Steering vibration - balancing 15'fuchs does not help

[stylomylo]

My steering wheel vibrates when i exceed 50mph. I've balanced my front wheels several times but to no avail. I'm using 15x7 Fuchs.

Perhaps on-wheel balancing will resolve this but before I attempt this, I'm trying to establish what can be causing this assuming there's nothing wrong with my wheels?

What could be wrong? What can I do to remedy this? Help

[dorschman]

I had the exact same problem looked at yesterday. We balanced all 4 wheels, checked alignment. Still does it but not as bad. Steering wheel oscillates at around 60 to 70. We decided that the tires may be slightly out of round now and hope that driving on them balanced for a while will make the problem go away. The tires are Bridgestone Potenzas put on in August 2005 so they need to be replaced next year anyway.

Have you made sure tire pressures are correct, no visible problems with the rolling surfaces of the tires, they are less than 5 years old, and balance the rear tires to make sure?

erik

[IROC]

9 times out of 10 this problem ends up being the tires. They may look perfectly fine, but still cause a vibration.

[Superdave1]

I had the same thing. Ended up being a broken belt in one of the tires. Complain to the tire manufactuer.... they "might" give you a new one if it is not too old. dave...

[hcoles]

you may have a flat spot on one or more tires.. you may be able to see this by warming the tires up and then jacking the car up and spinning the wheel. If you see that the wheel runs true but there is a "bump" in the tire... the root cause is likely the tire assuming the tires are balanced. A flat spot can be put on the tire during agressive street braking.

[moneymanager]

I have had this problem about five times. It has always been the tires. Hunter GSP 9700. If your shop isn't using one of these, your wheels aren't as well balanced as they can be. Look at their web site, find someone near your zip code who has the machine, and do just the fronts. I think you will find this solves your problem.

[dorschman]

Is a broken belt or flat spot dangerous to drive on? I was hoping to replace the tires next year but certainly will now if there is a potential safety concern.

erik

[10zz964]

same thing happen to me,
it's the tire.
cheers

[hcoles]

IMHO
flat spot = not a safety concern
broken or misplace belt = probably not a safety concern... you should feel if the tire is going to fly off the car way before it happens - I've found tires to be pretty tough

your tire store should be able to inspect if you have any concerns

[gshase]

I had the same thing and I checked everything. When I did my breaks R.S. wheel bearing had a little play 1/8 turn. No vibration smooth as glass @80 +

[teenerted1]

Originally Posted by hcoles

IMHO
flat spot = not a safety concern
broken or misplace belt = probably not a safety concern... you should feel if the tire is going to fly off the car way before it happens - I've found tires to be pretty tough

your tire store should be able to inspect if you have any concerns

sorry to burst your bubble but a broken belt is a safety concern

had a belt start to come apart on the rear. the threads started to poke thru and there was quite a large bubble that started to appear in a few days....the tire starts to get pretty hot in this one area and is a definite area for a tire failure. when i had them replaced the guy at discount tire said i was lucky i came in when i did. there was spot where the tread was starting to come apart too that i hadn't noticed

wasn't defective belts part of the LARGE RECALL Ford had a few years back that resulted in some injuries and lawsuits?

have the tires inspected inside too. some defects aren't on the outside.

original posted mentioned doing an on-wheel balancing...how do you balance with out the tire mounted? take them to a reputable tire installer not your local gas/service station.

[avi8torny]

Originally Posted by stylomylo

My steering wheel vibrates when i exceed 50mph. I've balanced my front wheels several times but to no avail. I'm using 15x7 Fuchs.

Perhaps on-wheel balancing will resolve this but before I attempt this, I'm trying to establish what can be causing this assuming there's nothing wrong with my wheels?

What could be wrong? What can I do to remedy this? Help

I chased a problem similiar to this, had all four wheels checked and rechecked for balance.....did not help so I lived with it...grrrr. Car was due for brakes, replaced the rotors and pads which solved the problem for good.

[Netspeed]

If I had 15' [read: foot] Fuchs, I'd have a problem too!

Seriously though....my Bridgestones get a vibration if I haven't driven the car in a couple of weeks. I get them out on the highway and after 20 miles or so....all is good. If that doesn't help, you might have a tire issue. You can negate this as much as possible by going to a tire person that can match-balance the assembly.

[FPB111]

I had the same problem on my 1972. After going nuts rebalancing, replacing bearings, rotors, and rack. New tires fixed it. Rotors had run-out; rack was a little "loose". But the tires were the fix. See if you can borrow some known good fronts from a friend to affirm tires.

[Long Nose]

I had a problem where the steering wheel would vibrate / rattle slightly, but not all the time. I had just had the fuchs refinished / balanced and brand new tires, so I was pretty sure it was something else. Then I read this technical article

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_Steering-bushing/911_steering_bushing.htm

A bushing in the steering column could also cause a vibration in the steering column. In my case, this tech article didn't help fix the problem as the fix in this tech article is for later model 911's.

Here is the thread that helped me fix my problem:

What am I Missing - Steering Column

[stylomylo]

Originally Posted by IROC

9 times out of 10 this problem ends up being the tires. They may look perfectly fine, but still cause a vibration.

My tires (TOYO Proxes T1R) are brand new and fresh as well (manufactured week 45 2007), therefore cannot ustand why this should be so. I'm 99% sure it's not a flat spot because i drive the car daily.

If it's a tire problem, surely balancing it should solve it?

[tcar]

Broken belt 'might' be OK if you stay under 30 mph.

But a catastrophic failure at 80mph could ruin your day and maybe someone else's.

[911quest]

A few observations about balancing wheels if your using stick on weights they can be a real PAIN to get correct thats why most guys just static balance them (one weight) which on most econo boxes you won't notice The correct way is to dynamic balance the wheels (weights on both rim lips) which takes some Patience unless you go to a high end tire store. The cool thing about the newer Hunter machines is they do a rolling test which detects the defect in wheel and also tells you if the tire can be matched to the rim. What I mean is it lets you index the tire to the rim in the correct position that it can be balanced and believe it or not it will condemn quite a few tires.


Most separated belts you can notice they create a vibration at all speeds...tire safety is one of things that shouldn't be messed with didn't we learn anything from the Ford/Firestone debacle?

[vash]

mine vibed at 75. it was the ball joints.

[dipso]

Mine had cupping on the inside of the front tires. Only showed up after replacing the rears, had to buy four new ones.
Check your tires.