I own a 1999 E38. I need to have an all wheel alignment. Can any member recommend a competent garage or dealer in the Everett, Wa area who can do this. The car has been lowered so not much clearance between fender lip and top of the tire. Thanks Frank
I think we may have one or two on here at least in the NW, maybe they'll see & have a suggestion - if no one pipes up, check your local chapter website for contacts - https://www.bmwcca.org/forum/index.php?threads/looking-for-a-repair-shop-start-here.10432/ Welcome to the club & forums!
MGarrision Thanks, since I live in Everett I will check out Z-Sport. I do all my own service I just cant seem to solve this shimmy problem. Replaced all components in front end and rear with the exception of the steering box and axels still no joy.
If you're not on a staggered setup, did you try swapping front & rear wheels? That's not a definitive wheel-balance rule-out, but it's something relatively easy to do, and is useful in case it's a tire issue since in most instances it's unlikely some tire issue bad enough to cause a major shimmy would be both front and rear (unless you hit a major pothole with both one side's front & rear) - or, just have the front wheels checked &/or rebalanced.
Thanks for getting back to me. YEs the car is staggered and lowered. I have aftermarket BMW rims BUT I do not have centric rings installed. It seems this issues can become worse or less so any time I removed replace tires after service. This issue has me puzzled ….it seems by deduction if all bushings and ball joints replaced the only thing it can be (in my mind) are tires rims...tires are ok have had them before this problem replaced front rims thinking that might be the issue slight difference but I am wondering about the lack of centric hub might this be the issue?
I wouldn't know definitively, but I'd guess without proper adapters/hub rings, it would be extremely difficult to ensure wheels are absolutely centered. The center bore for most BMW rims for a long time was the same as your E38, (72.56mm), the exception being late-model rims (smaller center bore & 5x112 bolt pattern, so those wouldn't even bolt up) & E39 or X5 rims (74.1mm) - so, if you have BMW rims that have the larger center bore, they must be either E39 or X5 rims, and some centering rings would be recommended. Otherwise, any BMW rim that bolts up (having 5x120 bolt pattern) should have the same center bore for your car - if they don't, I don't know how they could be factory rims. Center-bore info is about 1/2-way down the page: https://www.bimmerworld.com/About-Us/Wheel-Info-Tech/
