Bumpy Ride
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 244
Likes: 1
From: Round Rock TX
Bumpy Ride
My 98 convertible has a problem. I've tried a few searches, but I'm not sure how to search for the problem that I have.
When I drive, I get this consistent "bump". It feels like I've got a knot on one of the tires. I took it to the tire store where I purchased the tires (Pilot Sports, about 5K miles) and they said that the tires looked fine.
Any ideas? Is it safe to drive?
When I drive, I get this consistent "bump". It feels like I've got a knot on one of the tires. I took it to the tire store where I purchased the tires (Pilot Sports, about 5K miles) and they said that the tires looked fine.
Any ideas? Is it safe to drive?
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Madison AL
It is hard to say without actually looking at the car, but there are some potentially nasty problems that could cause one wheel to flutter, and hence cause your bumping. I would take it to a dealership before I drove it any further.
Nice car by the way
Nice car by the way
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,836
Likes: 243
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
An out-of-round tire and/or wheel can cause this too. Any shop with a Hunter Road Force (very important) balancing machine can check the tire/wheel assembly for any out-of-round conditions as well as balance too. The machine applies a roller with 700lbs of force against the tire while spinning to simulate the weight of the car on a roadway. If it detects an out of round condition of the wheel/tire combination, depending on the severity, it can often be cured by rotating the tire on the rim to a different position, etc. Worth checking into and not expensive either.
HTH
HTH
Team Owner
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 23,682
Likes: 9
From: Flagstaff Az.
An out-of-round tire and/or wheel can cause this too. Any shop with a Hunter Road Force (very important) balancing machine can check the tire/wheel assembly for any out-of-round conditions as well as balance too. The machine applies a roller with 700lbs of force against the tire while spinning to simulate the weight of the car on a roadway. If it detects an out of round condition of the wheel/tire combination, depending on the severity, it can often be cured by rotating the tire on the rim to a different position, etc. Worth checking into and not expensive either.
HTH
HTH
The Hunter Road Force machine is the best thing to come along in a long time for checking and balancing tires/wheels.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 9,369
Likes: 4
From: Zephyrhills, Florida
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13
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Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 244
Likes: 1
From: Round Rock TX
About a week ago, I was having problems which had caused my electronic drivability enhancements (traction control, ABS, etc) to be disabled. Because of information on this forum by searching on the codes that were on the DIC, I cleaned a few chassis grounds and the problem has gone away...at least for the time being. While these things were not working I had a need to do some hard braking. Without ABS, at least one of the wheels locked down. This happended only once, but my guess is that this could have caused a flat spot on one of the tires.
Since I left the initial post this morning I have driven around 300 miles. The problem seems more noticable some times more than others. It also seems worse at slow speeds (30mph) than at highway speeds (70-80mph).
Does the Hunter Road Force fix the out of round problem or only diagnose it?
