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[02rsxpilot]

Hi All,

Just put Dunlop Direzza ZIIs on, 225/40 225/35 typical sizing on my 261 wheels, and I was getting a new vibration on the way to work this morning, mostly at freeway speeds (did not feel it on city streets). I checked for strut rub in the parking lot and there's plenty of clearance, so I don't think it is that.

The tires are definitely noisier, but this vibration is the only thing I'm worried about. It isn't a big vibration like a wheel way out of balance, but more of a consistent, almost smooth vibration that I can feel in the throttle and the steering wheel, but not in a good, "I have more road feel" kind of way. Has anyone experienced a similar issue with brand new Dunlops? The car is pulling just slightly to the right, so worst case scenario I could have the alignment checked if that might be a culprit, but it's a pretty minor pull.

Just want to make sure everything is as it should be before I hit the track on Monday.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[MightyMouseTech]

Sounds like a tire out of round causing excessive roadforce.

[02rsxpilot]

Boy, hoping that isn't the case, as I'd need to get proof and get a new tire (or tires) from TireRack and get them mounted before Monday.

One thing I will check when I get home is the torque on the bolts. Wouldn't be the first time a shop over-tightened or variably-tightened them, although I did watch the guy use a torque wrench on all.

If I can clarify the feel of the vibration at all, I'd call it a buzz. It's similar to an electric razor's vibration in your hand and under your foot, but just slightly more muted.

[Kgolf31]

Brand new tires?

Perfectly normal, seriously. They sound like a 4x4 Jeep with oversized tires.

As you wear the tire in, and get the mold release off it'll calm down.

[02rsxpilot]

Thanks Kgolf. That's what I was hoping. Never felt it before on other cars after switching tires, even my Acura going to RS-3s, but I figured it may just be a break-in issue. Don't like to take any chances on the track though. I'll keep an eye on it, check the torque on the lugs and see if it gets any better over the next few days.

[VMRWheels]

To me, that sounds like a Road Force issue, but tires all break in differently, so I could be wrong. Hopefully the vibrations you're experience get better!

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by 02rsxpilot

Thanks Kgolf. That's what I was hoping. Never felt it before on other cars after switching tires, even my Acura going to RS-3s, but I figured it may just be a break-in issue. Don't like to take any chances on the track though. I'll keep an eye on it, check the torque on the lugs and see if it gets any better over the next few days.

I freaked out when I drove on mine. I thought I was driving up against the strut, it was that loud.

RS3s are nothing compared to ZIIs.

I don't DD on the ZIIs, but I do drive to restaurants and other places during autox events when they are mounted, and the ZIIs have calmed down a considerable amount. Now they are just a tad louder than RS3s.

I don't know what type of climate you're seeing now, but they seemed to get louder as the temperatures decreased (around 40F)

[02rsxpilot]

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

To me, that sounds like a Road Force issue, but tires all break in differently, so I could be wrong. Hopefully the vibrations you're experience get better!

Thanks. I'm going to pay close attention to it over the weekend and check a few things while I swap brake pads. I don't think it's a major issue whatever it is.

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

I freaked out when I drove on mine. I thought I was driving up against the strut, it was that loud.

RS3s are nothing compared to ZIIs.

I don't DD on the ZIIs, but I do drive to restaurants and other places during autox events when they are mounted, and the ZIIs have calmed down a considerable amount. Now they are just a tad louder than RS3s.

I don't know what type of climate you're seeing now, but they seemed to get louder as the temperatures decreased (around 40F)

That's good to know. That's exactly what I thought at first, not really the noise, but the vibration, I was worried something was rubbing. But since I know that isn't the case, I feel better about assuming it's just a break-in issue.

It's like 90 degrees this week in NorCal, so the ZIIs should be loving it.

[02rsxpilot]

Checked torque on the lugs last night. Nothing terribly out of whack, but I re-did them all to 90 ft. lbs. anyway.

Drive in today felt like maybe a 10% improvement in terms of vibration. Tires have about 100 miles on them now. Thinking they'll continue to improve like KGolf said. Overall feeling much better about tracking them now that I've ruled out a couple of the more serious possible issues.

