Visibly wobbling wheels....wtf

[chrissurfr]

Good morning guys,

I had a random person come up to the in traffic and tell me that my wheels were wobbling. I recently got the Avante Garde M510s put on with spacers. Is it possible that an incorrect lug bolt length, lug bolt shape conical vs. ball, or spacer is doing this? Anyone experienced this before?

Thanks,
Chris

[bkw]

Do you feel any vibration at speed? Are the wheels hubcentric or are you running hubcentric rings ontop of your spacers?

If they are visibly wobbling, I would definitely think you would be able to feel it in the cabin.

It could be an optical illusion with the spokes or your tires.

[moyenecorniche]

Pull it in to either a lift or hoist up each corner in your garage and check wheel rotation by hand, check the torque settings on your wheel bolts and go thru the above advice...
But if you don't feel anything while driving then ..... Either way the good samaritan should not be looking at objects in rotation...LOL

But I would double-check everything just for peace of mind..

[mgeezy]

You need to take it to whoever installed the new wheels (if you still trust them) RIGHT AWAY. I would think about taking it to someone else. They didnt
do it right, and with the spacers involved in the mix, it can be dangerous and costly.

[chrissurfr]

It vibrates only above 65....I thought it was the shakey control arms that the S5 is famous for having.

[Mops@Nemesis]

If your wheels were wobbling you would know it long before 65. And visually seeing wobble can be deceiving. Take it to a shop and have them redo, make certain the bolts are the proper style (cone I imagine) and they get everything tightened up just to be safe. You need a good 6+ rotations so maybe ask them to using hand tools.

[ChipB]

First thing I would do is check the torque on all lug bolts. If you don't have a torque wrench and socket - buy one. It's an essential tool that all car owners ought to have anyways - like owning a tire pressure gauge - especially if you have after-market wheels and spacers installed.

And please clarify something: you say you are experiencing vibrations above 65MPH and assumed it was due to something other than these new wheels and spacers - are you saying that the vibration occurred even before the new wheels and spacers were installed? You should definitely have that looked into - no car should experience vibrations like that.

[Josh@DriveSPM]

What size spacers are you running?

I saw an issue like this last summer at the track. A guy was running 10mm spacers with M510s, and did not have the wheels flush on the hub / spacer. Unbolt the wheel, and re-torque by hand while holding the wheel flush on the hub.

[chrissurfr]

I am running 5mm spacers in the rear only.

[chrissurfr]

First thing I would do is check the torque on all lug bolts. If you don't have a torque wrench and socket - buy one. It's an essential tool that all car owners ought to have anyways - like owning a tire pressure gauge - especially if you have after-market wheels and spacers installed.

And please clarify something: you say you are experiencing vibrations above 65MPH and assumed it was due to something other than these new wheels and spacers - are you saying that the vibration occurred even before the new wheels and spacers were installed? You should definitely have that looked into - no car should experience vibrations like that.

I thought is may have to do with the control arms.....search the forum. between 55mph and 65 mph a lot of ours cars shake a little...

[yas]

When you hear hoof beats, think horses not zebras.

I'd double check that the wheels are indeed flush with the hub and torqued appropriately. If so, then you can feel safe going with another diagnosis (whether it's control arms or something else).

[Mops@Nemesis]

I personally had an issue with my current setup where the tires were not seated the the rim properly and I had a wobble but it was very apparent. Terrible vibration even at lower speeds. You could spin it on the balancing machine and see the wobble. The shop had to use excessive amounts of PSI to get them to seat properly.

[Rounic]

I personally had an issue with my current setup where the tires were not seated the the rim properly and I had a wobble but it was very apparent. Terrible vibration even at lower speeds. You could spin it on the balancing machine and see the wobble. The shop had to use excessive amounts of PSI to get them to seat properly.

That

[chrissurfr]

Took it to the shop. Everything seems ok. Bolts are down properly, wheels are on hub. Wheels are balanced.

I think the dude may have thought that the camber on my car looked like wobble as I was bouncing down the road on my coilovers.

Who knows.

[Not A Good Idea]

Took it to the shop. Everything seems ok. Bolts are down properly, wheels are on hub. Wheels are balanced.

I think the dude may have thought that the camber on my car looked like wobble as I was bouncing down the road on my coilovers.

Who knows.

i had the same issue. i was convinced i had a warped wheel but i didnt. i think i posted a video of it last time. i sanded down all the contact points and remounted the spacers and wheels. i also got new lugs. not all conical or spherical lugs are created the same fyi. i have 3 different conical (for aftermarket) lugs. certain ones fit better than others. i must have over $1200 in aftermarket bolts :/

my issue, which i have resolved since then:

[Patrick Bateman]

I have heard no mention of centering rings yet for your wheels OP. They will snap into the back of the wheels hub bore and help the wheel seat properly to the hub. If you dont have em on, the wheels will vibrate at higher speeds.
I point to bad lugs for this one. Also, what equipment where these wheels balanced on? New, or second hand wheels? conical or ball lugs needed? Pulsations coming from front or rear?

PB.