C4 Tech/Performance L98 Corvette and LT1 Corvette Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine

Tire Balance or?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Dec 12, 2017 | 05:17 PM
  #1  
81c3's Avatar
81c3
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,561
Likes: 946
From: Communist Colorado
Default Tire Balance or?

86 Coupe 35,600 miles base suspension

Ok so I just last week had a 4 wheel alignment done.
All my shocks are new Bilsteins.
I have checked and double checked wheel bearings, all front end parts for wear and movement... there is none anywhere!
Tires are new looking but 6 year old BFG's
All 4 wheels/tires are Road Force balanced
Wheels torqued to 100 lb/ft
Rotor and wheel mating surfaces are clean

I cant seem to get rid of a vibration in the steering wheel for the most part...but I can also feel it in my butt.... at about 62 to 75 ish...

I have brand new rear wheels & tires out back 315/35/17
Fronts are 245/45/17


I jacked the car up and spun the front wheels checking for a bent rim or out of round tire....Rims look true. I did notice a little "hop" on the front left tire... I swapped a rear(the 9.5 245/45/17 that was on the rear) to the FL position and the vibration is still present.

Im down to thinking it might be the steering rack (it does display some light morning sickness) or tires even though they appear new.... I was going to buy 275/40/17 as replacements....

ANY ideas?
Thanks Guys!!

Last edited by 81c3; Dec 12, 2017 at 05:18 PM.
Reply
Old Dec 13, 2017 | 10:26 AM
  #2  
RtStuf's Avatar
RtStuf
Burning Brakes
20 Year Member
 
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 1,086
Likes: 40
From: Osage Beach,MO,USA
Default

How long have you owned the car?
Always had vibration? If not, when did it start?
Doubtful steering rack at 36000 mi - any accident history?
Belt separation in tire?
Wheel out of round? - bought aftermarket wheels, had vibration - out of round was not found until third Roadforce technician found inside of wheel was out - not all technicians know what they are doing even though they have the equipment. Good luck finding problem.
Reply
Old Dec 13, 2017 | 01:45 PM
  #3  
Churchkey's Avatar
Churchkey
Melting Slicks
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,376
Likes: 111
From: Cherokee National Forest TN
Default

Use a dial indicator to check the wheels on the car for lateral & radial run out. Check both outside & inside rim lips = 4 checks per wheel. Chevy wants .030 max run out in any direction.
Lateral run out can often be reduced / eliminated by indexing the wheel on the hub. Clock the wheel one lug stud @ a time then indicate, locate the wheel @ the point of least run out. Mark a wheel stud & the wheel for correct reassembly anytime a wheel is removed.

If more than .030 radial or lateral run out replace the wheel.

BTW Had vibs on my 89, had road force balance + checked wheels as above the cause was an out of balance front rotor.

Last edited by Churchkey; Dec 13, 2017 at 03:30 PM.
Reply
Old Dec 13, 2017 | 09:07 PM
  #4  
gerardvg's Avatar
gerardvg
Safety Car
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,751
Likes: 275
From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Default

Originally Posted by 81c3
86 Coupe 35,600 miles base suspension

Ok so I just last week had a 4 wheel alignment done.
All my shocks are new Bilsteins.
I have checked and double checked wheel bearings, all front end parts for wear and movement... there is none anywhere!
Tires are new looking but 6 year old BFG's
All 4 wheels/tires are Road Force balanced
Wheels torqued to 100 lb/ft
Rotor and wheel mating surfaces are clean

I cant seem to get rid of a vibration in the steering wheel for the most part...but I can also feel it in my butt.... at about 62 to 75 ish...

I have brand new rear wheels & tires out back 315/35/17
Fronts are 245/45/17


I jacked the car up and spun the front wheels checking for a bent rim or out of round tire....Rims look true. I did notice a little "hop" on the front left tire... I swapped a rear(the 9.5 245/45/17 that was on the rear) to the FL position and the vibration is still present.

Im down to thinking it might be the steering rack (it does display some light morning sickness) or tires even though they appear new.... I was going to buy 275/40/17 as replacements....

ANY ideas?
Thanks Guys!!
Vibration through the wheel would be caused by out of round tires, buckled rotors or bad wheel balance.

You would be surprised the amount of tire manufacturing defects, most road cars will have soft suspension so you wont notice.
On a Corvette well that's another story, you can run over a coin on the highway and know of its heads or tails. an out of round tire or tread mold defects will shake the car like crazy.