[02rsxpilot]

Another update. Washed the car in advance of the track day and noticed there were as many as 9 weights on each wheel for balance. Decided to make the tire shop re-check the balance, which they did today, and found that all four were out of balance, the worst being the rear right at 1.5 ounces off.

That adjustment, plus more miles on the ZIIs, plus dialing in the tire pressure myself, plus checking the F30 dust shields and seeing they were rubbing with the ball joints (and fixing that), seems to have cured the vibration issue for the most part.

I haven't hit sustained freeway speeds yet, but will have a nice two hour drive up to Willows tomorrow to see if the issue is entirely resolved.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by 02rsxpilot

Another update. Washed the car in advance of the track day and noticed there were as many as 9 weights on each wheel for balance. Decided to make the tire shop re-check the balance, which they did today, and found that all four were out of balance, the worst being the rear right at 1.5 ounces off.

That adjustment, plus more miles on the ZIIs, plus dialing in the tire pressure myself, plus checking the F30 dust shields and seeing they were rubbing with the ball joints (and fixing that), seems to have cured the vibration issue for the most part.

I haven't hit sustained freeway speeds yet, but will have a nice two hour drive up to Willows tomorrow to see if the issue is entirely resolved.

Make sure you put some aluminum tape or whatever its called over the weights so they stay on

[02rsxpilot]

Well, there's still an issue somewhere. May get the alignment checked. It feels to me like just the right front toe is off. If that doesn't solve it, TireRack informed me they recommend road force balancing on a Hunter machine, which will say if the tire is out of round. They will cover up to $25 per tire to do this. I'm not sure what the local discount tire place uses in terms of equipment. If the tire is out of round, Dunlop's warranty will cover it for replacement as long as I haven't gone through 2/32nds of tread yet.

Worst case scenario, the issue doesn't go away and I have to resort to replacing suspension components...perhaps with M3 ones...

[BGR]

Any updates? I'm considering ZIIs from tire rack.

[Freon]

Originally Posted by BGR

Any updates? I'm considering ZIIs from tire rack.

It's not a problem with the tires. Go ahead and buy them. They're great performance tires.

[02rsxpilot]

Originally Posted by BGR

Any updates? I'm considering ZIIs from tire rack.

I've concluded that the buzz/vibration is the tread. It has gotten better over time but the tires still do not feel like they roll smooth, and certainly not quietly.

At this point in time, I would not buy this tire again for dual duty. If I don't have track wheels by the time I need new rubber again, I'll back down to Michelin PSS or try a different extreme summer tire with better noise ratings.

[Southjersey128]

If your wheels required so much weight the tires should probably been rotated on the rim so that there wasn't such a heavy spot on them. It sucks to have to break the tire back down and do this, but a decent tire shop should do it.

[02rsxpilot]

Yet another update, because I'm not sure my last post is fair now. After a 2nd track day, the tires were much quieter and more pleasant on the three hour drive home than they were before. The buzz appears to be gone along with most of the noticeable tread growl.

Do I believe a tire should require 2,000+ miles and five hours of track time before it behaves properly? No. But if it continues to perform the way it did last night, then I can't complain going forward. And it's damn sticky on the track.

[dcaron9999]

Im getting a square set of 255/35R18 Z2's installed tomorrow on my 135i. Should be awesome on the track and decent on the streets.

[dcaron9999]

I finally got a squared set of 255/35R18 Dunlop Direzza ZII installed on four BMW OE style 261 RIMS. Feels good to be running on fresh rubber. My worn out and mismatched tires were getting nasty, tramlined badly, were loud, and harsh. Loving the ZII's so far, even on the street. Getting a faint howl over the general road noise at highway speeds. Its really not that bad, and I expected it to be much worse. Ive only used Extreme High Perf tires on this car, so must be used to the "white noise" at highway speeds.

Must be the thicker layer of fresh rubber but I noticed more isolation from road harshness, and tramlining is gone.

Going from 225/40R18 to 255/35R18 in the front, provides a shorter and stiffer sidewall. I turned down the front camber by half a degree (sitting at about -2.5* now).

Will be driving them on the track soon, and monitoring tire temps across the tread to figure out optimal camber settings.