Problem with 18's

[bkbigf0ot]

First of all hi everyone, I'm new here. Been reading a lot.

I have a 2.5SL Black on Bkack sedan

My friend hooked me up with some 18 inch rims and tires he had on his 03 maxima, they're in pretty good conition but i have a problem. when im on the highway and hit a pot hole, the back of my car sways to the side. the faster i go the more it sways. my friend did tell me that one of the rims had a minor crack before and he fixed it in the shop. they welded it up and its like new. thanks
Modified by bkbigf0ot at 1:44 PM 2/11/2009

[audtatious]

Sounds more like a suspension problem than anything else. If it was a crack problem then the tire would not hold air.

Do you have the air pressure too high?

[bkbigf0ot]

No. all 4 tires are around 35psi. i dont have sensors in there beacuse the wheels are not OEM. i got the car in July, and it drove fine untill i put these rims on.

[bkbigf0ot]

the rims look very simular to kuhan. i still didnt figure out how to post pics [IMG][/IMG]

[audtatious]

the rims look very simular to kuhan. i still didnt figure out how to post pics [IMG][/IMG]

You put the http address between the above img tags

[malnevets]

hows the tread on tires?got any pics of the rims?

First of all hi everyone, I'm new here. Been reading a lot.

I have a 2.5SL Black on Bkack sedan

My friend hooked me up with some 18 inch rims and tires he had on his 03 maxima, they're in pretty good conition but i have a problem. when im on the highway and hit a pot hole, the back of my car sways to the side. the faster i go the more it sways. my friend did tell me that one of the rims had a minor crack before and he fixed it in the shop. they welded it up and its like new. thanks

Modified by bkbigf0ot at 1:44 PM 2/11/2009

[bkbigf0ot]

ill upload some this weekend.

[bkbigf0ot]

this is the pic i took when i just put em on. i'll have better ones this weekend

[audtatious]

What tires are you running?

[bkbigf0ot]

pirelli. they're nice tires

[audtatious]

Not really sure the answer here. If you went up to 18's and they have a lower side profile I would expect the complaint to be "hop" and not "sway" as sway always leads me to suspension problems instead of tire/rim issues.

[EZcheese15]

I would put the stock rims back on and see if you still have the problem. If it a suspension problem (which sounds like it might be), then you should still experience the problem with the stock rims.

I know you said it didn't do it until you put the aftermarket rims on, but maybe something coincidentally broke on the suspension at the same time.

[bkbigf0ot]

thanks for your help guys. i will try to put on the original wheels on these weekend and see what happans.could this problem be if the rims are bent?

[EZcheese15]

thanks for your help guys. i will try to put on the original wheels on these weekend and see what happans.could this problem be if the rims are bent?

I suppose anything's possible, but a bent rim would normally just cause it to be out of balance, which would cause bad vibration.

I would take the wheels to a shop that has a Road Force Balancer and have them check the wheels. They will be able to determine if the wheel is bent or if the tires have imperfections in them causing bad balancing problems.

[SteveTheTech]

Taking a quick shot in the dark here but.

1Did you use hub centering rings? 2How did you apply torque to the lugs? 2a What was the torque spec

Repairing wheels is never a good idea, I know it is more cost efficient but added rotational mass in the way of weld offsets the balance and center of the wheel. I would err on the side of caution and return to stock and have the wheels balanced and examined by a profession, and if you do not have centering rings you should think about getting a set.

[Cold_Zero]

Lots of good information here. I would have to say that if it pulls to one side, you probably have an alignment problem. After you have done what EZCheese and SteveTheTech have suggested, get under your car and inspect the suspension, if everything checks out visually, take it in to the shop and have the alignment checked. A change in wheel size/tire size may through off the alignment if the wheel/tire specs on the 18's dont match your OEM wheel specs or especially if you hit a monster pothole.

Just to share with you, my wife's car had aftermarket wheels and she experienced catastrophic failure





I guess my view on fixing wheels is that since wheels are tires are what actually connect your car to the road, I wouldn't chance it. But that is just my opinion.

[bkbigf0ot]

thanks for the help. I will check it all out this weekend. I dont have the center caps. tried searching for them online but not luck. i went to a few shops and they dont have these particular ones. if anyone knows where i can get em around NYC please let me know. I'll let you guys know what happans

[JimCos]

I had a similar problem with a previous car, after some routine maintenance at the dealership. Apparently, they bent the rear sway bar when the put the car up on a lift. How was your car put in the air when you put on the 18s?

[bkbigf0ot]

i put the rims on myself. i lifted my car with a jack and put on the wheels. a regular 2 tons jack. there is no way i could have bend the sway bar

[ZeroR]

If the car had a vibration then I would tend to think it's a problem with the wheels and tires. But you say the rear end sways when hitting a pot hole, this tends to lead me to think it's a problem with the suspension. Check if the shocks are blown or if the springs are broken (not likely springs but still possible).

Hope this helps!

[bkbigf0ot]

here are the pics

[saywat]

man the wheelgap is hedious...do something about it asap!

[toueyang]

Have 18's, with 245-45-18 tires on mine. Your shocks are probably worn. I had the same problem with mine. Replaced strut/shocks all around with beefier ones and the problem went away.