You are an 8 series Godsend ! I can not express my gratitude enough for your e31 knowledge. Please continue to educate those of us who appreciate the wonderful car that is, the E31. Your website is my replacement owner’s manual. It has helped me COUNTLESS times. NEVER take it down...please.
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation I have owned a 1995 BMW 840ci for 10 years, recently when punching the car to accelerate there would be a brief hesitation and then it would accelerate. This happened a few times, and then the car would be hesitant to start. Now it will not start at all. Timm, what is the issue? No one knows these cars better than you, please help!
I was a mechanic and you know they did not teach us about Dynamic imbalance, only s Static, thank you for sharing your knowledge. Cheers and Merry Christmas ,.
Oh, my life - I thought something was seriously wrong with mint E46. The wobble was so bad, I thought the wheels were going to come off. You are an absolute hero - fantastic video, well done!
You sir, are a bloody genius. I have been chasing this issue in my Z3 since having new tires installed not long ago. I just increased to 39psi cold, and tested with significant difference. THANK YOU!
Brilliant advice, just got finished overhauling my belts, pumps and tensioners - got back on the road to dreaded shimmy! - 42psi in all 4 wheels and now fixed! Thanks again Tim, can't thank you enough for all the great and free advice on these cars.
Ok so I went up from 35 to 41psi. The moment I hit the gas pedal on the Highway I smiled from ear to ear. No more SHIMMY!!!!! I cant believe after 2 years of FRUSTRATION and embarassment all I had to do was added 6 more lbs of Pressure. The crazy steering wheel shake is GONE. I Thank you for the time you have spent to figure rhis out and for spreading the knowledge. So many people keep good info to themselves but you did rhe right thing. Much appreciated!
This video is what I have been looking for about 2 years. Finally someone has a clue what could be the problem. My 01 E38 iL has the wobble of DEATH it starts at 54mph and stops at 60mph. It has literally driven me INSANE to say the least! I am rolling on STYLE 32 rims with 255 35 20 up front & 275 30 20 in the rear with 35 psi all around. I have tried everything. From tie rods to hub centric rings and I want junk the THROPHY winner because of this shimmy. I'm hoping when I go up to 41 psi it fixes the issue so I can have some enjoyment driving this beauty again. I will be back to give you and update shortly. Thanks in advance. My fingers are crossed!
Timm I've only just found your RU-vid channel after years of consulting your excellent website. Your expertise and eagerness to share your knowledge have made ownership of my E38 so much richer! I cannot thank you enough sir!
In my case the whole car started vibrating randomly and it freaked me out not knowing what it could be or how much it would cost to fix but this video has calmed my mind. Thank you Timm!
Sir you are a genius!!!! I was out of ideas and hope until I found your video. Went to lot of repair shops but couldn't find the cause of this shimmy and it was driving me and everyone near me crazy:))). You sir are a life savior. Thank you so much.
On another topic sir.... I am looking into installing LPG on my E39 520i because of the increase in petrol price but I am getting mixed news. Some people say it's very good for the engine while some other people say not to do it. Do you happen to have any experience with LPG? Your opinion will be highly valued. Thank you sir.
And further to my last comment. I pumped up all 4 tyres to 40 psi, and hey presto the wheel wobble has gone! Almost can't believe it was something so fundamentally simple. Thanks again!
Greetings from across the pond. Watched this last night and this morning inflated all tires on my E28 to 42 psi. I'm running E39 17" style 5 BBS wheels 235 mm wide tires. This car always had shimmy or what's called here death wobble regardless of what suspension parts were replaced. As of this morning no more shimmy. Brilliant!! Thanks Timm!
Hi Timm's, my brother just bought 840ci and vicious wheel wobble suddenly occured, thanks to this video the problem is now totally cured, many thanks and appreciation of your videos, mebbo
Funny, I’m glad I watched this video, i started to get a slight shake at higher speaks around 90-110km/h in the front I have 235/40R19 on my e46, passenger front tire due to a suspected rim leak had dropped down to 29 psi, and I had a pretty decent shake, at first I was confident it was the lower control arm bushings, went to fill it up and go grab some bushing from the local store, and on the way the shake was gone I was mind blown how much a difference having around 35 psi makes compared to 29 on wider tires for the front !
omg i followed your advise and the wobble is actually gone. Before i commented i took your advice went to the station went 40 psi all around and its crazy how it actually work thanks so much. Its a simple problem but we often overcomplicate the solution little did i know it was just air in the tires. You saved me a fortune!
