I just shod my rehabbed e24 with 18" rims and tires (see thread below: wobble and shake).
No wobble but a lot of bobbing going on.
Had new shocks and air suspension fixed in back.
What the hey!!??
Is this what this car is supposed to handle like?
Cornering feels scary. The car lurches a bit. I put on the 750il bushings to boot.
I feel like I am in a 60's Beetle, which seemed to handle better than this.
What's the secret here?
The reviews of the OEM system were always positive according to all the press I have researched.
I spent a bunch of money to get it in shape and now this....
utter disappointment.
Do I have to get coil overs or something and why is this happening?
(thanks for listening to this)

From what I have heard, 17 is the maximum you want to go to avoid such shaking problems. Even with DM635's 17" style 32's with all new front end and 4 shocks/springs I have a little bit of a wobble. I admit I didn't spend as much as I could have for parts, but i also expected better. I am thinking about replacing my metal hubcentric rings fot the plastic ones because these you have to engage as you are tightening the lugs, and they seem to only hold their place for a few days then the vibration comes back no matter how hard I tighten the bolts... I know everything as far as suspension goes is new, how about rotors?

Would rotors cause a wobble or pitch? Probably not.
Brakes seem to take more effort than necessary to come to a stop; I don't think mine are faulty.
I just find it stupid to have a beautiful car that drives like a truck with a solid axle rear.
Don't these have independent suspension?

They do have IRS. Maybe you have the wrong spring/shock combination. What kind of Bilsteins do you have and what springs are you using?

I just put the bilstein HDs, dinan springs and thats it so far. I plan to put 750 bushings and new tie rods to get rid of the shimmy. I also have the 17in style 32s and only notcied a shimmy between 50 and 60. Much to my dismay, i forgot to tighten the right tie rod all the way down, so that made a shimmy, and the left tie rod is shot anyway, as well as the bushings. I feel that my shimmy will be hopefully non-existent after the bushings and new tightened tierods.

-Jeff

Are the dinan springs lowering? If so you may want to reconsider the HD's because you will bottom out like crazy. I initially installed a set of Bilsteins that were not the sports (HD's or touring maybe) in either case anytime I hit a larger pothole it would bottom out really hard. I replaced them with a set of B Sports and the problem is completely gone. I also don't have lowering springs, I just cut 1 1/2 coils out and it doesn't rub or anything and looks and rides great.

I would check the condition of the rear subframe bushings. If these are bad, the rear of the car will be all over the place with the larger wheels and wider tires. I filled my new bushings with polyurethane and the back end is tight!

From what I have heard, 17 is the maximum you want to go to avoid such shaking problems. Even with DM635's 17" style 32's with all new front end and 4 shocks/springs I have a little bit of a wobble. I admit I didn't spend as much as I could have for parts, but i also expected better. I am thinking about replacing my metal hubcentric rings fot the plastic ones because these you have to engage as you are tightening the lugs, and they seem to only hold their place for a few days then the vibration comes back no matter how hard I tighten the bolts... I know everything as far as suspension goes is new, how about rotors?
i have a set of the plastic rings if you want them.i got them after the 32's were gone(part of another trade).
the 6er suspensions are tempermental.even with 16" wheels i still have some shake at certain speeds.running at stock height,HD bilseins and poly control arm bushings.i don't like the poly's.i'll trade someone for a set of 750's.i have a set of the full size(un-milled)and don't know how to trim them down to fit.

Are the dinan springs lowering? If so you may want to reconsider the HD's because you will bottom out like crazy. I initially installed a set of Bilsteins that were not the sports (HD's or touring maybe) in either case anytime I hit a larger pothole it would bottom out really hard. I replaced them with a set of B Sports and the problem is completely gone. I also don't have lowering springs, I just cut 1 1/2 coils out and it doesn't rub or anything and looks and rides great.

They dont lower the car as much as i thought they were going to, but yes they do lower wolfie a little bit. The e23 i sold early this year had the HDs and the car was VERY low, esp with the racing dynamics body kit. I never had a problem with the shocks bottoming (is that a word?) out. It just so happens that one of pennsylvanias sports it pothole dodging, because of the abundance of them. So i am well aware of avoiding them. I am actually having difficulty getting the rear dropped to match the front. Is it a good idea to cut springs anyway? I heard this can have a bouncy affect because the spring rate is changed.

-Jeff

Mine doesn't bounce at all. I think that happens when people heat up the springs because that changes their dynamics. So far, it is holding up. Also another reason may be because people cut springs and retain original shocks. I replaced mine so they do a good job of keeping it level. If it turns out that I have a problem I'll just replace it all again. I had some issues at first due to unrelated discrepancies so I can do the job on jackstands in about two hours!

Gentlman sometimes the engineers do get it right. You have to be carefull when you start changing your wheel and tire size. When you go to a larger rim and low profile tire you are going to loose ride quality. Sooner or later you just have to make a decision between cool looks and quality ride. For a compromise dont go any larger than 17" and keep it under 60.

