z3 m roadster shakes at 80mph

[slippytoad]

Hi guys,

So I ended up buying a 2000 M Roaster (s52) at a very nice price with only 16k miles on the clock. Today I noticed an annoying body shake at 80 mph and my passenger noticed too (he commented without prompting). I don't know too much about the car although I know it's hardly been driven in the last few years and probably hasn't been serviced much in that time (oil changes only). The original Dunlop tires are ok but worn on the edges. Shall I simply have the steering aligned or buy new tires or what? Does a front brace help under these circumstances?

Any advice gratefully received. Cheers!

[jbrannon7]

Shouldn't shake at all. You don't need to add aftermarket parts to stop it.

With that low milage my guess would be tire balance or a bent wheel.

Joe

[rjcoston]

I agree that it's probably a tire or wheel issue.

[turbo5spd]

You mention it wasn't driven a lot over the last few years and it's on original tires. My guess is that the tires are flat spotted and/or the wheels are out of balance. I'll bet new tires will fix it (which you need anyway because the original Dunlops are surely dry rotted by now).

[GBauer]

Take it out to the nearest parking lot, put it in first, **** the front wheel all the way in either direction, and floor it.


Once you're bored with that, go get new tires.

[bob lindquist]

loosen and re-torque the wheel nuts to be sure the wheels are tight and wheels seated correctly.

[slippytoad]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Love the parking lot suggestion. Ok, when I've done that I'll get some new tires put on. Any suggestions for good value tires for daily driving, occasional high speed and cornering? What do people on this forum usually favour? I've heard Michelins are good...

Thanks!

[William Turner]

If you take cost out of the equation, Michelin PS2's are hard to beat, I am very pleased with mine--- far better than the Continental Sport Contacts that were on the car when I bought it used. As a side note, my car is not a daily driver and living in socal, cold weather and wet performance were not considerations for me. I was after max dry performance, short of going to R compound tires like the Sport Cups (which I did consider).

[slippytoad]

Yes I have those tires on my short list. I too live in California but in the Bay Area so cold/wet is hardly a consideration, surprise El Nino's notwithstanding. Thanks for the suggestion.

[slippytoad]

I picked up a set of Michelin PS2s, had them fitted at America's Tires in Mountain View yesterday. Shaking is gone (you were all correct!) and the ride is way smoother all the time. Car feels steadier and even seems to be less windy with the top down. Could be the car being more stable reduces the wind buffeting?

[GBauer]

I picked up a set of Michelin PS2s, had them fitted at America's Tires in Mountain View yesterday. Shaking is gone (you were all correct!) and the ride is way smoother all the time. Car feels steadier and even seems to be less windy with the top down. Could be the car being more stable reduces the wind buffeting?

More importantly: Did you take it out to a parking lot first? :D