Another fascinating video by the one and only Dr BMW... My E38 750il had this problem and I spend a bucket load of cash replaying every steering and front suspension part. Thanks
This makes so much more sense now, i live inna mid west, the weather is always bipolar so one day im driving and no shimy, the next day its wayyy colder and all of a sudden that shimy got god awful now i know that the cold air prob lowred the psi and made the shimmy worse
THANK YOU SO MUCH. MY LEXUS HAD BEEN DRIVING ME NUTS TRYING TO SOLVE MY SWAYING AND BOUNCY RIDE. I WOUND UP CHANGING ALL OF MY BUSHINGS, SWAY BAR LINKS, AND REAR TRAIL ARMS AND STILL HAD A HORRIBLE UNSTABLE RIDE. MY TIRE PSI WAS AT 30 POUNDS. I BUMPED MY TIRE PSI UP TO 37 PSI AND ITS DRIVING LIKE A NEW CAR AGAIN. THANK YOU
Hi timm, just like to say a big thank you for the video. I had the dreaded shimmy on both my e38 740i and my 840ci I've got 19 inch alloys on both them I put 41 psi and shimmys gone, thanks again
Pumped to 260 psi and the shimmy seems gone now.Will increase to 280 psi if its still there.Wait for the highway trip soon..Thanks to you for this video.
I have fully fired the parts gun at my e36 replacing every front end suspension component (no regrets promise) to try and resolve this exact issue, still present so will be trying this tomorrow! Hopefully it works. Subscribed as the knowledge you hold is deffo worth being apart of!
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation unfortunately it did not solve the problem, did make a small improvement but I believe I have a bad steering rack. Still great tips tho😁
@@dirtydisco4x429 so even after a new steering rack I still had the issue, I’ve now converted my rack to none power steering. I was running 10j wide wheels and I believe the tyres had been fitted incorrectly as the heavy part of the tyre was fitted inline with the valve leading me to have to have lots of wheel weights. Got a friend at a tyre shop to put new tyres on and the wobble got better. But because the wheels where so wide any small unbalance or worn bush on the car really showed. Now running some better fitting wheels and good tyres and the issue was again even less noticeable. So I turned my attention to the steering shaft bush this was quite worn so I fitted a solid steering wheel bush (aluminium) and the issue has completely gone.
Great video, I was looking for an explanation for the steering wheel vibration im my w204 attended a lot of videos on youtube just to understand more about the causes and possible solutions before I take any step to avoid changing any unnecessery parts... and no one explaned it with a detailed easy to understand as you did.... thank you for sharing this and now I know where to start... tyres and wheels!
i have had 5 7 8 series bmws for the last 30 years and have tried to fix this problem on all those cars ,. never understood this until you explained it timm . you sir are a steely eyed missile man :)
I put it down to scuttle shake but your video has explained a lot i lack the precisness that you are explaining i also have uneven tyre wear but was always told by my mechanic to run my tyres at 33 but he also told me that five speed diffs on my 6 speed e53 auto were ok
This might be my issue. I have a e90 with bigger rims and tires then stock. I’ve done my Axles and wheel bearings and all the other components are in good shape. I’ll be trying this fix tomorrow!
I drive a E39 525i Facelift, had the same Issues for MONTHS! many Workshops no one had a Clue. After putting 2.7 Bar or 39 PSI in all 4 Tyres. Problem is gone! Thanks
just got a new sub right there. Bought a 2004 e46 today and the ONLY thing wrong with it is that weird shimmy at 50-60 mph. Everything else was perfect.
Mate you dont realize how much you have saved me. I have e39 540i/6 M sport with the parallel wheels and 530i/5 sport and both had the shimmy steering. I was just about to do a complete suspension overhaul but today i took the 540 and added the air to 40psi and 42psi at the back and its like magic...its gone i now can enjoy my M5 wanna be without M5 issues 540i without the shimmy... thank you mate owe u a beer
hello Tim, i have an e61 with 245-40-18 rear and front tires and i was just about to do the front suspension overhaul because of the wheel wobble, but thanks to your video i pump the tires today to 39 psi and the wobble ist almost completly gone. cheers mate!
Thanks for the demonstration! My car has an intermittent shimmy, which I think is beside the fact that it's a convertible that's prone to cowl shake. I notice the shake, at times, even on quite smooth roads. I currently run the tires at 32PSI, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to bump them up some - maybe 38PSI. A wheel balance, too, would be wise of me to do, considering the set I picked up are well used.
