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[BMWTT135i]

I never had winter tires before and just got the blizzaks LM 25 put on my OEM wheels, same size all around. I got the wheels balanced, but I still have a lot of vibration once I hit about 65mph. Do I need to get the wheels aligned or do winter tires have a harsher ride?
Also when driving on the dry road, should I take more precautions with these when driving? When I first got them, I felt like I was sliding all over the place.. not sure if this was just the break-in period.

Thanks in advance.

[AlienDNA]

If you have vibration you need to get them re-balanced.

[Maine1]

The winter tires will not have the same dry pavement grip as your OEM tires so take it a little easier on the corners until you get the feel of just how far you can go.

[JC Jai]

I was gonna ask the same question ! like exact same situation, yea you should get it rebalanced because that's exactly what happened to me. I had to get it rebalanced. In terms of the feel, wow i was scared driving it first time currently the road here is damp and yea a moderately hard corner (30-40 Km/h) the stability control light actually comes on briefly. I thought winter tires were suppose to make you feel safe ! or maybe that's how they are safe - scare you sh*tless so you don't drive fast.

and yea first time driving with winter tires on myself too

[BMWTT135i]

Originally Posted by AlienDNA

If you have vibration you need to get them re-balanced.

The shop said they balanced them over the weekend with no problem. Is it possible for them to mess up when balancing the wheels?

[HighQ]

Originally Posted by BMWTT135i

The shop said they balanced them over the weekend with no problem. Is it possible for them to mess up when balancing the wheels?

I have no clue haw wheels are balanced but I've seen people mess up really simple things...

[1HungryMan]

I just put mine on and after having the precision cornering of the runflats, winter snows are going to feel spongy and unstable in comparison. They may be balanced fine.

[dcafs]

I just had Hankook Icebears installed last week.

I have no issues with vibration and have had them up to 100 mph briefly. In the past, I have used cheaper garages with crappy equipment and always ended up with vibration.

I found a good private BMW mechanic who uses state of the art equipment.

The winter tires are not as sharp handling as the stock summer run-flats, but then again, they are designed to have bigger groves and softer compounds.

But boy!.....did the ride ever improve from those stock run-flats. In fact, come summer I think I will get a new set of non-runflats.

[AlienDNA]

Originally Posted by BMWTT135i

The shop said they balanced them over the weekend with no problem. Is it possible for them to mess up when balancing the wheels?

Absolutely. I have LM25s as my winters, and they are properly balanced with no vibration at all (thanks, Tire Rack!).

[gio]

Originally Posted by BMWTT135i

The shop said they balanced them over the weekend with no problem. Is it possible for them to mess up when balancing the wheels?

Yes, it happened to me. I had tires mounted and balanced recently and there was another vibration. A week later I took them to another shop and I was told that they were all out of balance, one of them out of balance by 3 ounces! (which is a lot)

[Bahuba]

There should not be any vibration. I assume you don't have snow stuck in the wheel wells?

The feel will depend on the winter tire. I have the Dunlop Winter Sport M3s on 225/18s and the dry handling is actually pretty good compared to the stock summer sport pkg. This is the best handling winter setup I've ever had. Note however, these are 18" perf. winter tires, so in theory I'm maybe trading off a bit of snow/ice perf. to get this. Haven't driven on snow yet. Time will tell if the trade-off was worth it...

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by Bahuba

There should not be any vibration. I assume you don't have snow stuck in the wheel wells?

The feel will depend on the winter tire. I have the Dunlop Winter Sport M3s on 225/18s and the dry handling is actually pretty good compared to the stock summer sport pkg. This is the best handling winter setup I've ever had. Note however, these are 18" perf. winter tires, so in theory I'm maybe trading off a bit of snow/ice perf. to get this. Haven't driven on snow yet. Time will tell if the trade-off was worth it...

The OP's LM25 tires are also speed rated (not multi-cell) "performance" winter tires and should be OK at higher speeds, like the M3. So it sounds like a bad balancing job.

Tom

[CoolToolGuy]

Originally Posted by gio

Yes, it happened to me. I had tires mounted and balanced recently and there was another vibration. A week later I took them to another shop and I was told that they were all out of balance, one of them out of balance by 3 ounces! (which is a lot)

I have seen freshly mounted tires slip on the rim. Think about it - a lot of soapy water and/or silicone is used to get them mounted, and then they get 'jerked around' in hard acceleration and braking. Check it for yourself - when you mount the tires, use a tire crayon or something else and mark the sidewall where the valve is, or mark the inside of both the rim and tire if you're concerned about looks. Drive it for a couple hundred miles and see where the marks are. If the tire shifts, the balance is affected. It's not a bad idea to have the balance checked after a month or 1,000 miles.

Have Fun,
Rick

[BMWTT135i]

Originally Posted by gio

Yes, it happened to me. I had tires mounted and balanced recently and there was another vibration. A week later I took them to another shop and I was told that they were all out of balance, one of them out of balance by 3 ounces! (which is a lot)

Originally Posted by Bahuba

There should not be any vibration. I assume you don't have snow stuck in the wheel wells?

The feel will depend on the winter tire. I have the Dunlop Winter Sport M3s on 225/18s and the dry handling is actually pretty good compared to the stock summer sport pkg. This is the best handling winter setup I've ever had. Note however, these are 18" perf. winter tires, so in theory I'm maybe trading off a bit of snow/ice perf. to get this. Haven't driven on snow yet. Time will tell if the trade-off was worth it...

Originally Posted by Tom K.

The OP's LM25 tires are also speed rated (not multi-cell) "performance" winter tires and should be OK at higher speeds, like the M3. So it sounds like a bad balancing job.

Tom

I took it to the shop today and told them the problem I was having (usually at around 65mph+); they will look at it this week. Hopefully, they will re-balance them and not try to lie to me and tell me there balanced. I haven't received any snow yet, where I live at, so the roads are dry.

[Duckw]

All new tires are a little slick for the first several hundred miles, and this tendency is only exaggerated with most snow tires because of the tread pattern and softer compound. I found my 17-inch Dunlop 3Ds somewhat slithery for the first 300 or so, even on dry pavement. Now they feel rock steady up to at least 90. Still, through a sharp turn on dry pavement, my 18-inch Dunlop Star Specs are good for at least 5 mph more than the 3Ds. The first time the winters surprised me (while testing their limits on dry blacktop), I was pleased to see that the determined rear-end grip of the summer tires had not entirely spoiled my reflexes. My hands had cranked in opposite lock before my consciousness had registered either the slide or the flashing indicator. A large empty parking lot's a great place to learn the limits.

[BMWTT135i]

I got the wheels re-balanced today. It turns out one wheel was off by .5 ounces. I took the car for a drive and had no vibrations at all.:thumbup: