So I have a shimmy in my steering wheel that I can't seem to figure out. At first I thought I needed lower control arm bracket bushings, so I replaced the brackets and bushings. I also replaced my sway bar bushings. Ends up I did need to replace them, but it wasn't the cause of my shimmy.

At around 52mph, my steering wheel starts shaking. It's worse when I'm accelerating for some reason. I think it get a little better until around 70mph, then it starts to shake again.

I have a full sized spare, so I decided to swap one of the front wheels to rule it out. Shimmy was still there. Since the wheel I swapped out wasn't causing it, I put it on the other side to rule out the other front wheel. Shimmy was still there.

At this point, I'm not sure what it can be. Either all three of the wheels I tried on the front are bad, or they aren't causing it at all. Can the rear wheels be causing a shimmy in the steering wheel?

I was going to buy a new set of wheels, but I'd hate to replace them only to find out that mine are OK. The next cost effective thing I can think to do is wheel balance and alignment, to at least rule that out.

Any and all help would be much appreciated.

 

It is still likely the tires, perhaps cupping. You are likely to need an alignment as well.

 

Lot's of threads on this - there are a variety of reasons - I would get tires/wheels balanced on hunter road force machine - this will also tell you if there are imperfections in the wheels - hi end balancing is usually required the minis are tempermental - I have had wheels that seem fine on a honda shimmy like crazy on a mini.

 

Thanks guys! Gonna try to find a place with that machine and go from there.

 

I think balancing and alignment can be more art than science. If I do not know the alignment shop, I am very particular about the equipment they use. Road force is generally very accurate and is a good thing to have. However, i also have had good tire balances and alignments from stores without the fancy machines.

 

Sounds more like drivetrain issue than tires or wheels.....

Output shaft right side maybe ?

 

I've considered that as well, but the issue got worse after I rotated my wheels front to back. The tires I had on the front before were more worn though, so maybe the better tires are making the drivetrain issue more prominent.

 

Niko I have been in the tire business since 1997. If you just rotated your wheels did this shop balance your wheels? Also when your wheels are not balanced or a weight gets thrown out then your wheel will be not balanced. If you drove through mud and now has hardened and inside your wheel now its acting as extra weight. Saw many problems like that on 4x4 vehicles. Also hitting something hard enough could through a weight off. If you get a vibration on your seat then your tires in the rear most likely are out of balance, if you get a vibration in front, typically on your steering wheel then its your front. I would go to a performance shop to get them rebalanced and also the tech balancing your wheels should be able to tell you if your wheels are bent, out of balance, and also how your tires are wearing. Also tires tell a story on how the driver drives. Locking your breaks can give you flat spots and cause a vibration, there are many factors to this but try the rebalance first. Tire balancing should be around 60 dollars. We charge 40. So good luck man.

 

Not sure we can come to this conclusion from the little info we have. Got to try the more more obvious solutions first.

 

Thanks for the replies! I called the MINI service center because they have a road force balancing machine. They wanted $149 + weights for balance and $249 for alignment.

I started going down the list at www.gsp9700.com and ended up at a local Firestone. Guy on the phone asked why I wanted road force, so I explained my situation and he recommended a regular wheel balance first, to rule that out. He said they can tell if there are imperfections in the wheel with a regular balance as well. Going to call a few more shops and hopefully rule out wheels/tires by the end of the day.

 

Niko,

Look up tirerack.com under the installations tab. When can find lots of tire alignment And balancing places there. Just put in your zip. The prices and ratings are also listed.

 

Thanks, I'll check that out right now

 

Hang on here, do you have stock wheels or aftermarket?

If aftermarket, it could be your centering rings......I agree, check the easy things first, like ball joints, tie rod ends rack mounts and so on.

What year is this car, and how many miles? S or Justa? Automatic or manual?

 

02 S, manual, stock 17" S-lites with Nitto Neo Gens.

The reason I don't think it's a drivetrain issue is because it still shimmies on the highway in neutral.

I'm here getting a balance now. Guy told me road force isn't necessary to tell if the wheels are bad, so I'm doing a regular balance. Then he came out and tried to sell me tires because two of mine aren't good, and the two on the front are just OK.

I don't want to put new tires on these wheels without knowing they're good though, so I'm getting them balanced regardless to rule them out. If the wheels are good, I'll put new tires on them.

 

Good news! After the wheel balance, my shimmy is almost completely gone. Whatever is left of it, which is very minimal, probably has to do with my bad tires and supposed two wheels that aren't straight. Front left and rear right. I have an extra wheel that might be straight, otherwise I'll put the two better ones on the front.

After I get new tires, I'll also get an alignment and the car should feel a lot better then. I don't know if it's placebo, but it feels tighter and more stable now.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. Hopefully this thread will help someone experiencing a similar issue in the future.

 

What's left of your shimmy might be able to be fixed by a road force balance, but it might not be worth it in your situation. Low profile tires, especially cheaper low profile tires purchased from the aftermarket, typically have roundness and material consistency tolerances that are much bigger than what BMW requires for factory tires.

Small, sporty cars like ours are especially susceptible to front end shake due to low mass, stiff suspensions, and big/low pro tires.

 

I just ordered new tires. Can't decide whether I should put them on these wheels or get new ones. I know two have minor bends (from what the shop told me) but they can go on the back. The shimmy is mostly gone. I am getting road noise that sounds as if a wheel is bent (rapid machine gun type sound, rather than constant noise) but I'm guessing the new tires will get rid of that, though I don't want them to unevenly wear prematurely.

 

If you hear rotational noises, it can also be a bad wheel bearing.

 

Is the noise you hear speed dependent, i.e. changing cadence with speed?

Since your new tires are coming, I would try that first.

 

I'm experiencing a very similar issue with my 2008 MCSa.
In November I put Yokohama avids on and now with 5k miles later I've got a noticeable shimmy. It becomes very apparently while at speeds of 50+ and when you turn the wheel.

I took it into MINI and took the mechanic for a ride and he said it was the tires because they are not runflats. He got out, ran his hand over the front tires and said that they were "Scalloping" which was causing the vibration and shimmy.

He said that it was due to the regular tires having a softer side wall and experiencing accelerated wear because of the aggressive suspension and camber on these cars.