18" wheel vibration problem??? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

nogard · 04-23-2007, 09:40 PM

I have a set of falken wheels, they are 18" When I rotated the backs to the front I noticed there was quite a shimmy to the wheel. I didn't have this problem before I rotated. So I brought both the wheels that were on the front in to have them balance. One of the wheels was off by 1.5 oz. (missing weight). Now these are new they only have 4000 miles on them! I talked to Edge Racing where I got them from. I was wondering if it was a defective, bent rim. They told me the GSP 7000 road force test/balance they do checks for round out on the wheel, and if it was damaged they would have known and not sent it out. So I narrowed it down by rotating front to back on one side, and then the other. I think I found the problem wheel, which is one of the ones I just had in a month ago to be balanced. It could just be human error and it was (re)balanced wrong. So I'm bringing it in tomorrow to have it checked again.

Now with the trouble wheel in the front I can feel a shimmy (side-to-side) and road vibration. When I rotate it to the back, I can feel an ever so slight shimmy, and road vibration. With the stock 14's on I can feel slight road vibration, and no shimmy. I checked the wheel bearings, the seem to be good all the way around. Is it possible the 18's just make the car more sensitive? And with the stock wheels on I don't remember there being as much road vibration transmitted through the steering wheel as there is now. Why would this be? Worn rack, or are there bushings on the rack?

Thanks.

bigbird · 04-23-2007, 09:54 PM

any balance issues are gonna be amplified in the 18" wheel. how fast was the machine rated to at the shop you took it. some machines only go up to 50mph and some go up to 100mph, with an 18" ur gonna want the wheels balanced on the latter.

***-SCWEET1-*** · 04-23-2007, 10:02 PM

Also, make sure you are using hub-centric rings.....

Camryshowoff97 · 04-24-2007, 08:05 PM

the extra road vibration your feeling in the steering wheel is coming from having low profile tires. Less cushion under the wheels.

***-SCWEET1-*** · 04-24-2007, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camryshowoff97

the extra road vibration your feeling in the steering wheel is coming from having low profile tires. Less cushion under the wheels.

He Did NOT have this problem before the rotation........... ..........

Brej · 04-24-2007, 08:28 PM

Another consideration is to check your suspension, if the shocks/stuts are bad, because of the lower profile tires and less cushion as mentioned by Miltdoggie, it would cause cupping as the tires leave the road for fractional seconds if the struts are bad, this would explain the vibration and slight shimmer. check the tires for slightly uneven wear spots, or rough wear spots, this will be a sign of cupping.

nogard · 04-24-2007, 09:00 PM

I've done my homework and feel I know what I'm talking about, here you go. I have new struts on the front of the car (one year old). I understand the concept of low pro tires. I know the ride is going to be different when going from a stock 14" and plus 4 sizing up to an 18". There is also no sign of cupping or uneven wear on the tire. I've had low profile tires, never anything as big as an 18", but I've never felt this before, and I didn't have this problem until I rotated. I am using hubcentric rings, and I don't know how fast the machine goes at the place I took it to. I wouldn't think this would really matter, if an object is balanced it should be at any speed? If it was unbalance, different speed would affect the harmonics of the unbalance vibration?

Well I went back and there was some weight sill missing of the wheel. It didn't fall off, it just was never put on this last time I was there. Human error I guess. I haven't tried the wheel on the car yet. But the bad news is the wheel is out of round. It moves up and down enough, you can just see it with the naked eye. I've had there tires for a year and only drove on them for the summer. I called Edge Racing where I got them from, but they don't want to help me. It is now my problem. I was told by the tire specialist that I would have to hit something pretty had to bend a rim this way. I've never had a bent rim in my life. I think it came this way to me, and I just noticed it when I rotated it to the front. So I'm affraid this is my misfortune, and I'm stuck with getting a new rim, and paying for mounting a balancing, and shipping, or just keeping it in the back of the car, and hope it doeen't wreck something back there. I think the rim was always defective, but no one will believe me now, they will think I did something to it, I know this is not the case.

Please let me know what your suggestions are.

DrewsCam · 04-25-2007, 05:24 PM

have you checked all you tire pressures

nogard · 04-25-2007, 08:57 PM

Yes, that is something I always make sure is right.

Rdizzle · 04-25-2007, 09:53 PM

huh, the adds are getting smarter. The one i see at the bottom here says "DO YOU HAVE VIBRATION IN YOUR NEW WHEELS? Use Hub Centric Rings To Fix It." blahblahblah.com
Starting to be the post might be answered by an ad...
sorry for the offtopic. Edge probably won't help yuo, but at least you can harass them and maybe get some free lugs or something. Or you ccould see if a local shop can repair your rim, thats a big new business, although i'm not sure i trust it.

camrycoupe95 · 04-26-2007, 02:38 AM

My 95 Camry has had 18's on it for 2 years and I'm on my second set of tires. My car has zero vibrations or shimmies.

Are you using tape wieghts? They seem to make a difference compared to tradtional clamp on wieghts from what I have heard.

Sorry I don't really have anything to offer other than 18" can be smooth on a Camry. Good luck in finding the issue.

Camryshowoff97 · 04-26-2007, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogard

And with the stock wheels on I don't remember there being as much road vibration transmitted through the steering wheel as there is now. Why would this be

That is what i was referring to Miltdoggie, I appreciate it when people dont undermine me when i know what im talking about. Thanks for your extremely helpful input up there though.

Camryshowoff97 · 04-26-2007, 09:59 AM

As far as what to do now, Im not really sure. I know there are places that can repair rims but i dont know if it will ever be as good as normal, Kind of like frame straightening on a car. They can make it better than it is but never as good as it should be. Sorry your gettin screwed over on the deal.

nogard · 04-26-2007, 04:24 PM

Yeah, I know I'm getting screwed over on the deal. There was no way of knowing without having rotated them. But now I know, and it will never happen again, I'm going to write a short post about this, just to help everyone else out. I just thought when you bought something new it was perfect, like something new should be, now I know better.

Yes I am using tape weights, that is what came on them, and that is what has been added to them, to correct not having the right amount of weight. So I wasn't quite sure you take on this, are you saying they are good or bad?

I'm sure 18" if they are straight and not out of round would roll just fine. I was talking to the guy at the tire place. He told me that their balancer was broke for a week. They put tires on at least 100 cars, only about 10 people came back because they complained about vibration. He said if you have a good tire and rim, you really don't need to balance it. I'm not sure about all this, especially with larger rims. I'm sure a lot of smaller stock set ups would be O.K.

Camryshowoff97 · 04-26-2007, 06:37 PM

yea i have never heard of it not needing to be balanced, I go to an auto tech school and the actual procedure for balancing tires calls for you to remove all the rocks from the treads before you balance. If something as small as that is gonna make a difference i find it hard to believe that you wouldnt need to balance them haha. Hope everything works out for you in the end though.