Where are the MARKS on the BMW OEM wheels (for proper tire mounting procedures)?

Originally Posted by franka

Then their is 'force balancing'. Sorta gimmicky too.

"Sorta" gimmicky. Have you had one done? One of the things it does, is it automatically turn/slide the tire on the rim to match the tire heavy point to the rim light point. It will therefore use the least amount of weights for the final balance. Kinda like matching the dot on the rim to the dots on the tire, but calculating it on its own. (or something like that).

I have done it only once when the tires were brand new. Then I didn't care to pay the extra money for it.

None of the stores in my area heard about on the car balance. Not even big "hi-end" tire shops. It is very difficult to find a tire shop or tech who will know or even care enough to do a good mounting and balancing job. Most to all of them just want to mount the tire, do a sorta ok balance, and send you on your way. They have no pride in their work and they have no understanding that some cars, like the BMW, need the best balance possible because it is so prone to vibrations if the balance is not 100%.

mw

My grandfather was a heavy equipment mechanic, he worked with on the car balancing years ago. Says that unless Hunter has picked up their game they're the best off the car but can't match on the car Let's get back on topic?

Originally Posted by MatWiz

"Sorta" gimmicky. Have you had one done? One of the things it does, is it automatically turn/slide the tire on the rim to match the tire heavy point to the rim light point. It will therefore use the least amount of weights for the final balance. Kinda like matching the dot on the rim to the dots on the tire, but calculating it on its own. (or something like that).

I think you have that confused with something else. Sliding or turning or rotating the tire on the rim or wheel is not force balancing, per se. Though that could be included if new or old tires are mounted.

[QUOTE=MatWiz;5846347 It is very difficult to find a tire shop or tech who will know or even care enough to do a good mounting and balancing job. Most to all of them just want to mount the tire, do a sorta ok balance, and send you on your way. mw[/QUOTE]

So, so true. And such a sad situation.

I used to have my wheels balanced "on the car" every time. The guy sits on a machine and pushes it up to touch your tyre. The machine has a wheel which turns the car's wheel and spins it to quite high revs. At the end of the test the machine tells the guy where to put the weights, just like a regular wheel balancer. It's very accurate. Sadly, nobody here seems to have the machine any more.

With regard to the black dot on wheels, where is the black dot in relation to the valve hole? Oposite? Or does it vary?

Originally Posted by franka

I think you have that confused with something else. Sliding or turning or rotating the tire on the rim or wheel is not force balancing, per se. Though that could be included if new or old tires are mounted.

I'm not saying that sliding/rotating is a force balance. I am saying that it is part of the procedure that the Hunter Force Balance machine is doing. BTW, have you seen one in action? It goes through some lengthy procedure there. Quite cool to watch.

mw

Somewhat related is this post today about E39 wheel specs being different than most:
> E39 (1997 - 2003) > will e46 rims fit e39?

Originally Posted by Solo12

Dennis and Qsilver make some very good points. But if for some reason you do really want to run e46 rims it may be possible. You need to address two things, the hub bores and the offset of the e46 wheels.

1. Bore: either elarge the 72.56mm e46 wheel bore to 74.1mm (at a machine shop) or use something like spacer adapters.
2. Offset: Make sure you can get the wheels and tires into e39 spec with spacers

lovemy 98 528i is correct they absolutley make adapters spacers that allow you to run 72.56mm wheels on 74.1mm hubs. H&R make some in 15mm and 20mm. I know Turner and ECS sell them and I am sure there are other sources as well. I think there was another company that used to make them too ARD maybe?

Here is what the H&R adapters look like


Turner
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-86...-5-series.aspx

ECS
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E39-530...eels/Adapters/

Adapters that convert e39 wheels (74.1 mm) to rest of the world bmw spec (72.56mm) also may exist.

Third Option
There is also the option of swapping in e60 wheel bearings/hubs and that will give you the more standard 72.56mm hubs. But in the case of e46 wheels you would still need to run spacers to get them to fit. I don't know much about this and whether it is a good idea or not, but someone did do it and write it up.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...hlight=e60+hub

Here are some references:
- BMW wheel specs (1) & BMW & replica wheel styles (1) (2) (3) (4) & the difference between cast vs forged wheels (1) & where to find the wheel markings for proper match mounting (1) & how to choose the right size wheel spacers (1) (2)

For the crosslinked record, this related thread was opened today:
> E39 (1997 - 2003) > How do you PROPERLY mount tires and balance wheels (can it possibly be done as a dIy)

road force balancing simulated the force of the road on the tire while spinning. if you have wide rims and thin sidewalls, get road-force balanced. The BMW dealer doing an alignment (for the 5th attempt) said it couldn't guarantee no shake on wheels with out it ( for $400!!!!). I had just purchased new rubber and balanced...was in for alignment. Told them to wait, I'd be right over. Drove the car to see if alignment and steering was strait. OK after 6th attempt. Took the car to one of 5 road force balances withing 5 miles of the BMW dealer and for $15/ wheel did RF balancing. They wanted to charge me 400 dollars. Wheel balancing! After not noticing my car was a S227A for the alignment settings. Anyway, everyone has those machines now with all the crazy wide wheels and skinny rubber.