Perhaps get them balanced elsewhere and ask they check the tires for high spots, good luck.
Reply
Old Dec 13, 2017 | 09:17 PM
  #5  
81c3's Avatar
81c3
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,561
Likes: 946
From: Communist Colorado
Default

Originally Posted by gerardvg
Vibration through the wheel would be caused by out of round tires, buckled rotors or bad wheel balance.

You would be surprised the amount of tire manufacturing defects, most road cars will have soft suspension so you wont notice.
On a Corvette well that's another story, you can run over a coin on the highway and know of its heads or tails. an out of round tire or tread mold defects will shake the car like crazy.

Perhaps get them balanced elsewhere and ask they check the tires for high spots, good luck.
I just ordered a new set of 275 40 17 for the fronts just to eliminate the possibility of the 6 year old tires having being the cause. I wanted to have the rears and fronts match tread pattern anyway.

I have 4 wheels to choose from so I can have the shop pick the 2 best rims to mount the new tires on to. Typically the ones with the least amount of weights I suppose would be the best choices. I noticed 2 of mine took only one or two 1/4 oz weights and two took quite a bit more..
Reply
Old Dec 13, 2017 | 09:19 PM
  #6  
81c3's Avatar
81c3
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,561
Likes: 946
From: Communist Colorado
Default

Originally Posted by Churchkey
Use a dial indicator to check the wheels on the car for lateral & radial run out. Check both outside & inside rim lips = 4 checks per wheel. Chevy wants .030 max run out in any direction.
Lateral run out can often be reduced / eliminated by indexing the wheel on the hub. Clock the wheel one lug stud @ a time then indicate, locate the wheel @ the point of least run out. Mark a wheel stud & the wheel for correct reassembly anytime a wheel is removed.

If more than .030 radial or lateral run out replace the wheel.

BTW Had vibs on my 89, had road force balance + checked wheels as above the cause was an out of balance front rotor.
I thought about the rotors being the issue as well.... I bought new tires and if that doesnt do it, I will think about rotors next... I dont have a dial indicator unfortunately....
Reply
Old Dec 13, 2017 | 09:30 PM
  #7  
81c3's Avatar
81c3
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,561
Likes: 946
From: Communist Colorado
Default

Originally Posted by RtStuf
How long have you owned the car?
Always had vibration? If not, when did it start?
Doubtful steering rack at 36000 mi - any accident history?
Belt separation in tire?
Wheel out of round? - bought aftermarket wheels, had vibration - out of round was not found until third Roadforce technician found inside of wheel was out - not all technicians know what they are doing even though they have the equipment. Good luck finding problem.
Ive only had it since about April.... no accidents on Car Fax anyway.... but the alignment tech said it all looked good as far as that goes.... I hear ya on the Chinese junk wheels... I could only find the ZR-1 17X11 +36 mm in a Chinese brand.... On the RFB machine.... I found that ironically enough, the local Ford dealer has a RFB machine as well as Big O tire which was where I was going....
Reply
Old Dec 14, 2017 | 11:04 AM
  #8  
383vett's Avatar
383vett
Race Director
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,699
Likes: 1,667
From: moraga ca
Default

Wait until you get the vintage tires replaced and go from there. Most likely they are the culprit.
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To Tire Balance or?

Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-1

Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

 Joe Kucinski
story-3

8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

 Joe Kucinski
story-5

Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

 Brett Foote
story-7

Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-8

10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

 Joe Kucinski
story-9

5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

 Michael S. Palmer




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:44 AM.

story-0
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

Slideshow: How to Protect A Convertible Top: 10 DOs & DON'Ts

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-03 00:00:00


VIEW MORE
story-1
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-2
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-3
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-4
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

Slideshow: Ranking the top 10 Corvette engines by torque output.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:58:09


VIEW MORE
story-5
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

Slideshow: A Corvette pace car nearly matching IndyCar speeds sounds exaggerated, until you look at the numbers.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-04 20:03:36


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

Among a rather large group of them.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:56:44


VIEW MORE
story-7
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

Slideshow: the top 10 things Corvette owners want in the C9 Corvette

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-30 12:41:15


VIEW MORE
story-8
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

Slideshow: 10 Important Corvette 'firsts' that every fan should know.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 17:02:16


VIEW MORE
story-9
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

Slideshow: Should you buy a 2020-2026 Corvette or wait for 2027?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 10:08:58


VIEW MORE