Based on past experience and from people I know, and through other forums that I have been a member of (Q45,Rennlist,Bimmerforums..), vibration or 'shimmy' are the majority of complaints when one upgrades their OEM to aftermarket wheels (usually +1 or higher sizes). Based on experience, most of my cars that I upgraded the wheels on, I did get the vibration (usually freeway speeds - 60 to 70mph). The problem got too frustrating sometimes that I usually end up going back to OEM wheels. The aftermarket wheels I had in the past were not the cheap kinds and also not the high end stuff either (OZ, Borbet, 5zigen..) So I will rule out the 'cheapness' factor and quality of the wheels that I had experience on.

Im interested how many people who have aftermarket 18's or 19's that have the vibration on highway speeds? I am betting that a high percentage have vibrations. And how many here can actually say that their 19's are vibration free?

I know that there can be several causes of vibration: wheels not hubcentric, wrong type lugs, wrong torque on wheels, bad tires, alignment, wheels not true, etc. But I have seen people that have all these factors corrected and still get the vibration no matter what. The vibration stops once the OEM wheels/tires are replaced. So what's the deal on aftermarket wheels? There are times I think that most aftermarket wheels are just not designed for a particular vehicle and will always get this slight vibration even when all things are in place. One of my previous cars was an Infiniti Q45. OEM wheels were 15 inch BBS and I bought some 18-inch OZ operas and brand new tires. Once the new rims was mounted I got the vibration at 60 mph. Went back and had the wheels re-balanced and had the wheels check for trueness. Still no change in the vibration. I never resolved the issue and basically just lived with it until I sold the car. I talked to some tire techs before and some mentioned that wheel weights that are mounted on the outside lip of the rims are much better in balancing the wheels than the stick-on weights that are now being used on most aftermarket wheels. He claims that its unfortunate that most wheels now dont have this outer lip where those weights can be installed. Plus, most owners would not want those ugly weights to be shown on the rims anyway..Then there are some tire techs I have heard that installing aftermarket wheels and getting vibration is just a fact of life basically. Claims that aftermarket wheels are not specifically designed for a particular car and hence the vibration. What do you guys think?

 

the installer couldn't believe how true the wheels were. 2 of the wheels didn't need weights.

I think most of the problems I have had with shimmy comes for the tires themselves. I have had several different tire manufactures and the best seem to be Michelin and Pirelli although the Falkens have impressed me too.

Bridgestones seem to me at least to be the worst.

Just my $0.02

 

I have 19s and experience no vibration...

 

there is more "road feel" then the OEM 17's....

I will say most balance shops are crap tho...to do it right, you need the right tools....the sears/generic tire stores in general can get most close, but never as good as a shop with the right tools and people...

Oh...and your statement on cheapness is interesting.....there are many conditions that can slightly deform a cast wheel...not to mention incorrectly inflated tires, which can cause cords to break and create vibration....

Just my 2 cents

 

when i had H&R spacers, i would get vibration above 55mph all the time, even up to 80 mph. took the spacers out and put in ECS steel spacers (3mm) and the vibration went away. BTW, the H&R spacers were brand new (5mm)...evenly torqued all around...swapped front to rear wheels, still vibration. once i put the ECS spacers in, vibration totally went away. can push the car up and beyond with no vibration now.