Hi

After parking my 300SEL up for 6 months, I finally decided to take it out for a good long run.

I noticed a vibration that starts to come through the steering, and then you can feel it through the whole car, as if the whole thing starts to shake. I changed the steering damper, and had the wheels balanced, but its still the same.

The vibrations start at 55mph (through the steering wheel), and then get bad at 70-80mph and then real bad at 90-120mph.

This problem was never there before, and the car always used to run real smooth. Could this be that the tyres have gone out of shape because it has been parked up for so long?

Thanks

Peter

Possible flat spotting of tires. Did you increase tire pressure during storage? During storage the tires should be increased to the maximum placarded cold pressure or 40 psi, whichever is greater.

You should have the tires analysed by a Hunter 9700.

Go to www.gsp9700.com and you should be able to find one in your area. If the tires still have more than half tread depth, you might be able to get an adjustment from the manufacturer on a new set.

Duke

Yes, I strongly suspect flat spotting, but you did not say how far you drove it. I have several cars that set up for extended periods and my office is 89 miles away. In my experience it takes close to 100 miles on a hot day to heat up the tires enough to do away with flat spots. You might give it a good run before putting them on the 9700.

Hope this helps,

BMWobbly has a service bulletin warning that tires should only be balanced after a tire warming test drive on the freeway, so that these flat spots be reduced before balancing the low profile problem cars.

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

Peter,

I'll go along with all of the above and add a note. How old and worn are the tires? My experience has been that when tires get really old and aren't used much they go to pot. Michelins in particular are famous for the problem. I have seen old old tires with almost new tread act like you say. Also when Michelins get worn down they ride rougher.

Good luck,
Peter

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