[adi555]

Is there a specific schedule to follow for Wheel Alignment & Wheel Balance? Some say every 10k kms and some say it's not needed unless getting tyres changed. What are the symptoms if alignment and balancing is needed? Please suggest

[Skyline2.0]

Not according to BMW service schedule. I also personally dont do wheel alignment/balancing unless necessary.

Wheel balancing only needed whenever a tire is mounted on a rim. There shouldn't be any balance issues any other time unless wheel weights somehow fall off.

As for alignment, symptoms that might warrant this kind of service are: change in suspension parts that affect wheel positioning (e.g., changing your tie rod or struts, which can throw off camber/toe if they're adjustable), uneven tire wear, steering wheel is not dead on center when driving straight on a flat, non-curved road, wheel shimmy, steering wheel pulls unexpectedly, or hitting the curb or a pot hole hard enough to throw something out of spec.

Save your hard earned money for when it's really needed.

[00max00]

Wheel Alignment & Balancing are not maintenance items. You don't need an alignment unless you hit a large pothole and then the car starts pulling to one side, or you modified suspension components. Wheel re-balancing is even more unusual and the only time you need it is when you put on new tires. Some places sell you lifetime alignment which is really not needed unless you live in a shihole place like NYC.

[adi555]

Well, the city I'm in has a lot of bad roads I might get the wheel alignment checked because post recent tyre rotation I feel the steering is not centered (slightly). Also what to look out for wheel balancing issue? I know about the steering wobble but that I believe is the last stage. What about early signs?

[satz]

I think steering wheel vibration at certain speed range is the earliest warning of wheel balance issues. Could happen at around 80 - 100 kmh from my past experience. If you get wheel vibration at a full range of speed, then it's probably caused by something else rather than wheel balance.

[ttimbo]

Because of bad roads, I tend to get an alignment done annually
Balancing depend on whether there's any vibration felt through the steering wheel

[adi555]

Ok so I got the wheel alignment done for the first time during the ownership. Car has clocked 22.5k kms in 16 months.

I tried two places the very same day

1-Charged around $10
2-Charged around $50 (still cheap as compared to BMW official workshops quote of $120)

The first shop had only system to only measure front wheels as compared to the second shop which did all 4.

After my experience with the second shop the car actually feels a lot better, steering is smoother, ride got better. Does wheel alignment changes the car characteristics so much? Also what difference do both the reports suggest? The first shop said wheel alignment was slightly off and the second said the alignment was way off.

[oakey46]

From the pages you have shown above, it appears the Manufacturer Specification (see appropriate column headings) figures are possibly for different X1 variants, whereas I would have thought they would have been identical if data input was for the same X1 (F48) version.
That is something I would be inclined to get checked to be sure which settings are correct.

[adi555]

Both the shops had E84 (Previous gen X1) model configuration on their machines. None of them had for F48. But those guys said it's not different and shouldn't be a problem with the alignment process. What do you think?

[oakey46]

Originally Posted by adi555

Both the shops had E84 (Previous gen X1) model configuration on their machines. None of them had for F48. But those guys said it's not different and shouldn't be a problem with the alignment process. What do you think?

The X1 (F48) is a totally different vehicle so unlikely to be the same. Personally, I wouldn't risk anything other than to get the car to an authorised BMW dealer to have the settings checked properly and adjustments made as/if necessary. Only proviso is if anyone on the Forum has access to settings for both E84 and F48 that can be put up here for comparison.

[adi555]

Ya if anyone here could help with F48 wheel alignment specs?

[adi555]

Anyone?

[civciv]

I have a question about wheel alignment.
Is it necessary to align wheels if you change your RFT tyres with the normal ones?

[Skyline2.0]

Originally Posted by civciv

I have a question about wheel alignment.
Is it necessary to align wheels if you change your RFT tyres with the normal ones?

Typically, no alignment needed from RFT to non-RFT if you're sticking to the same tire spec.

[abhi_X1_F48]

Hi Adi,

I have had a similar experience with my 2021 sDrive xLine X1.

The front tyres lost tread within first 15000 km, while the rear ones still looked like they had some more kms left in them.

I visited an MRF authorised store to look for replacement, the guy there recommended tyre rotation so i went with it.

He didn't have the alignment specs for F48 but spoke to some supervisor of his who confirmed that we go ahead with the specs for E84.

Though the car had been driven straight out of the showroom at 000008 km odometer reading by me, i was surprised when the MRF guy said that the original alignment was way off.

Anyways, i went ahead with the new alignment, it has been 2000 km since and the tyres seem to be holding up well.

I WOULD REQUEST you to share the images of the alignment specs in this post of yours so that i may compare them against mine.

Also, have you explored for a replacement?

Thanks

[jrveron]

E84 it's a whole different animal. I can't believe they share the same wheel alignment specs.

Also, remember that the F48 M-Sport is 10mm lower than regular X-line, so they have different specs, or at least BMW told me.

Regarding wheel alignment, I had terrible experiences with tire suppliers. I bought the first tires with the biggest Pirelli reseller, and they did wheel balancing and alignment as part of their service. The car felt off right away. I went back, they did it again with another configuration and again felt bad—nothing like before tire replacement.

So, I went to BMW. The entire wheel alignment was bad, off by a whole degree in some wheels. Unbelievable. After that, the car drove amazingly! Like fresh new. It felt "well planted," like glued to the road, balanced, with sharp direction. You can't miss that feeling.

Since then, I do wheel balancing and alignment with BMW every ~8,000kms (or lower, if needed). As you can see, I consider this a maintenance item.

But of course, it will depend on how "sensible" you are to your car. When something is wrong, I can definitely feel it. Some people don't, and some others don't even care. And I'm not saying that is bad (until it becomes a safety issue); I'm just making my point: it will depend on how "sensible" you are to your car... and ultimately, how much money you want to expend, haha.