I had purchased some F14s (F 18x8.5 R 18x9.5) from a vendor on here back in June and received them in August. I had Nitto Invos (F 225/40/18 R 255/35/18) mounted on them with a Coats static balancer. I know aftermarket wheels are supposed to use cone seat lugs, but my FS wheels got mixed up and ended up having ball seat lugs. Upon finding this out, I switched to ball seat bolts from RADUSA. I also have gone through four sets of hub rings to eliminate that problem: polycarb ones from FS, aluminum from iForged, plastic from eBay and finally Gorilla polycarbs. They are all 74.1 wheel bore and 66.56 centerbore. I experienced moderate to severe vibrations and found out about the Hunter GSP9700 balancer. I went to the dealer and they said they fixed it...no change. I went to another tire shop and there was no change after having them balance. Finally, I got fed up and took the wheels off as winter was on its way. I put the OEM wheels on and had no problems (slight drivetrain vibe, but nothing severe that indicates a wheel/tire problem). I even had a bent wheel on the back and it still didn't vibrate as bad as the F14s had.

Fast forward to this week. Summer's here, so I try to give them another go. Take them to the best tire shop in town and they put it on their Hunter and say they fixed it. Well, they kind of did...vibration isn't as severe or as constant, but if I go around a turn at highway speeds (65mph+) the wheels get into phase and they're pretty smooth. If I turn the wheels again, they get out of phase and moderately vibrate; I'm not flying all over the place, but it's definitely noticeable in the front, steering wheel, and seat. I'm about ready to give up on these wheels and don't want to dump anymore money into an essentially new set of wheels and tires.

So if my tire PSI is okay (F 35 R 38), alignment checks out, wheels/tires balanced three times, correct bolts used, hub rings snug...what else can I do? I really doubt it's suspension related as my stock wheels aren't anywhere as bad as the F14s. Am I SOL?

 

When any of these companies balanced them for you, did they ever mention doing a match balance? The Hunter 9700 balancer has the ability to not only tell you the roadforce meaurements, but it will also tell you where the heavy spot on the wheel and tire are so the technician can then rotate the tire on the wheel to offset the weight differences. The problem is that alot of shops won't actually take the time to do the whole procedure, they will stop with some roadforce numbers and leave it at that.
Ask the shop what the roadforce numbers were, and also ask if they actually matched the wheel and tire. I look forward to hearing the answers.
I hope this helps somewhat.

Thanks, Sean

 

Well, I haven't and won't be going back to the tire shop because I think I figured it out.

I read a post from motorkas in the 211 subforum about a fix he had for the Forgestars, referenced in this thread: Trying out a new look. . .(with pics)

Anyways, he said that when he pulled the wheels off, the hub rings would get dislodged and not stay seated on the wheel itself. When putting the wheels on, you either have to get it right the first attempt, or have someone assist and hold the wheels in place while you tighten down the bolts, or secure the rings. Had my girlfriend hold the wheels in place and secured the rings using regular clear tape to make sure they stayed on the wheel even if I pulled them off. I think it's because if you hit the hub on a ring, you'll displace the ring and it won't stay true to the centerbore.

It seems like it worked because rather than having the out of phase vibration, I now just have a suspension vibration I've localized to the be in the front driver's corner...I say this because I feel nothing in my seat, feels the strongest in that area, and my driver's side mirror vibrates a little while the passenger mirror stays pretty stationary on the highway. I'm guessing it's the usual suspects: tie rod ends, ball joints, wheel bearings, warped rotor or hub, or LCA bushings. At any rate, if you'd like to give some input on this I made a thread in the 208 subforum: I hate vibrations - front axle and idle/shifter

As far as the wheels causing issues, I believe it has been resolved.