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Steering Wheel vibration above 55mph nightmare.

11K views 29 replies 20 participants last post by  LWOOD 
rogue said:
Thats the interesting thing. These are 2 brand new tires. I replaced 2 that had nail/screw damage and had them put on the front.
First and foremost, it would be necessary to actually try and isolate, and then identify the cause of the problem (tires/wheels, braking system, front-end suspension components, transmission, etc.) via a step-by-step trial/elimination process. I'm probably the last one to give you any technical advice, but since I've had nearly twenty years experience in the tire industry (automotive/commercial/industrial/agricultural/and retreading), as well as also having my tire-related knowledge/experience utilized in the past regarding numerous tire-related issues, I only felt it appropriate to 'chime in'.

In regards to a possible tire-related issue, here is my suggestion. If your tires do not display irregular wear, then have your tire dealer (preferably a manufactures' company-owned location) do a radial and lateral run-out of your tires (new and old)...with them all inflated to proper recommended air pressure. If these run-out measurements result in above acceptable tolerance readings (they should know what these are), then the tires should be replaced for an 'out-of-round' ('cannot balance') condition; however, they may also try and utilize the following method to help possibly alleviate the cause of the problem. Re-balance the tire/wheel assemblies in order to determine where the tires' high spot and the wheels' low spot might both be located. [Yes, wheels too are not necessarily manufactured correctly and many tire shops often overlook this]. They should then mark these noted locations with tire chalk as their reference point, remove the mounted assemblies from the balancer (or run-out machine if so equipped), move the entire assembly onto a tire machine, and then deflate the tire without dismounting it from the wheel. With both tire beads now 'broken loose' from the wheel's rim [yes, wheels and rims are two different things] spin the tire around the wheel to where the tire's high spot is adjacent to the wheel's low spot. Re-inflate the tire to its recommended air pressure (making sure that both beads are properly seated to the wheel's rims), then re-balance the tire/wheel assembly on an up-to-date (and properly calibrated) computer wheel balancer and note the readings. Perform another radial and lateral run-out, and if they are now within tolerance, then you're 'good to go'.

Once it's been determined that the tire/wheel assemblies are okay, then you can delve into the front-end suspension components, braking system, etc. This is actually the proper way to match a tire/wheel assembly without having to add too many wheel weights in the process. As you can see, it's a tedious process and very rarely will you even find a tire technician these days who has any knowledge of this particular procedure. Balancing 'on-the-car' is actually only a 'quick fix' and an 'easy way out' for those locations without the required time and knowledge to isolate such 'ride condition' problems. ;)
 
It should also be noted that many passenger tire facilities still do not have computer wheel balancers even capable of properly balancing today's larger-sized passenger tire/wheel assemblies, and although most commercial tire facilities do have the proper equipment/experience to balance the large-sized commercial tire/wheels assemblies, the majority of these machines are not calibrated for passenger tires. ;)
 
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