Problem Balancing Tires

[steam_mill]

I have a 2000 OBW LTD.

At the 72K service, the brakes were checked and 'serviced'. Tires
were rotated and balanced.

Car never ran smoothly again. At 110 Kph (65 mph), I get a slight
wheel shimmy. Back to the dealer it went. He rotated balanced etc.
Conclusion, tires were shot. Balanced as best he could but told me
the tires were needing replacement anyway.

At 80K, replaced with Michelin Hydroedge. Shimmy/vibration were still
there but less. Back to the tire dealer. They were great (Kipling
Tire in Toronto).

Went back and to make a long story short, they balanced all tires 5
times. Shimmy still there. Thought maybe the tires were bad.

Put on a brand new set of Michelin symmetry. Same problem. Put the
Hydroedges back on.

Went to dealer thinking a bad bearing/cv joint etc. Car checks out
perfect. Tire changes were all torqued with a torque wrench.
Different rims at different points on the car. Car does not vibrate
only sterring. All drivetrain components appear to NOT be vibrating.

Everybody is at their wits end. I like the car but I can't drive it
like this.

Tire dealer went as far as to balance rim without tire and put tire
heavy spot against rim heavy spot etc.

Ideas?

 

[WRX Owner]

Hello:

I had a similar problem with my winter tires. The dealer that sold me the
tires tried 3 times to balance the wheels and I had always the vibrations.

I went to another shop and they saw that 2 tires were not put on the right
place on the rim.

If the tire is not "round" with the rim, you can balance the wheel as many
time as you want and it will not be okay.

Normally, a well-trained mechanic will see if the tire is properly place on
the rim when it has the wheel spinning for balancing. If the tire is not
proprerly installed, it will rotate the tire for 90 degrees on the rim and
see if it is okay.

Maybe it will help you.

Bye,
HH

 

[Edward Hayes]

There are coding dots on the sidewall of each tire. The dot is supposed to
be positioned just in line with the valve stem. eddie

 

[Gilles Gour]

I have a 2000 OBW LTD.

At the 72K service, the brakes were checked and 'serviced'. Tires
were rotated and balanced.

Car never ran smoothly again. At 110 Kph (65 mph), I get a slight
wheel shimmy. Back to the dealer it went. He rotated balanced etc.
Conclusion, tires were shot. Balanced as best he could but told me
the tires were needing replacement anyway.

At 80K, replaced with Michelin Hydroedge. Shimmy/vibration were still
there but less. Back to the tire dealer. They were great (Kipling
Tire in Toronto).

Went back and to make a long story short, they balanced all tires 5
times. Shimmy still there. Thought maybe the tires were bad.

Put on a brand new set of Michelin symmetry. Same problem. Put the
Hydroedges back on.

Went to dealer thinking a bad bearing/cv joint etc. Car checks out
perfect. Tire changes were all torqued with a torque wrench.
Different rims at different points on the car. Car does not vibrate
only sterring. All drivetrain components appear to NOT be vibrating.

Everybody is at their wits end. I like the car but I can't drive it
like this.

Tire dealer went as far as to balance rim without tire and put tire
heavy spot against rim heavy spot etc.

Ideas?

A mechanic friend of mine faced a similar problem with a Volvo. He
finally found out that the unbalance was caused by one of the front
brake disk. Just an idea...

 

[John Varela]

Ideas?

Some cars have a device called a steering damper. If your car has one,
perhaps that's where the problem lies.

 

[Edward Hayes]

You might also look at the outer CV joint. A small amount of clearance in a
rotating joint will cause vibration problems. Let us know what you find.
eddie
vel3.net...

 

[Ed Fortmiller]

Maybe the dealer has another car on the lot similiar to yours. If that car
has no vibration move the 4 tires/wheels from that car to yours and see if
there is a vibration in yours and with your tires on the dealer car see if
that car develops a vibration.

--
Ed Fortmiller | (e-mail address removed) | Hudson MA
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