Your tyres heat up quickly on the road and the pressure will go up. I have found and it was always recommended by a tyre shop here in the US that 36 psi cold was perfect for driving control, economy and tyre life. 44 psi is considered maximum for car tyres so I would not start at 40 or higher.
I have two BMW sedans, an E38, 1996 yr with 86K that shakes minimum at 55 mph and a E34, 1995 yr, with 165K miles that shakes worst at 45 mph. After watching your video I believe the E38 is tires and will up the pressure to 42 and try it. The E34 have wide wheels and it shakes more at 45 mph, it also has shims on all four tires. I'm going to have the wheels checked for balance and also up the air pressure, hopefully this will work.
Let us know how you get on - and shims are quite often the root cause - more info here: www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/wheel/Fitting_replica_alloys_to_the_BMW_E31.htm
Just got a new e46 m3 and had the tires replaced as a first thing and had them balanced. Noticed yesterday a bad shake randomly when I was going about 75mph. I didn't verify what the tire shop set for the psi. After just checking it the front was 31, right rear was 38 left rear 31. I guess it was completely off, just set them all to 40 and will try them later. I'm hopeful it will help, thanks for the insight!
I have to disagree, the source of the problem is always the wheel/tyre combination - any improvement by replacing thrust arms, pitman arm and other suspension just hides the wheel problems
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation well no, these cars did not have death wobble when they were new. It develops with time. Wheels and tires have an impact, but so does wear, mostly, internal wear in the steering box. Thank you for this hack however, its better than nothing.
This was brilliant. Haven't tried it yet on my BMW, but you explain so well that I feel able to check if this is the cause of my issue. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain.
Great and informative video. I learned a great deal about static vs. dynamic balance. . Is 41 psi for all 4 tires regardless if one has a staggered setup with different width and size? 255 up front and 285 rear?
My car shook like crazy. I later found out that my mechanic did not know how to put transmission fluid into the transmission. So, I filled up the transmission fluid and problem solved!
I have a bmw e46 coupe I have replaced Front discs and pads Tie rods inner and outer both sides Front control arms Front anti roll bar d bushes Front anti roll bar drop links Just got them balanced And got a wheel alignment Done all of these things and I have vibration in my steering wheel especially at 50mph As you can imagine I have spent some money recently on the car and seem To have got no where to the point where I have hired a car this weekend Any advice greatly appreciated P.s the vibration only happened after I got brand new tyres fitted… and I went back twice since then to get them Balanced… since then been replacing parts and chasing a expensive long peice of string 😂😂
I have the same issue for my 2001 e46. In the city its perfect shimmy is not as bad compared to the highway. Climbing up 60-100kph the shimmy/rattling becomes annoying and makes me feel like something bad might happen. Will try this thx
A have a very slight shimmy @ 70 mph on my F07, because this is above the 45-55 mph mark you mentioned here, where do you think my shimmy comes from? Thank you for an excellent and informative video!
Great and very informative video. No one explained in details as much as you did. My question is, what about defective new tyres being out of round, will that cause a tyre shimmy or is it only a wobble related issue?
Interesting video, don't have a BMW but watched it anyway. Inflating your tyres to 40-42 psi isn't that overinflating the tyres from spec and could become dangerous and over heat. Our ford shimmys and self steers on certain roads. Might try this.
@@or6144 If inflating the tyres made a difference then you have dynamic imbalance and you need to decide whather to run at high pressures or to buy new front tyres
I have an E90 325d which seems to experience "shimmy". I've tried 42psi but no luck... Between 50-60mph it is most prominent BUT, is made so much more noticeable on gentle to moderate braking... I've had wheels balanced, all tyre pressures sorted and 2 garages look for any mechanical issues underneath... Few worn bushes but nothing they think will cause the issue and run out is only 0.04mm so in essence... Nothing! I refuse to accept that the car is "fine" when it is not something it should be doing and it never used to. It just started one day. Any suggestions? It is driving me crazy!!
