I just upgraded to 18inch wheels, they were 18X8 +28 offset, when i left the shop they rode just fine, but apparently 2 days later i was driving down the road at 45mph and started to feel the steering wheel violently shaking, i hadnt felt these vibrations before, and now they continue when i reach speeds of 40+, what should i do? I was told these wheels were hub-centric, but i cant figure out what else would cause it to vibrate, on smoother roads there is slight/no vibrating...

 

You may have thrown a balance weight on one of your front wheels. Have it checked.

 

my cousin have the same experience before, the cause of the steering wheel vibrating really badly can cause by the wheels balancing, or the alignment of the car is not perfect. If it is still vibrating, then it should be the wheels is wobble or it can be said the wheels are defective, so pls check it quickly before it's too long and you can not refund the wheels. SO good luck.

 

balance weight? im not sure what that means, is it something electronic? Also, I have not gotten an alignment yet since installation, could that fix the problem?

 

the alignment could fix the problem or one of ur front rims might be defective, but most likely its the wheel alignment

 

Could they have not catched the fact that the wheel was defective when they (discounttire) mounted the new tire on the wheel and balanced it before installing them on my car? is it possible they saw the defect and didnt report it? Also, i was wondering if it was defective wouldnt it vibrate at all speeds and all road surfaces? if im on a smooth road there is very little to no vibration of the steering wheel..

 

It is definately not an alignment, either you threw a wheel weight or a wheel is loose. I had a guy once forget to tighten down on a wheel after rotating, it caused one hell of a vibration. Luckily I caught it quick enough and the only damage was to the studs which were stripped from the wheel moving back and forth.

 

If it were a defect in one of the wheels - it would have caused the vibrations from the start..not developed over time. Take the car back to discount tire and have them recheck the balance on your wheels. I agree with the statement above that one of the wheels probably threw a weight!
...or you could have hit a large pothole or something and bent a rim..
Either way take it back to the tire shop that did the installation and have them check it out.

 

Sounds to me like you have a flat spot in one of your tires, mine did that when I had one..

 

What does it mean if the wheel threw a weight, i dont get it?

 

Your vibration is most likely due to a balancing weight. On other cars you typically see them "clipped on" but on MB's they are attached in another way (don't know how). The fact that it only happens at certain speeds is a clear indication that you just need to have them balanced. Discount tire most likely is not capable of balancing them correctly....don't waste your money with an alignment unless your car is pulling to one side while on the road or if you're having uneven tire wear.

 

So whats my solution? I am going to go have them try to rebalance the wheels now, but if that doesnt work where should i take them to balance the wheels?

 

Take the car to the shop that installed the tires. They need to take the wheels off and make sure they are balanced (on a balance machine, road force balance preferred but not all shops have the right machine). Wheel weights are small pieces of lead either clipped on the edge of the rim or adhesive backed and stuck on the rim. You may have also bent a rim. Discount tire is fine to do this all. Still confused or not sure what to do? PM me and I'll refer you to a buddies shop in Garland who can road force balance the wheels and check alignment.

 

Okay so i went to discounttire early this morning and had them check the balancing, apparently both tires on the right side where slightly unbalanced, the rebalanced them correctly, the fronts needed .5 oz of weights and the back .75 oz... The steering wheel vibration has been greatly reduced, but there still exists a mild vibration at 65mph+, im wondering now if i should have the wheels aligned, since there is a slight pull to the right, and the steering wheel is slightly tilted to the right, will this eliminate the remainder of vibration or should i have my dealer take a look at it to examine if theres any parts needing change... thanks guys, you've been great help!

 

Pulling to one side is a clear indication of needing an alignment, especially if your steering wheel is not centered. I wonder why all of this would be needed simply because you replaced your wheels and tires. Could you possibly have purchased deffective wheels and tires (maybe bent)?

 

What brand of wheels are they? Are you sure that they are hub-centric? Do you have pictures of them?

What brand and size of tire are you running?

 

Pulling can also be caused by an improperly manufactured tire, which can also cause the vibration issue you mention. Since the problem didn't appear until you replaced your tires/wheels, this would be my prime candidate for the cause.

First, make sure that all four tires are the same size! Don't laugh - this happened to me years ago, with a car that changed lanes when you got into the throttle!

I would next search out a tire shop with a Hunter Road Force balancing machine and have them balance and check the tire/wheel assembly for being out-of-round and/or having some other manufacturing defect. Go here: http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/index.htm for a list of Road Force balancing equipment in your area.

The Hunter Road Force machine is invaluable in diagnosing equipment that has problems, which sure sounds to be the case for your car. Only after taking this step would I pursue an alignment check, which is liable to be expensive and of somewhat doubtful accuracy.

Good luck, and don't give up - it'll be fixable in the end!

 

I bought Replica Alloys from discounttire, they are, and i say this jokingly "the most reputable replicas on the market," in terms of defect, the wheels were checked and theres no defect, for tires i went with ContinentalProContact 245-40-18s all around... the wheels/tires have been balanced perfectly now, there is no wobble and no vibration when on the machine, on a side note I felt these vibrations in the the steering (very slight) when i had my stock 16s on there.. now i have been driving the car and its smooth as silk, theres only one highway which is all "lines" what i mean by that is its not a smooth surface by any means, there is where i am feeling the slightest bit of vibration, other than that the car is smoother than it was with my stocks... let me know what you guys think, maybe i have just reached the paranoid state...

btw: what tire pressure do i need to run on these tires, front&back?

thanks guys...

 

Can you hook me up with your buddie's shop in garland too? Been having issues and am about to give up on Discount Tire. Thanks !

 

Im running out of patience and options... i drove the car today and i still feel the steering is "weird" and too responsive to the road... i was wondering, if there is indeed a defect in my wheels or tires, wouldnt the hunter road force balancing machine (discounttire uses it) show the defiency, how could it properly balance in the first place... also, could this be an engine mount failure? i dont know what im going to do but i cant stand this anymore...

 

Now that is confusing as h3ll. Most want responsiveness.
Are you saying that you want something DEAD? Are you used to something DEAD?
No flame, but maybe you need to go over to GM, Buick or Caddy - floating boats for the most part.

 

Thats not intention, i am refering to the fact that im feeling the road vibrations on my steering wheel, the steering continues to vibrate, it doesnt feel right, i even put my hand on the passenger seat while driving and i felt the seat vibrating too..

 

After 49,500 miles on my car, and about 35,000 miles of having a twitch, and numerous times to the dealer to resolve this issue, where I was sent back stating it was a tires issue ( OEM Conti's, PZero Neros, PS2's) and now another new set of tires, twitch is still there. Each time tires were road forced balanced. The car is aligned and runs straight.

Fed-up I took my car to the dealer one last time on Monday before the warranty is over. They agreed there is an issue now.

I was advised they tried several remedies with no luck, and now they believe its a "drive line" (not sure what that is) issue. They are 1st going to replace the transmission mounts and then the "u-joints" if needed.

Hopefully this will resolve the my "twitch" hopefully shed light on yours too.