billschroeder5842

Tire/wheel balance question...

I bought my 91 about a month ago and am working on "base-lining" the maintenance and condition. I bought it with new (new) tires allready on it.

I noticed that I have wheel vibration (very slight, almost like a cat purr???) at anything above 50. I noted this from the day I bought it.

When I was cleaning the wheel and suspension, I noted that the front wheels had an accumulation of "Gunk" on the inside. This gunk was grease, road film, dust...etc from years. I took a scraper and a power washer to it, so now it is really clean.

The gunk I removed was up to 1/4 (!!!) in some spots.

My question is that when the wheel was balanced, would that gunk inside the wheel "throw off" the balance enough to create or accentuate a vibration? I always thought that the wheel portion (along with the defects) was pretty solid as it was bolted to the machine and the balance variable was the tire part?

I'll probably get a rebalance for good measure but I thought I check on the logic.

Thanks!

JimLentz

If there is enough gunk on a wheel it would cause vibration. I've had some pretty bad vibrations form ice or packed snow in the wheels of my DD.

gjohnson

Tires need re balancing time to time.I'd say you could have lost a weight thats stuck on the inside.

DGXR

Can road Gunk throw off a wheel balance? Yes it is possible. Plus alloy wheels are lightweight, so compared to steel wheels they are more affected by weight imbalance.

You got one clean so I would clean the rest of the wheels very well inside and out (leave on any weights) and get them all balanced at a good shop.

gjohnson is right, wheels do need to be re-balanced periodically... more often if they are used aggressively (drag, autocross, etc). Also be sure to inspect any tire that bangs into a parking curb, pothole or any other impact.

whalepirot

A good tire guy picked up a bent wheel on a 7er, for me, one we didn't really feel while driving!

rocco16

I pick up a lot of mud on the inside of my hunting truck's wheels. It will definitely cause imbalance issues.

Anything that rotates, be it tire, wheel, driveshaft, or belt pulley can create a vibration.

pcolt94

What, you didn't see "My cousin Vinny" You have mud in your tires?

Well there is truth to that, weights weight especially at the perimeter of a wheel.

slow-vette

Unless you are out mudding your car It is unlikely that just general road grime will throw off the balance. Sometimes wheel weights fall off so I would start with getting them re-balanced. After that if you still have vibrations I would move onto inspecting the suspension and drive line. Worn wheel bearing hubs, ball joints, tie rod ends, and U joints can all cause weird vibrations.

billschroeder5842

I had the wheels balanced and drove a 250 mile road trip to the Holiday Gathering in Buffalo Texas (check the other threads!).

I still had a slight "HMMMMMM" but it was definitely better. My guess is that it could be tire related; I bought the car with a fresh set of Sumitomo and from what I hear these are not the best quality. Since they are new, I'll probably live with them for a while and swap early to get a better tire.

aklim

Good part is at 1.22

aboatguy

Yep, it doesn't take much of an imbalance to provide a little buzz at certain speeds.

billschroeder5842

Yeah, that is probably a good description.. a buzz.

My other cars are all BMWs and they are ridiculously smooth at all speeds so my muscle memory comparison is brutal.