Shimmy does drive you crazy! If the shimmy is severe it can be a brake calliper dragging - check if both front wheels are at the same temperature after a drive, the centre of a wheel gets quite hot if a brake drags. The full list of possibilities are here: www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/E31_Shimmy.htm
my E46 has shimmy at 100-140kmh, like you said replaced everything, new control arms, tierods, brakes, bearings, freshly balanced wheels. Will try to inflate them some more hopefully it helps
That speed range means the problem is on the REAR axle not the front - so you could be looking at half-shafts or some problem with rear wheel assymettery
I had the shimmer, pretty badly at around 75mph so did your recommendation, put the psi up to 42psi and boom shimmer is gone, well almost gone. On a sweeping bend to right on dual carriage way I notice the shimmer slightly
Great video well done, only disappointment is the title says fixed in ten mins but it took 18 min. haha just like 2 minute noodles that always takes 5 minutes to cook. lol keep up the good work
Im running 32 psi on my 650 and i get that exact problem i know one of my rear wheels has a slight ding in wheel but i do have a full car shake im going to try the higher pressures see if it works
Hi Great tutorial. I have an E63 with a wobble in the steering between 55 and 60mph. I’ve replaced control arms upper and lower on the front but it’s still there. I’ve got 275/35R19 100 Y on the rear and 245/40R19 98 on the front with the recommended tyre pressure of Front 33Psi and rear 34.5 PSi. Would you recommend that every tyre is inflated to 41PSi to remove the shimmy and if it does go would you recommend running them at that pressure as normal. Many thanks.
I certainly would - you've changed half the front suspension without any luck so I would start by inflating to a higher pressure (check the sidewall for maximum inflation) and see if that makes a difference - if it does I would suspect tyres as being the root cause. It is worth saying that tyres can be significantly damaged by shimmy!
Hey I put 42 pSi didn’t work for me unfortunately, just put brand new tires and non oem wheels and 15 mm spacers in the front. Did force balance on my front tire’s nothing works for me :(
Hi Timm,thanks for all the vids,my expansion tank BLEW UP the other day,and after ordering the Mehl one,your vid popped up on comparison and then the replacement/fix…timely ! (Timmely !) anyways,I tried the tyre pressure thing,and it’s made the shimmy worse,it previously only manefest itself upon motorway braking,but now it’s doing it on the way up through 50mph…weirdly,one of my wheels is way further back (offside) in the wheel arch than the other,I had a mechanic mate change a little arm that goes from the steering rack (I think) and this is when my woes started,is it possible that the part they fitted is handed,and they put the wrong one on ?…it’s all I can think,tge shimmy is that bad you can’t hold the wheel,and it makes you blind…cheers in advance,Joel Chester (the silver 97 840ci off the calendar,from years ago)
Thanks Joel. The front wheel placement in the arch IS different right to left. There have been long discussions why this is the case, but even the publicity photos show it!
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation once again you are impossible to ‘stump’ ha,ha…also I found the ‘wiper notch’ video…so thanks again,I’ll be out with the angle grinder ! All the best…ps,your car gets more beautiful as the years pass,good call !
Well i have to change the oil tomorrow on the B7 but I did have the wheels re balanced , part of the tire warranty, haven't had it on the freeway for a bit,,, hows the 840 commng @@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation
I had an E39 and never had this problem. I not have a G30 and at 78mph is start to shimmy. argggh, I have also seen a video about road force balancing; will try this first.
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation Thanks for the reply, The rear tires were 8lbs low and front were about 5lbs. I've aired the tire up but that did not help. It's a certified BMW so they will make {already confirmed) the fix and hopefully the will do the "Road force balance" for me.
Update, got it to the BMW dealership, they have determine there's 2 bent rims on the Left side. So, this tells me one thing or several?? BMW certified doesn't always mean checking everything like they said. However, they are standing up and taking care of the problem for me at no cost. They will also do the road force balance to all tires.
The rear suspension consist of the lower a arm and upper bushing or bearing ? If this parts go bad it’ll cause the e31 rear hub to have play like a bad wheel bearing at 12 and 6 o’clock. Are these parts hard to replace ?
I have shimming also in bmw 730 service told me that flat tire causing vibration and I need to change tire. If I make Rear tire 41 psi without any change on other tires will it cause some another problem or alarm ?
That was interesting. I have always thought that the big BMWs are always on the edge of imbalance. In my experience, it's usually been a number of slightly worn components and tire pressures are just one of those.
Tried to pump up my tires to 2.9 bar. What it did ? Steering wobble is now more noticable in higher speeds and it was a bit softened. When going straight, steering wheel is not moving 0.5cm right to left but i can still feel something is kicking into steering wheel when i turn it a bit to the right or left while keeping constant speed. I tried to do 4km distance without braking at night and slowed my car to 0km just with engine braking and all brake discs are hot (i can keep hand on them) but rear brake disc behind the driver seat is noticably hotter - cant keep hand on it . Not sure if that can cause steering wobble.
I have a 2006 BMW E60 550i and it doesn't have shimmy at any lower or high speed. But the front wheels shimmy only when I start breaking from a high speed coming to a complete stop and it causes the steering wheel to move left and right like crazy.
