IcemanG17

I was cleaning & rejexing my wheels today (my bi-annual plan) & I noticed that my passenger front wheel does not turn as easy as the drivers side......if you give the wheel a good spin it makes only 1/2 a turn or so...vs a full turn or more on the drivers side??? I've noticed that my gas mileage is down slightly.....this could be it? Whats a good way to check for sure......bull the caliper & pads and watch the brake pistons move???

Is there an easier way?

StratfordShark

Pull out the pads first and recheck - it may just be how the pads were left on rotor after last stop.

If one wheel still moving less freely then check bearing tightness after removing the dustcap - the hub clamp nut on mine was adjusted far too tight compared with the other side when I checked recently.

laufenOutLoud

I also had this problem--noticed a slight drag on my driver's side wheel on my 1980 euro S. I, too, backed off the nuts on both hubs are retightened to spec (which I can't really remember what spec is but it's a little bit different for my 1980 and my 1985 by the book). Both sides had a noticeable difference afterwards. IMO you wouldn't notice a fuel mileage decrease unless you had a *bad* drag--in the case of the brakes you'd either feel a pull or notice the heat and/or smell. And by noticeable difference fuel mileage-wise I mean +-1mpg.

JWise

Iceman,

I had a caliper stick on my M3. It was quite noticable. Mine pulled like it was out of alignment, lost about 4-5 mpg, acceleration was noticably slower, and to a degree the car was self-braking. YMMV.

IcemanG17

Maybe it was just being moody that day? I'll still pull the caliper and test its movement just to be sure!