I received my new Cooper S last week...second try since the first one I ordered got backed into at the dealership one day before picking it up.

I've done a couple modifications based on my lurking on the NAM...Volk 16" CE28N's with Toyo Proxes T1S, H-Sport springs and and H-Sport rear sway bar. This morning I noticed a bit of a vibration through the steering wheel...nothing drastic, but noticable. I've only had the car a week and have only put 700 miles on it so I'm not really sure if the vibration was present prior to my modifications...

So, I'm wondering if this vibration is normal or perhaps due to my modifications and/or an installation mishap? The vibration seems to correlate with the engine speed, but I'll need to investigate further to be certain...any thoughts appreciated!

 

probably has to do with your wheels. check and make sure the hubcentric rings are the right size. or go back to your stock wheels first and make sure the vibration is not coming from your suspension mods.

 

its the wheels. If you don't have hubcentric rings that came with the wheels, get them unless you are the best tire putter-on-er.

 

also, your wheels could be out of balance. bring the car to a shop and have em test the balance...its usually that or the hub ring issue, which was already stated.

 

Thanks for the quick input. The Volks do have the hubcentric rings and they seem to fit nice and snug. I'll try my stock wheels asap to see if the vibration goes away. I did run the Volks for a few days prior to the spring/swaybar modification but can't say for sure if the vibration was present then or not...

 

have those badboys balanced... it took my tire guys twice to make sure the balance was right, then another 2 times by a dealer's computer balancer to get mine right

wider tires, lower profile also doesn't help, although i doubt it is the problem you have...

i grew to just accept the vibrations

 

Update to my vibration issue...it seems like the majority of the vibration I feel through the steering wheel and also the clutch pedal occurs when I rev the engine...higher engine rev = higher buzz-like vibration, and occurs even when the car is stationary. I'm wondering if I'm being too sensitive and that this is normal to feel the MINI engine vibration through the steering wheel?

 

I can assure you that this is entirely normal for a MCS with different wheels and suspension I have been through exactly the same motions as you and have now learnt to appreciate the extra 'communication' the car is offering on what is below the two front tyres.

Wider tyres and lower profile means that more of the road's imperfections will be related to the 'helm.' I am also running Toyo T1-s tyres out of interest, but in 215/35/18 size.

Nothing to worry about is my advice unless the car is vibrating so much you can't even steer straight

Henry

 

its probably the normal MINI vibe. mine does it all the time when im at idle..it was prominent after i installed my exhaust.

 

Just ensure it's not the wheels/tires being out of balance...

As a note to ANYONE that buys lightweight wheels, I'd very much suggest that you have your tire installer road force balance the tires... I had my Rota Slipstreams with ES100's in 3 times for conventional balancing and they still couldn't dial out all the vibration - road forced it once and it was perfect. I have done the same now on my track wheels/tires and my 2nd set of ES100's on my street wheels...

 

what is road forced balancing?

 

There's all sorts of different names for it,and road force balancing is just one... I've also heard it called 'match mounting' (which isn't quite correct), zero force balancing, and a couple other things, mostly with expletives when you tell the tire tech you want it done with no weights... hahahah!

Basically, the premise is similar to match mounting, where the tire's lightest spot is matched with the wheel's heaviest spot for OEM wheels and tires. Or, the tire’s measured high point of radial force variation is aligned with the measured low point of the wheel’s radial runout. Most car manufacturers require their tire suppliers to mark the "high" spot on the tire and their wheel suppliers to mark the "low" spot to make balancing and installation easier... This usually gets the balance close, and it can be tweaked with weights.

But for aftermarket wheels and tires, there's really only one way to do it - measure the wheel runout and tire force variations under load... Tire balancers that do this utilize a roller which measures the uniformity of the wheel and tire, simulating a road force test and verifying if the assembly is round when rolling under load. Thus the "road force balancing" designation.

There are two ways to fix any issues found during this balancing process - take the tire off the rim and remount it in the optimal position, which minimizes or negates the need for weights (my preference); or, you can balance it out with weights on the inside and outside of the rim to minimize imbalance.

The problem with today's really light wheels is that they amplify any imperfections in the tire... And all tires have minor imperfections.

Tell the tire guys you want zero weight road force balancing and watch them go apoplectic... Actually, they don't mind since it costs more, but be prepared to wait for a looooooooong time.

IMHO, this is the BEST way to do it, ESPECIALLY for track wheels/tires... it's worth the extra cost and time...

 

Funny, I have three sets of tires and wheels, all wheels under 12.5 lbs., Victorracers, V700's and Azenis. One of the wheels is even very slightly bent. None have more than 2 oz of weight. All have been on the track at top speed and none of them cause any steering wheel vibration.

The only time I have that problem was before I bought the hub rings. The solution was to torque each bolt to the same setting thereby forcing the wheel to be centered.

If you have a bad wheel or tire it will show up on any decent balancing machine. Have them check for runnout. Make sure that your wheels are centered and torqued properly.

 

i love to see "apoplectic" used and spelled right.

 

My pah had a 'bout with that after the war and he damn near killed Grandmah while driving the Caddy back from church one Sunday.

 

Is 'right' an adverb?

 

you have piqued my curiosity; I looked it up. it was used right.

adv: example "not holding it right"

I didn't buy a few oddball versions though: rightish, rightless and righter.
i found they drive right in 70 countries, heh, heh.
right on, daddio!

 

Interesting discussion. My pal and I both have the same wheels....Minilites EV2000.

I am running Bridgestone 215x45x17 and he has Dunlop 205x45x17
We both have the Brembo brakes. He has H - sport springs, I do not.
He has a vibration about 50 mph - 70, very noticeable. I do not.:smile:
We switched wheels/tires, he still has the vibration.
We concluded it was the car, maybe a brake disc.
His wheel/tires were balanced numerous times by guys who do race cars all the time. very few weights, not heavy... no improvement.
Further research being done as I type.....updates coming, hopefully revealing the true culprit.
scobib - I have never heard of that method of balancing, tho it sounds great.....raced a mini for 12 years, and no one did that with goodyears, hoosiers, whatever, at the track or the shop. I have always found that a static balance is, in fact, rotationally balanced when the car is at speed. Your explaination seems logical, however I can not follow how it is done - will read over and meditate. Thanks!

 

In the old days the only way I could keep the shakes out of my Elan's wheel was to balance them on the car. The damn thing was so light that if you didn't balance the wheel, tire and disk you were sure to get some vibration. So they had this device that spun up tire up to 80mph while the front was jacked up. It was funky but it worked. Maybe today's better wheels and tires have made it obsolete.

p.s. How's my spelling and grammar. Do I pass?

 

Yeah, you get a pass, at least! That contraption ["device"] does sound funky (what did it look like and how did it actually work?), but neat and worthwhile. What did they do if a disc was found to be out of balance? Remove, and dynamic balance the disc? What, now, if this was a "floating" disc?



scobib - who does this type of balancing? and where are they?

 

It looked like a large jack with two sets of rollers driven by an electric motor. There was a device that clipped onto the rim and when the wheel assembly was spun it indicated where the weight was to go and how much. All mechanical, this was 1968. If the wheel was out of balance you could watch it bounce as it went through different speed ranges.

No high tech here....you watched it and if it didn't bounce you had a good balance.

I never had a rotor balance problem but I guess if you couldn't work it out with weights you figured it out through trial and error.

 

cool.