Steering wheel shake at around 50 to 60 mph
05-22-2008, 11:30 PM
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2003 E55
Steering wheel shake at around 40 to 60 mph
I put 20's on my car and now when I hit about to 50 to 60 mph the steering wheel is shaking a little bit. I got the tires rebalance and they said the balance is good. I called the guy who I got the rims from and told him but, I think hes trying to ignore my phone call. Anyways, for those who have 20's on your car has this problem happen to you guys. thanks
Last edited by bmdavid79; 05-23-2008 at 12:48 AM.
05-23-2008, 09:23 AM
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Audi S4
If the only thing you changed was wheels/tires (i.e. no spacers), then the tires are either out of balance or a wheel is bent. I would try taking it to smaller, reputable tire shop (not Discount, Big O, etc) and have them check out the wheels for bends and rebalance the tires. That would diagnose whether it's a bent wheel or a bad tire balance.
05-23-2008, 09:44 AM
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E-ZGO 53hp., 1999 E 430 sport, 2004 E 55, 2008 Tahoe LTZ on 24"s
I put 20's on my car and now when I hit about to 50 to 60 mph the steering wheel is shaking a little bit. I got the tires rebalance and they said the balance is good. I called the guy who I got the rims from and told him but, I think hes trying to ignore my phone call. Anyways, for those who have 20's on your car has this problem happen to you guys. thanks
So many possibilities,
My car sits quite a bit (months) and I get flat spots that take about 100 miles to work out, I get the same shake that you have until the tires have been warmed up and used a bit. You may want to run in your NEW tires (get a few hundred miles / heat cycles on them) then if you still have the shake, then
Try to get a "Road Force" balance first.
Then try different pressures.
05-23-2008, 10:47 AM
#4
This is definitely where to start to find the source of the vibration. Find a shop that has a Hunter GSP9700 Road Force balancer, and more importantly, a tech who actually knows how to use all of its capabilities and is willing to do so. Many shops that have this balancer either don't have properly trained techs to use it to its full capabilities, or simply won't because they are unable to charge enough for the service due to market constraints.
The GSP9700 can measure the radial force variation ("RFV") of the wheel and tire assembly, and if the measurement is out of spec (the GSP9700 allows an RFV of 26 as its standard setting, but the operator can set a lower threshold if he wishes), then the operator will take runout meausrements of the rim in order to determine the source of the excess RFV. The runout measurements will easily determine whether or not the rim is bent (runout is best measured on a bare rim but most shops won't do this because it requires extra time to dismount the tire). If a bent rim is suspected, insist on a bare rim runout measurement. Also, the design of some rims preclude being able to take external runout measurements. If the rim is bent, which wouldn't be surprising in the case of a 20" rim due to the extremely low tire profiles they require, then send the rim out for repairs.
If the rim is okay, then have the shop "forcematch" the tire to the rim after taking the runout measurement of the bare rim to achieve the lowest overall RFV. A knowledgeable tech will know how to do the forcematch. If after forcematching on a good rim, the RFV is still out of specification, then the problem is with the tire, and a replacement tire will be needed.
Finally, assuming the rim and tire are good and you've achieved an acceptable RFV measurement on the GSP9700, and you still have vibration, then there's a very good possibility that one of the control arm bushings on your car's suspension is worn and in need of replacement. A 20" wheel/tire assembly is much heavier, normally, than the small 18" set-up that came on the car, and any weaknesses and wear on the bushings, which are now 5 years old on your '03 car, will become readily apparent when stressed with the much heavier wheel/tire assembly.
The GSP9700 can measure the radial force variation ("RFV") of the wheel and tire assembly, and if the measurement is out of spec (the GSP9700 allows an RFV of 26 as its standard setting, but the operator can set a lower threshold if he wishes), then the operator will take runout meausrements of the rim in order to determine the source of the excess RFV. The runout measurements will easily determine whether or not the rim is bent (runout is best measured on a bare rim but most shops won't do this because it requires extra time to dismount the tire). If a bent rim is suspected, insist on a bare rim runout measurement. Also, the design of some rims preclude being able to take external runout measurements. If the rim is bent, which wouldn't be surprising in the case of a 20" rim due to the extremely low tire profiles they require, then send the rim out for repairs.
If the rim is okay, then have the shop "forcematch" the tire to the rim after taking the runout measurement of the bare rim to achieve the lowest overall RFV. A knowledgeable tech will know how to do the forcematch. If after forcematching on a good rim, the RFV is still out of specification, then the problem is with the tire, and a replacement tire will be needed.
Finally, assuming the rim and tire are good and you've achieved an acceptable RFV measurement on the GSP9700, and you still have vibration, then there's a very good possibility that one of the control arm bushings on your car's suspension is worn and in need of replacement. A 20" wheel/tire assembly is much heavier, normally, than the small 18" set-up that came on the car, and any weaknesses and wear on the bushings, which are now 5 years old on your '03 car, will become readily apparent when stressed with the much heavier wheel/tire assembly.