I can understand keeping the max rim at 17 inches, but 60MPH!? How dare you!!:mad

LOL! High Point I definitely hear ya with that remark but you have to understand that some people just don't have an endless supply of money. I've read many of your posts and you certainly have some great ideas on how to push a 6'er to the next level. Keep 'em coming!

i can't drive 55!!!
17" is the max on this chassis i feel.there were some pics floating around of a red one in Tx.,they were 20's or 22's,and then the style chosen really made it look bad(imho).who am i to knock what someone does to there own car,but it didn't do the 6 justice at all.there was no sidewall on the tires and Houston's roads are not the smoothest.i spent 12yrs there and replaced a couple wheels running standard tires with plenty of sidewall.
your susp needs to be very tight when going to 17" and above.you'll retain good feel with 17's and going any higher you're going to lose something in the handling department.i'm running 16's now and would go back to 17's.
son has a 6 now that's wearing TRX's and for short term is thinking of getting a set of 14's from a 6 he's getting some parts off of.look like the bottle cap 2's but have gold centers.maybe from a very early 6???

LOL! High Point I definitely hear ya with that remark but you have to understand that some people just don't have an endless supply of money. I've read many of your posts and you certainly have some great ideas on how to push a 6'er to the next level. Keep 'em coming!

Trust me, I am at the lower end of the cash supply! I bought the M60 motor for about 1200 Euro with the 5 speed in Germany with insurance money I got for a big scratch left on my QP by a truck driver. Being a college student my budget is severely limited, but out of this comes one good thing, and that is a lot of wacky ideas!

i can't drive 55!!!
17" is the max on this chassis i feel.there were some pics floating around of a red one in Tx.,they were 20's or 22's,and then the style chosen really made it look bad(imho).who am i to knock what someone does to there own car,but it didn't do the 6 justice at all.there was no sidewall on the tires and Houston's roads are not the smoothest.i spent 12yrs there and replaced a couple wheels running standard tires with plenty of sidewall.
your susp needs to be very tight when going to 17" and above.you'll retain good feel with 17's and going any higher you're going to lose something in the handling department.i'm running 16's now and would go back to 17's.
son has a 6 now that's wearing TRX's and for short term is thinking of getting a set of 14's from a 6 he's getting some parts off of.look like the bottle cap 2's but have gold centers.maybe from a very early 6???

I definitely agree about the 17's. I also posted a pic a while back of an M6 with 20" Alpinas. I love those rims and if someone gave them to me I would run them but I can't imagine wearing anything larger than what I have now otherwise... I lived in H-Town too. We used to mop the floor with 5-0 mustangs with our Cutlass on Westheimer! That was before I saw the BMW light!

I used to run around in Houston in a 69 Nova SS.That to was before I saw the BMW light.I had the opportunity to restore a 65 Glas 3000(very rare BMW),V8 w/3 carbs,but a few phone calls trying to find replacement parts,and the fact I knew nothing about BMW's at the time,I returned to my American iron.I did belong to the Nova club there,but almost all were trailer queens.

tire people think rear bushings need replacement.
that may do the trick.
i have M badges now to add.... oh well, coulda had an M

in the rear you have the sub frame bushings and diff mount,also the dog bones.these are much easier to replace before you get to the trailing arm bushings.trailing arm bushings seem to last a long while,but running 18's will show the slightest wear of any component.

I'm running 17" wheels with a pretty fresh suspension, and I have no issues with the feel of the car. It is firm and crisp, not harsh. I'm guessing the larger wheels exposed some issues in your suspension, or your tires aren't very good (or both).

Tires and wheels are brand new 18's. Needed spacers, which we didn't know at the first, now front end is fine; rear is scary.
Thanks for the advice on the rear end dm635, will look at it tomorrow.

What wheels are these and what is the offset? What tires?

Generally speaking, spacers are a bad idea for these cars. Most wheels will need hubcentric rings. Also, it seems like the 750 bushings have to be modified to work. You might get better off checking this out over at Roadfly.

i have M badges now to add.... oh well, coulda had an M

Why put ///M badges on it?

Sorry, we needed the rings which straightened out much of the bounce in all the wheels.
Here are the wheels: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8063651664&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT
I forgot tire manufacturer, will check Monday.
750 bushings were modified.
M badge: wife said today "it's like me putting on a "I am Pamela Anderson" t-shirt." ha ha

actually, no one would know!

Seems like those wheels should work. Did they come with tires mounted? If not, did the shop make sure the wheels were fully round? Seems very odd to have the kind of issues you're seeing. A fair number of people run 18' wheels, so it works, though most folks to drive their cars a lot stay with 16" or 17" wheels.

Respectfully, any Six series car needs only what it comes with. I'm not one of those purists about the ///M badge, it is just that I don't see the value-ad. People like me appreciate every shark for what it is, and one of the few things that turns me off is fake badging. (I like your wife already, by the way). Just my 2 cents, and it is certainly your car, but I'd say this: As with most things, you should listen to your wife!

(and plan to come to SESF (www.bmwsharkfest.org)! in '07)

Why is it taking so long for them to post pictures on that website. It has been like two months! I want to get those aerial photos enlarged and framed!

Went to dealer to find out that chatter in rear end cornering was caused by dried out bladders in air suspension and some other suspension components.
A bit better ride now.
I have a 98 740il, and I guess this shark is never going to feel like the 7 series which is absolutely perfect.
My buddy here who has started the same type of restoration, is completely miffed, as I, by the high cost of putting these things together.
His transmission conked out the other day in spirited acceleration.
He has replaced the steering box, driveshaft, etc.
Both of us bought our sharks for about 6-7 grand and have put in $10-15K each.
We still do not like handling of these cars, power in engine, transmissions.
The looks are it.
The only thing keeping us going.
But very disappointed in just about every other aspect of this car.
The OEM wheels and tires made for a softer and more acceptable feel on the road; may have to go back one or two sizes from the 18s.