

Check your Bentley...no tire rotation on E30.

fuge your Bentley! you can rotate all you want as long is not stagger.

[dnguyen1963]

Check your Bentley...no tire rotation on E30.

"BMW does not recommend tire rotation. Owing to the car's
suspension design, the front tires begin to wear first at the outer
shoulder and the rear tires begin to wear first at the m iddle of
the tread or inner shoulder. Rotating the tires may adversely
affect road handling and tire grip."

[stamar]

Tires that can be rotated can also be rotated on an e30.


tires that cant be rotated also cant be rotated on an e30.
It depends on the tire.


Take a look at the guibo and csb. Even though it doesnt make sense that it go out with the tire change it could.

[ev87]

Update: torqued all four corners up to 100 lb-ft. No noticeable improvement :(. Any other ideas?

[Farbin Kaiber]

Sounds like a wheel weight.

[Exodus_2pt0]

On an E30, you are not supposed to rotate the tires. Put the tires back to their original locations.

Rubbish, if the wheels are the same size front and rear there is no reason NOT to rotate.

OP, that sounds to me like a loose wheel. Take your wheels off and make sure that the mating surfaces are clean, then reinstall. I personally don't pay attention to individual vehicle's torque specs for wheels. I hit every car to 100ft. lbs.

[ev87]

actually, i, too, would like to know -- i've never heard this.

OP, how did you rotate?

Diagram A. The tires aren't directional.