Steering Wheel Shimmy
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 619
Likes: 9
From: Thonotosassa Florida
Steering Wheel Shimmy
I recently purchased a set of rims. I had them mounted and as soon as I left the shop and got on the highway I noticed a shimmy develop after going over 60 MPH. I did not have this shimmy prior to my new rim installation. I brought it back to the shop and was told to take it to one of their other shops who would balance the front tires on the car. This was done on all four wheels. It turned out three ouit of the 4 wheels needed to be rebalanced except for the rear passenger side. I then got out on the highway onlty to find the same shimmy present. What is my next step? Do I have a defective brand new rim?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,561
Likes: 945
From: Communist Colorado
Are they Chinese knock offs or higher quality wheels? Several years back I bought a set of brand new wheels that were made in China and 3 of them took quite a bit of weight to balance and one was too far out to balance at all.... and this is with 4 new tires as well as a high speed balance. If you have a good quality set, did they road force balance them?
Pro
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 535
Likes: 0
From: CA
man i had an sts cadillac that drove perfect till i took the stock rims off and put on some aftermarket 20's. soon as i got to 55mph car started to shake and shimmy. went to a local rim and tire shop had them high speed balance all 4 wheels. drove away hit 60mph car started to shimmy, i went back demanded they balance the rims correctly this time (asked him if he wanted me to get back there and show him how its done), they rebalanced i drove off hit 62mps and car started to shake. finally found out two of the rims were slightly out of round, not much but enough to mess it up.... got em straitend at mag masters in orange county, straitend them up good, road nice after that
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 619
Likes: 9
From: Thonotosassa Florida
Are they Chinese knock offs or higher quality wheels? Several years back I bought a set of brand new wheels that were made in China and 3 of them took quite a bit of weight to balance and one was too far out to balance at all.... and this is with 4 new tires as well as a high speed balance. If you have a good quality set, did they road force balance them?
There are made in China. I have contacted the seller of the rims and he told me they just need to be rebalanced again so right now I am between a rock and a hard place resolving my problem. Each one is pointing the finger at the other and I am in the middle of this mess. The tires only have about 5,000 miles on them and before the switch I had no shimmy at all. I quess my next step is to contact the seller one more time and see where this gets me.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,561
Likes: 945
From: Communist Colorado
Hmm, didnt realize you were using used tires.... Well, it still might be a balance situation. Road Force balancing is a bit more expensive than a regular high speed balance, but it might cure the problem. I guess you could try that then if that doesnt work maybe have a specialist check the rims for runout/out of round.
Good Luck
Good Luck
Racer
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 262
Likes: 0
From: Jefferson City Missouri
Lots of people on here own or will buy aftermarket rims in the near future. PLEASE post where you bought yours and/or brand so that we can be cautious in making our purchases. By all means let us know if the vendor replaces them as he should if out of round. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Over the years on two occasions I have bought aftermarket rims that were out of round. Once it worked out ok and the other time did not.
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 121
Likes: 0
From: Scottsburg IN
i have been dealing with this for the last month. i thought my problem was wheels aswell but has ended being out of round tires. i have bought 3 nitto nt05's within the last month and only had 1 that was halfway decent. the other two have been out of round.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 619
Likes: 9
From: Thonotosassa Florida
I did not have this problem until I replaced my rims. I still have not heard back from the dealer I bought these rims from. Before letting everyone know who this is I want to give him the chance of fixing my problem. I am hoping he will ask me to go to a shop he is familiar with in my area so he can hear it first hand if, indeed, the rims are out of round. It almost feels like the front wheels are bouncing.
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Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 619
Likes: 9
From: Thonotosassa Florida
Hmm, didnt realize you were using used tires.... Well, it still might be a balance situation. Road Force balancing is a bit more expensive than a regular high speed balance, but it might cure the problem. I guess you could try that then if that doesnt work maybe have a specialist check the rims for runout/out of round.
