wheelie? that did it? (last one, promise!)

so, after all the hype and money and shit the “my bmw shakes like a shitty carnival ride” thing came down to one thing…

…the hubs.

and

so, they have a difference of 1.5mm, and while you would figure torquing the living fuck out of the lugs would compensate for this, it doesn’t – because the hub is what centers it, so even if you torque it down you’re still not centering it up, so i needed these:

thinner than a credit card, and only five bucks from discount tire – snapped right into the wheels, i put ’em back on, and could drive highway speeds again with no issue.

here’s what i think is kinda fucked up – the folks that sold me the wheels didn’t mention i’d need these. now, if you go to tirerack.com, which is one of those sites i’d been told to use but didn’t read the “what comes with your wheels” section i would have known needed lugs and these rings, ’cause both came with the purchase from the site but NEITHER came with mine. granted, they’re over $100 more, but i spent $65 on the shit and got a lot more than $35 worth of hassle.

so the speed shop in st. louis didn’t mention i needed ’em…but neither did the wheel / tire shop i brought them to so i could get ’em mounted and balanced (which will probably end my relationship with them since they also didn’t balance ’em worth a shit) but then the place that DID properly mount and balance ’em didn’t seem to notice nor did the alignment place that ultimately fixed my suspension (but wheels and tires aren’t their gig to the point they don’t even have a balance machine so i can’t say shit). but describing them to my boss he diagnosed it right away, and within twenty-four hours me and my boy ron-ron were jacking my car up in the rain and working it…and all of a sudden i could go sixty in school zones* again!

* – it should be noted that while this happened, it happened at six at night on a saturday when school wasn’t in session and the posted speed on that road is fifty, so it wasn’t as bad as it sounds nor were any kids really in danger…