2007 Mini non-S. I have a problem and hope someone can help. I took off 16" wheels and mounted with a set of used but great condition summer tires and 17" wheels. Had full front and rear alignment, full wheel balancing and have serious steering wheel shaking starting at 45 MPH to infinity. Went to another shop for more balancing and still serious shaking. Front and rear brakes and rotors are brand new. Was told possible drivetrain but hard to believe this happened once the wheels went on. Contacted person I bought the wheels from and he swears they were on his Mini with no issues. I have no reason to disbelieve him.
The steering wheel shakes so bad that I'm afraid to let it go. I also notice if I hit a small pot hole I have to hang on tight to the wheel or the car will steer of the road. At this point its dangerous to drive. Any suggestions?

The wheels came with rings and full set of lugs.

 

A couple of thoughts:
1). Steering wheel shake == issue with one of the front wheels.
2). Wheels came with rings == non OEM and likely non-hub-centric aftermarket wheels. If so, it's possible they were not installed correctly. Jack the car up, take front wheels off one-by-one, and re-install yourself being super careful about centering them on the hub. Re-torque the lug bolts and see if that helps.
3). If re-installing doesn't help, assume either wheels are bent, or tires not installed and balanced properly. Take the car back to the shop that balanced the wheels and ask them to re-do it.

HTH,
a

 

Just jack up the front end, gearbox in neutral, and spin each wheel. You should be able to see a bent wheel wobble.

If you find the wheel to be out of round, you may find these guys nearby and quite efficient.

http://www.awrswheelrepair.com/index.html

 

You could also try swapping them front to back, or just throwing on your old wheels on the front and see if that addresses the issue. As said before, I'd suspect the centering rings. Are they plastic rather than metal?

 

Most slightly out of balance issues show up at higher speeds so if you are seeing that that much vibration at 45mph, they really did something they shouldn't have.

I am wondering if the balance machine was setup for your wheels before the process began. Did they use a proper cone adaptor for the new wheels or did they use your plastic hub-centric rings when doing the balancing ? If they used your hub rings, that would explain the vibration.

Were they Road Force Balanced. If so, maybe they have a print out.

How much weight did they use on each wheel ?

 

Another thought.

Where did the summer tires come from for the 17" wheels ?

Our MINI's can be a bit dodgy on the road if we have some pre-existing up front alignment issues or worn bad strut mount(s), lower outer ball joint(s), and then mount wheels/used tires from a car which had different alignment or alignment issues. I never use/mount used tires to new wheels for this reason unless the tires came off my car with proper location marks ( RR, LR, RF, RR ) on them.

So if it turns out they were properly balanced, I would be looking at the tires.....

 

Definately true. My mini seems to dodge when I'm at speed and it's all the more fun! For the original poster, it is most likely a bad install or incompatible wheels. Thanks.