[B4LL3N]

Hey Guys,

My first few months of E92 ownership have proven very difficult since I’ve had to learn some lessons in modification the hard way (I’m sure many of you can relate). All of which have been mistakes made on my part by no fault of the car itself.

The issue that I’ve been dealing with the last month or so has to do with my upgrade from 17” style 188’s to 19” style 230’s. I bought a used set from a E90 Post member hoping to save some money and received them in to find that they are not only replicas (was not stated in ad, should’ve requested pictures from the back), but that one of the fronts had been extremely bent which caused a massive vibration in my steering after installation. After a few weeks of it driving me out of my mind I ordered two new actual OEM 230’s on Ebay one of which was off of a new car, the other refurbished. After an additional valve stem nightmare the new front wheels are on (putting the slight color variation aside), however my steering does not feel as crisp as it did with the original 188’s. The tire shop where I had the new wheels installed claimed that the refurbished wheel had a slightly bent lip but ended up balancing to their satisfaction (didn’t look too severe to me either) before being mounted on the car.

I’m wondering if this may have something to do with either adding 2 inches to my rim diameter (width is the same) with very low profile tires or the new all-season tires themselves (Continental Extreme Contacts). I think the X drive may be playing a role in this as well.

Has anyone else experienced similar problems? I absolutely love this car and am just dying to get my crisp non-vibrating steering back. Modifying BMWs is certainly not for the faint of heart or wallet.

Thanks for reading, any feedback would be much appreciated!

Bryan