17 inch alp reps----vibs ?

Post Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:08 pm

Yo guys

Recently got new 17 s with 215 x 40 tyres , but i have a bad vibration through the wheel at around 60 to 80 mph.

are there other obvious reasons that would make matters worse, or have i got a duff set of rims/ tyres

cheers steve p

Post Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:22 pm

are they alpina replicas by any chance? as i feel a slight vibration at about 50-60mph.

Post Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:22 pm

For this very reason I got rid of mine on the touring, don't get me wrong, they looked really nice, but couldn't put up with it, even after fitting new tyres and having them balanced.

What a difference when I fitted the hartge's...

Post Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:22 pm

put em on a wheel balance tester m8

Post Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:30 pm

Simon wrote:For this very reason I got rid of mine on the touring, don't get me wrong, they looked really nice, but couldn't put up with it, even after fitting new tyres and having them balanced.

What a difference when I fitted the hartge's...

yer i know what you mean mate, ive put the same set of wheels on my last two e30s and both have done it at the same speed too, only slighty though but can get on your nerves if your stuck doing that speed for a while!

Post Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:27 pm

Guys

yeah they're replicas, I was thinking like should i check wheel bearings , bush's etc, but i'll start with checking the balancing, then work through the list

Post Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:47 pm

Gen the way to go

could be the fact that they might eed spigot rings
ow do they fit on the hubs do thy sit ok or do you need to line the studs up

Post Tue Mar 15, 2005 7:55 am

Yet another E30 having problems with BK171 reps. I loved how they looked on mine but couldn't put up with the vibrating steering wheel any longer. Heard the same from nearly all users of these wheels.
Balanced mine numerous times and used 3 sets of tyres. Now got 15" BBS again and smooth as..!
Spoke to BK racing and they basically were not interested.
However they guy who bought them off me has no problems on his 320.
Could worn bushes/rubbers etc. be causing this problem, only noticeable when on 17s. Has anyone any success with BK171 alloys, and have they replaced bushes/rubbers? I ask as i still prefer the 17" Alpina reps.
Thanks,
Andy.

Post Tue Mar 15, 2005 8:27 am

Guys

These rims of mine are fitted with federal tyres, have 2 different sets of stud drillings ie 8 holes and are fitted with poly hub rings,.

i'm wondering if the tyres maybe very low quality ???.

I'll try and get to the bottom of this, and keep you posted

Post Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:46 pm

parksie wrote:These rims of mine are fitted with federal tyres, have 2 different sets of stud drillings ie 8 holes and are fitted with poly hub rings,.

these are the same as mine, though i've not yet fitted them. not sure why they've got two different pcd's though as they're only gonna be of any use on a bmw!!!

if it helps, i've has this vibration on my 318i (14" bottletops) very badly, dahs used to vibrate about 30mm up and down!!! it used to shake the head unit out!!! my 320i did it (14" again) and now my 325i does it (15" bbs).

so, i reckon it'll still do it when i fit the 17's....

Post Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:12 pm

i've heard these wheels are not 100% straight when they leave the factory.

Eccentric hub spacers i've read do the trick?

Worn bushes on the front will cause vibrations at 50mph plus even of your wheels are perfect.

Post Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:07 am

I spoke to a man a few months ago who knows his stuff very well, I was looking for a set of wheels for my 5 stud conversion. When asked what he though of BK - Bill Kitchen - wheels, he told me this:

When quality wheels are made, they are injection molded under a VERY high pressure, this gets rid of the air bubbles in the wheel being formed, hence uniform structure and very strong, where as with the BK wheels they are "open cast", so no pressure (or very little) involved to make them, therefore if you were to cut open a BK it would look like an Areo choclate bar does....full of bubbles.

I did have BK 171's on my original E30 when I crashed it, so no longer have the wheels. After hearing this I will only be using quality brands, such as BMW/BBS/Alpina etc. Think the MIM's are ok too.

I had a mate, also with BK's on his touring and he though one was warped - they had never been kerbed etc, they were mint.

Just a shame though as they look A1 on E30/E36's