Just mounted a set of 18" wheels about 50 miles ago and have a question. I'm getting a little shimmy right at 70MPH that I can feel through the steering wheel. It smooths out around 75. Are the larger wheels prone to this sort of thing, or should I take them back to where I had the rubber mounted and balanced and have them re-check the balance? In case it matters, here are the wheels and tires I'm using: Alt 252, 18": http://www.lakeshorewheelandtire.com/custom/alt-wheels/AT-252-Silver.shtml Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110 Thanks!
Sounds like a balance problem. However, did you have an alignment performed recently. Incorrect front toe angle can cause a shimmy at speed. My car had exactly the same shimmy at 70 that would smooth out around 75 and it was caused to the toe angle.
Hmmm... I was aligned a few months ago, but with Ohio roads who knows if I'm out of alignment by now? My smaller webspokes had no shimmy at all at any speed, so I suppose it's possible that I'm just slightly out of alignment or need the toe angle adjusted and I didn't notice on the smaller wheels, yes? How did you solve? More toe-in or toe-out? Thanks! -M
Balance, alignment most likely will not give you what you are feeling. If you want move the fronts to the back & see if your vibration changes. Who mounted & balanced your tires? They should be willing to make it right.
Another cause could be the hub centering rings. Check if they're loose, worn, or not seating correctly. I had plastic rings for a while, and if the wheel wasn't perfectly balanced it would vibrate on the highway. After getting a set of metal rings, no problems whatsoever.
/\ /\ You beat me to it on the hubcentric rings. If your new wheels don't have them, I seem to remember that Aaron at Outmotoring has a selection of rings. The second thing I thought of.... You might check the mounting face on the disc brake hubs. If these new wheels are recently replacing your stock MINI wheels, make sure the contact area between the new rims and the disc brake hubs are clean and flat. Sometimes the old wheels will develop a slightly raised rust pattern around the old contact patch on the hub. Chances are the mounting surface of the new wheels has a different pattern that makes contact to the hub. This can cause the new wheels not to seat perfectly flat when you tighten the wheel bolts on the new wheels.
I would still vote for something other than alignment such as balance or hub ring. But my similar issue was caused by alignment. One of the front wheels was toed out more than the other. The toe out caused the one tire to scrub arcoss the road but I only really felt it at certain speeds and even on certain road surfaces. I could always feel it on the same section of road on the way to work. I do run -2.0 degrees front camber which would make the tire scrub on the inside edge, probably making the condition even more noticable.
I'm with the concepts of balance and hub-centric rings. Does it make noise or shimmy at all at anyother speeds?
I used Aaron's nice hub-centric rings, which are made from aluminum and which I had to tap into place with a rubber mallet - I don't think they're the issue, but when I have the wheels off for the re-balancing I'll look at them and see if there's any indication of crookedness or anything. Someone on MO suggested it could be the control arm bushings... I dunno... I only have 30k miles on the car, and those miles are fairly gentle (I don't thrash the car). Chuck: Firestone on N. High near Worthington balanced them on a friend's recommendation. They said they'd be happy to re-balance them with no hint of resistance. And no other noises or movement at any other speed, just if I get upwards of 70 or so.
Contrary to popular opinion, i vote "no" on hubcentric rings. i ran my track wheels with no rings on the rear, at speeds over 125 mph, and never had any handling issues. i guess toe is or or hub/wheel face interference.
Like was mentioned a quick check would be to rotate the tire and see how that goes, then I'd vote for a rebalance...
Glad Firestone will step up to the plate & re-do them. I'd ask the manager who is best on their balance machine & have them do it. Mistakes happen, we're all human. I just had my control arm bushings replaced by Helix. They were basically dust. I had zero tire balance issues. I agree at your mileage I bet they are fine.
Interesting development... Arrived at Firestone this morning to have the wheels rebalanced and the manager told me that they had a new spindle for the balancing tool on order, as other customers had complained of a higher-speed wobble the exact same as mine. He asked I come back next week after they have the chance to renew the balancing rig, or he said I could go to any other Firestone and he'd call over for me to do it for free. I decided to wait since I don't drive all that much. I gotta say I'm impressed with their honesty - I know lots of other places that would have just shrugged and rebalanced them on the (likely off-kilter) tool, figuring it was "good enough". Because of this, they'll have to take the time to rebalance all 4 wheels, but they went up a notch in my book of opinions on garages, and I'm telling everyone here. Wish all places were as honest. Will let you know what happens after the rebalancing is done. Thanks!
Nice to hear you found an honest shop. They are out there & when you find them treat them well. Bet you are glad you didn't spring for an unnecessary alignment.
Yeah, I figured I'd start with the obvious stuff first (the balance) and go up from there. If balancing does not fix it, I'll go to an alignment, and from there to the control arm bushings (already researching how to get the old bushings out without access to a lift, blowtorch and pneumatic tools). -M
Today I was at Discount Tire getting some tires mounted up. While talking with the techs the subject of road-force balancing came up. They told me that anything 18" or larger really needs to be road force balanced if one wanted a smooth ride. Might want to read up on road-force balancing. Helix did mine at the dragon in a circus tent. Not sure what tools were used, but it was not on a lift. They are highly skilled & able to work miracles. FWIW I highly doubt those bushings are bad at your current mileage. You car was fine until those new wheels went on. It's the wheel/tire package. My money is on balance.