My brother just got 18" BBS CV's on his 2005 S40 T5 AWD, and after mounting + balance + Alignment, when I was driving behind him, the wheels seemed to be wobbling. Any ideas on what might've gone wrong?

 

If the wheel appears to be wobbling it usually means the rim is out of round. Meaning there's a bend in it somewhere. If your brother doesn't feel anything in the cabin then that means the shop just counter balanced the bend. Take off the rim and take a good close look at it.

Same thing happened on my old Golf. I wouldn't of had any idea, but my brother mentioned that one of my wheels seemed a little shaky on the highway, I told him that he was crazy as I felt zero shaking. Sure enough the rim had a bend in it that I never would have known existed otherwise.

 

^^^

 

This could happen to brand new BBS rims?

I'm thinking that they might've not put in the hubcentric rings, or in improperly. I called them back a while ago and asked them if they put them in but the guy who put my brothers rims on left for the night. I'm going in tomorrow to find out.

If they threw the rings away, I'm gonna throw a shit fit.

 

Check the lugnuts first.

 

AFAIK, missing hub centric rings wouldn't make the wheel appear wobbly. What they would do would make a very shaky ride.

But it's worth a shot... Also, like Saki mentioned (and I just assumed) make sure the lug nuts are torqued properly.

Also, how much of a wobble are we talking here? Couple millimeters or half an inch?

 

 

Aftermarket wheels, regardless of the quality/price are common to have bends in them when new - one of the reasons I've never been a fan of aftermarket wheels.

Like it was just mentioned, the chances of huncentric rings causing a visible vibration are slim, their primary job is to distribute the weight of the vehicle evenly on the hub and not on the studs. Their secondary purpose is to align the wheels to the hub and not the studs, which have a greater chance of being untrue.

Was there any shake felt inside the car? If not and they are properly torqued and the hubcentric rings are installed it is nothing to worry about, my

 

Well, I just got back, first off, the guy who installed my wheels yesterday did NOT know what he was doing. He put the retaining clip first, then hub ring. That, and also, there was a shit load of corrosion on the hub area, which wasn't letting the ring sit properly.

Car drives great now.

 

Well at least it was something simple. Shame people don't know what they are doing these days.