We have an 04 MCS JCW. Less than 35,000 miles. It has a STB and an engine damper. Last year, we lowered it on M7 coilovers and put new 18 x 7.5 wheels and Toyo tires on it. We had hubcentric spacers made for it. Since doing this, we have a vibration/shimmy through the steering wheel. We raised the coilovers and it didn't help. We have had the tires Road force tested and OEM matched. We have had a tire replaced because of a defect.

The shimmy happens at 50, 70 and 90 MPH. The car goes straight down the road, but when you let go of the steering wheel, you can see it move back and forth.

Last month, the power steering pump went out so we had it towed to the dealer(6 hours away). While it was there, we had the dealer do a laser alignment on the car. When we got it back, the shimmy was almost gone. It was only a slight vibration at that point. Much better.

We had to change out 3 of the wheels(damaged by the tow truck when they took the car to the dealer) now we have the same shimmy back.

Any ideas on what could possibly be causing this? We are at a loss. The replacement wheels were the same and the tires were the same. They didn't touch the alignment. Yet something changed and brought it back.

HELP please.

 

Have you driven it without the spacers?

 

We can't. The wheels don't clear the coilovers without the spacers. We have had regular spacers with hub centering rings and the spacers that we had made and nothing changed.

The only other thing that we changed when we got the new wheels, was to change to wheel studs(in the hub ?) instead of the ones that came on the car. (Sorry if I said that wrong, I can't for the life of me remember the correct terms ATM..LOL)

 

first thing that comes to mind is the wheels/tires being out of balance or a tire with a slipping belt inside so the rubber itself 'slips' on the surface... since you said tires are new, I'd look for a lost wheel weight.

 

The wheels are new. We had 2 shops do the old wheels on the same day, and it did not help. The new wheels are only 3 days old. We haven't played with it much, but it feels just like before. The tires are actually about 10 months old with the exception of the one replaced last month.

The most confusing part is that the problem was only minor after the alignment until they changed the wheels. Then it was right back to starting point.

 

Had a cheap set of spacers on mine and it did exactly what you are describing. Got a set of H&R's and no more problem... Out of balance spacers was the problem...

 

That would make sense. I started with H & Rs though with plastic hubcentric rings. Then I got the custom ones that have the ring as part of the spacer.

Did it happen at given speeds? That is part of what is getting to us. It is at 50, 70 and 90. Under most conditions. You can feel it in the steering wheel. It is barely felt in the passenger seat. Only if you are looking for it.

 

Yep, a little shimmy in the wheel and gets more prononced the faster you go... Might be able to have those spacers balanced.

 

I will have to look at the car. Do the hubcentric rings fit snugly to the wheel and the hub? I can't remember if there is any play or not. We had the same problem with the H&R spacers, but they were with plastic rings that didn't seem to fit right. This might be where to start.

I understand that the faster you go, the more you feel it, but the problem peaks at 50 70 and 90. Inbetween those speeds, it lessens noticeably. Does this still sound like a spacer? It just seems weird to me that it lessens so noticeably.

 

May not be the spacers but when you have a wheel out of balance the vibration will be worse at different speeds not just faster. What size spacer are you running and what wheels (do they require hub rings?) are you running? Same wheels, same tires?

 

I just swapped out my stock S-lites for 17" Konig Feathers. I had them mounted with the correct sized plastic hub centering rings. I have the same shimmy/vibration problem and it's driving me nuts. Went back to the tire shop and they said one of the balancing weights fell off. So they rebalanced it and even road force balanced it. The shimmy/vibration is still there. I don't have wheel spacers as I don't need them. Any insight as to what's the problem could be would help a whole lot.

 

Radical deviation from factory offset will amplify any tire wheel irregularity.

Had the same problem on an earlier MINI that I owned. The look was worth putting up with the vibration to me.

Rotating the wheels around to find the best corner for each will help, and the best balancing will help.

 

The spacers are only 5mm. We have Motegi FF7 wheels with Toyo Proxes(?) tires. They do require hub centering rings. We had the spacers made with the rings as part of the spacer. I am starting to wonder if the hub centering part of the spacer isn't just right. How snug is a hub centering ring supposed to be? There is a little(millimeters) play in ours. Is it possible that it leaves just enough room to cause the shimmy?

We have had the wheels balanced multiple times by different shops on road force machines with no change. The only time we felt change was when our dealer did a laser alignment and fully corner weighted and aligned the car. They changed the coilover settings so they all matched. We drove it for 2 weeks or so, then the wheels were replaced because of damage from the tow truck. Same tires, just new wheels. Now the problem is back.

We did also notice that if we have the wheels off the car for anything, that the problem will lessen for a day or so until it has been driven for a while.

So far, we are going to check the spacers, hub centering and I think we may check the wheel studs just to be sure.

Any other suggestions?

 

Also, does it matter where they put the weights for the wheels? I think they are currently stuck on the edge nearest the spokes on the inside flat of the wheel. I have seen a couple posts that are saying that the weights need to be in a certain place. Does it matter?

 

There should not be any play. If there is it's like not having any hub centering at all..

 

I will have to check this then. I know that it does wiggle after it is put on the hub. We had them made based on the measurements given for the wheel online. Is there enough variance that they need to be measured specifically and adjusted to fit perfectly?