Wheels out of balance ?

[GELLIS2586]

When I am going between 65 and 75 mph my steering wheel shimmys back and forth but before and after those speeds it doesn't. I have gotten the wheels rebalanced twice but it still shakes. Im fed up with it can you guys tell me what the problem is. Could it be the polyurethane tie rod bushing I got, or did Discount tire do a bad job realigning my tires twice? I have know idea whats causing this shimmy I need help.

[quiksilvia]

have u been in a wreck recently? did u look at the underside of the car, maybe 42 bolts randomly fell out, overnight???

[C-Kwik]

What size wheels are you using. Include the offset.

[SmithSR]

Hmm, I've seen this happen before... My old *cough* civic, when I had it and it was brand new, with OEM firestones, had a shake at about those speeds, below or above and nothing. I mounted some good aftermarket wheels/tires, and the shake was gone. This could be a balance issue, as they are usually intermittent, occuring at only certain speeds. It could also be a problem of tire construction. Although an out of round tire(however slight) would most likely be felt much like a bent wheel or a flat-spotted tire would, although maybe not to the same degree. Falken Ziex aren't the most expensive tires for a reason, not to say they are crap, because they aren't. I'm curious if you made a typo when you mentioned alignment??

[GELLIS2586]

I have 17x7s and i just got a 4 wheel alignment about a month ago. I think it may be the tires they are close to a year old now. It may be a bent rim but im hoping its not and im pretty sure its not the balance cause ive had it done twice in the past month. I dont really need new tires yet but ive got to find a way to fix this.

[SmithSR]

Improper alignment will not cause a shake/shimmy/vibration.

[silviaNE]

if you use the search button, there was a good thread on this a while ago, you might be interested in looking at it.

[slaughtermimms]

I have had the same thing happen before on two different cars, and both times it came down to the tires being bad....hope this is not the case with yours. You might try to rotate the tires first.....to see if there is any change. Or you may go to a good tire shop and they should being able to tell if they are out of round......if they are you may be able have them covered under warranty....maybe? Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!:ylsuper

[trpower7]

Yep, I work for a tire shop and this thing is quite common, especially with low-profile tires. They require a very concise and accurate balance or they will go out of whack for some small interval. You can try to have them re-balanced and watch them do it yourself, make them bring the tolerances to under .10 ounces or under 5 grams.

[nlzmo400r]

Improper alignment will not cause a shake/shimmy/vibration.

:withstup , thats my guess

[droll]

It could be tie rod or any steering related issue. Definately something that would need to be tested. Do you have any abnormal wear patterns on the tires?

[GELLIS2586]

No the tire wear is normal i just got the tie rod bushings replaced with energy suspension polyurethane. I got the tires at discount tire and i got the road hazard warranty so ill talk to them and see if i can get some new ones.

[SmithSR]

Be sure to stay there until you get what you want. The guys at tire shops, if they have half a brain, know which brands and models are notoriously out of round/most likely to cause vibrations. Be sure to be standing as close as they will let you to watch the guy balance your tires. Insist upon getting the tires *road force balanced*.

And I still think it's criminal to charge extra for a road hazard warranty. But this should be more of a customer satisfaction issue. Don't let them sucker you into buying another warranty if you get new tires.

[nlzmo400r]

oo, do i hate tire guys, no offense to any tire guys here, just the one's ive dealt with in the past havent been to intelligent

[trpower7]

Yes, "tire guy" is short for "not even smart enough to be a wrench-turner". I'm a mech, but the dealership I work at does tires like any other dealership, so I know my way around the mounting/balancing machines, etc.

[SmithSR]

All tire sales/servicemen are not created equal. My company pays "tire monkeys" $50K/year, full benefits. Assistant managers and store managers can clear 100K easy, and there is no such thing as a sales "commission" in our world. Retirees can leave with upwards of $1million in their retirement trust.

[nlzmo400r]

thats damn good money, why so much??

[Exar-Kun]

I pull down 26k/year as a tire salesman/tech/manager/service rep/know-it-all.

hehe. thats part time. You gotta find people who know whats going on, also, did your wheels come with the propper hub-ring adapter, or propper hub bore? you may want to check out your T/C bushings also, I had an odd vibe at 75-sih until I got new adjustable tension rods..-chet

[nlzmo400r]

thats damn good money part time, hell most teachers dont mkae that full time!, anyway, whenever i look into getting wheels, im comin to u for advice on tires and such

[GELLIS2586]

what sucks abou this is there are so may variables to what it oculd be. I didn't mind paying the road hazard thing cause ive already gotten 4 new tires in a year from nails and crap and i just have to pay for mounting and balancing which is like 20 bucks instead of 120.

Yeah i get alot of nails and crap there doing construction on my school and where i live houses are being built its like a mine field you just cant see em until you get a blowout or a flat it sucks.