Re: Suspension/Handling Problems

[esw5@postoffice2.mail.cornell.edu (Ernest Wong)]

[from JOFF]
[stuff deleted]

>What kind of wheels have you got on? I've an '84 BMW 316 with 106,000
>miles on the clock and it suffers the same thing; it's down to the
>aftermarket alloys that are fitted - the original steels cured it. A
>friend had the same problem with a GTi, and again it was solved by
>putting the steels on.
>        Getting a very very accurate balance helps, too.
>
I read in European Car couple months ago that aftermarket wheels need to be
hub-centric to fit modern cars well. Any mis-fitting will allow the wheel
to move about on the hub. This might be a cause of the shimmying at high
speeds. Many of the aftermarket wheels come with a ring to fit in the
center of the wheel for hubcentricity but that can sometimes be left on the
hub when rotating the wheels. That's what the article said. My BBS
sometimes fits too well on the hub and require a bit of elbow-grease to
release the wheel from the hub. (especially with a little corrosion on the
hubs).

Ernest Wong
email: esw5@cornell.edu