Good Luck
Good Luck
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,737
Likes: 0
From: Northern VA
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,561
Likes: 945
From: Communist Colorado
See Post # 10 about Raod Force Balancing. When I had a bent rim on one of my BMW's I had to look for a specialist who could straighten it out for me. I dont think a regular tire service center can really check for a bent rim aside from a visual inspection while its spinning on the balance machine, but I wouldnt call that a reliable way to determine runout.... and if you can see it that obviously, then the rim is pretty bent.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 262
Likes: 0
From: Jefferson City Missouri
IF you have them done on a Road Force machine tell the operator what is going on and ask him to check the rims. He can tell you if the problem is balance, tires, or wheels and which ones. The places around here that have Road Force balancers do not charge any more than other places that balance tires.... BUT the machine is much better and well worth finding one.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,561
Likes: 945
From: Communist Colorado
IF you have them done on a Road Force machine tell the operator what is going on and ask him to check the rims. He can tell you if the problem is balance, tires, or wheels and which ones. The places around here that have Road Force balancers do not charge any more than other places that balance tires.... BUT the machine is much better and well worth finding one.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 235
Likes: 0
From: On a mountain New York
A good road force balancer will tell you if it is a tire or rim issue. Just have to find a good operator for the machine. I have seen aftermarket rims that were quite out of round. I have also seen many brand new tires with excessive road force. If you only installed new rims with the original tires that did not shimmy before then the rims are probably the cause. Do the rims require hub centric centering rings? Were they put on and not mashed up?
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 619
Likes: 9
From: Thonotosassa Florida
A good road force balancer will tell you if it is a tire or rim issue. Just have to find a good operator for the machine. I have seen aftermarket rims that were quite out of round. I have also seen many brand new tires with excessive road force. If you only installed new rims with the original tires that did not shimmy before then the rims are probably the cause. Do the rims require hub centric centering rings? Were they put on and not mashed up?
BubbaHut
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 944
Likes: 32
From: Lake Norman NC
2020 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
one more thing to check
I have seen cases in the past that were a simple fix....
I hope this is your case ??
Pull a wheel off and look to see if the lock clips are still present over two of the wheel studs. The rotors come from the factory with two spring clips on each rotor to hold them in place as the assym process takes place. The factory wheels have enough clearance to allow for this without interferance.. But , most aftermarket wheels are going to be a tight fit face to face with the hub of the rotor.
Thus , if you do not remove the clips, the wheels will be ever so slightly crooked resulting in shimmy and vibration...
I hope this is your problem, it's a simple fix
Good Luck
I hope this is your case ??
Pull a wheel off and look to see if the lock clips are still present over two of the wheel studs. The rotors come from the factory with two spring clips on each rotor to hold them in place as the assym process takes place. The factory wheels have enough clearance to allow for this without interferance.. But , most aftermarket wheels are going to be a tight fit face to face with the hub of the rotor.
Thus , if you do not remove the clips, the wheels will be ever so slightly crooked resulting in shimmy and vibration...
I hope this is your problem, it's a simple fix
Good Luck
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 619
Likes: 9
From: Thonotosassa Florida
I have seen cases in the past that were a simple fix....
I hope this is your case ??
Pull a wheel off and look to see if the lock clips are still present over two of the wheel studs. The rotors come from the factory with two spring clips on each rotor to hold them in place as the assym process takes place. The factory wheels have enough clearance to allow for this without interferance.. But , most aftermarket wheels are going to be a tight fit face to face with the hub of the rotor.
Thus , if you do not remove the clips, the wheels will be ever so slightly crooked resulting in shimmy and vibration...
I hope this is your problem, it's a simple fix
Good Luck
I hope this is your case ??
Pull a wheel off and look to see if the lock clips are still present over two of the wheel studs. The rotors come from the factory with two spring clips on each rotor to hold them in place as the assym process takes place. The factory wheels have enough clearance to allow for this without interferance.. But , most aftermarket wheels are going to be a tight fit face to face with the hub of the rotor.
Thus , if you do not remove the clips, the wheels will be ever so slightly crooked resulting in shimmy and vibration...
I hope this is your problem, it's a simple fix
Good Luck
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 619
Likes: 9
From: Thonotosassa Florida
I went to a local tire shop that had the Force Balance machine. When they tried to balance the front driver's side tire and rim the machine found a problem. Both the tire and rim had a heavy spot in almost the same exact spot. All they did was unmount the tire from the rim and rotate the tire about 180 degrees and they remounted it to the rim to proceed with the balance. Once this was done and I took it for a road test the shimmy was not present anymore.
