Front wheels not balancing
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,503
Likes: 2
From: Oklahoma City OK
Front wheels not balancing
Had new tires put on the front and I cant get get them balanced up right. Regular balance twice and roadforce once. Starts to Shimmy around 80mph
Any recomendations?
Any recomendations?
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 20,352
Likes: 568
From: Ventura County, Calif
Well, start with the very basic stuff and no offense intended; was the installer experienced and know what he was doing? Did he line up the yellow dot on the sidewall to the valve stem? Did he get all the old weights off? Check tires for runout?
Just thinking out loud. Others will have more ideas. Good luck.
Just thinking out loud. Others will have more ideas. Good luck.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,503
Likes: 2
From: Oklahoma City OK
The Tires were not brand new. They were on another set of wheels i had and all was balanced just fine before the swap on bothe sets of wheels and tires.
The key may lie with the tech who did the balance. Took two tries on the road-force to get the back wheels smooth, but they are smooth.
I did not watch the guy do the front nor would I know what I was looking for.
All the old weights are off and I celane dup the tape. Dont know about the yellow dot.
maybe 2nd times a charm on the fronts too.
The key may lie with the tech who did the balance. Took two tries on the road-force to get the back wheels smooth, but they are smooth.
I did not watch the guy do the front nor would I know what I was looking for.
All the old weights are off and I celane dup the tape. Dont know about the yellow dot.
maybe 2nd times a charm on the fronts too.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,326
Likes: 5
From: louisville "derby city" kentucky
are the tinnerman nuts on the rotors removed ? could cause the rims not to seat properly on the rotors causing a runout problem. went through this with a friends vette. aftermarket wheels do not have reliefs around the inside of the lug holes to miss these. remove them, only on there for assembly at the plant. good luck 
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Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,503
Likes: 2
From: Oklahoma City OK
are the tinnerman nuts on the rotors removed ? could cause the rims not to seat properly on the rotors causing a runout problem. went through this with a friends vette. aftermarket wheels do not have reliefs around the inside of the lug holes to miss these. remove them, only on there for assembly at the plant. good luck
I will try to re seat the front wheels again at my place, and if that does not work I will let them try it again.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
There are only 4 Hunter Roadforce dealers in my city 2 owned by the dealer that I paid for it at.
yes those nuts are long gone... and I take the wheels in not the vette... I get to torque the wheels properly at my house.
I will try to re seat the front wheels again at my place, and if that does not work I will let them try it again.
yes those nuts are long gone... and I take the wheels in not the vette... I get to torque the wheels properly at my house.
I will try to re seat the front wheels again at my place, and if that does not work I will let them try it again.
IMO, you're not looking for dealers, you're looking for shops that have this machine or the earlier, 9600 machine, yes?
Hope this helps.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,503
Likes: 2
From: Oklahoma City OK
08 Split Spoke Fectory Repros
Dang-I was looking at something totally different. I did not know OKC had so many of those. What is the difference in machines?
Thank you
When I said dealer I meant Tire Shop.
Road forcing is pricey so I will let the first shop have another go at it. if it does not work I know where to go... Thanks
I don't know; you list Ok City as your town. I plugged in a zip for Ok City, and here's what I came up with for the Hunter 9700: http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/FindLocations.cfm.
IMO, you're not looking for dealers, you're looking for shops that have this machine or the earlier, 9600 machine, yes?
Hope this helps.
IMO, you're not looking for dealers, you're looking for shops that have this machine or the earlier, 9600 machine, yes?
Hope this helps.
Thank you
When I said dealer I meant Tire Shop.
Road forcing is pricey so I will let the first shop have another go at it. if it does not work I know where to go... Thanks
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
I don't know that I'm engineering-savvy enough to tell the difference betw. the 9600 and 9700 Hunter machines. (Here's their site listing both machines:http://www.hunter.com/PUB/product/balancer/index.htm).
I would assume that kind of like an LS 3 comes after an LS 2, it's the newest machine. By the time you get that close, unless the technology has gone light years ahead which it probably hasn't, most of it depends on the skill and knowledge of the person doing the balancing. My opinion, but I've seen skilled people work with older equipment and do great work. Tech and new equipment doesn't hurt though.
And don't feel badly about it; until someone told me a few years back that there was a Hunter "locator" website all to itself, I didn't know it existed either.
I would assume that kind of like an LS 3 comes after an LS 2, it's the newest machine. By the time you get that close, unless the technology has gone light years ahead which it probably hasn't, most of it depends on the skill and knowledge of the person doing the balancing. My opinion, but I've seen skilled people work with older equipment and do great work. Tech and new equipment doesn't hurt though.
And don't feel badly about it; until someone told me a few years back that there was a Hunter "locator" website all to itself, I didn't know it existed either.
Last edited by AORoads; Sep 24, 2009 at 08:16 AM.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,503
Likes: 2
From: Oklahoma City OK
well I took the front wheels off this morning and re set them. Still shimmy shimmy around 80
The red dot on the tire does match the valve stem.
I will give the original store 1 more shot since Ive already paid for it.. after that I will find somewhere else for good.
Thanks for all your help
The red dot on the tire does match the valve stem.
I will give the original store 1 more shot since Ive already paid for it.. after that I will find somewhere else for good.
Thanks for all your help
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
well I took the front wheels off this morning and re set them. Still shimmy shimmy around 80
The red dot on the tire does match the valve stem.
I will give the original store 1 more shot since Ive already paid for it.. after that I will find somewhere else for good.
Thanks for all your help
The red dot on the tire does match the valve stem.
I will give the original store 1 more shot since Ive already paid for it.. after that I will find somewhere else for good.
Thanks for all your help
The second shop that balanced my tires correctly, also didn't have a 9700 roadforce machine but their machine was fully computerized with a laser beam to show exactly where to locate the weights. I think it was a Hunter, but wasn't paying that much attention. The shop was a general repair shop that also sold a lot of tires. They did a first class job. The bad thing is that I had to pay for second balancing. But I learned a lesson. Don't patronize the shop that couldn't balance my tires.
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 98
Likes: 17
From: Montgomery Alabama
I know that when I used to be a mechanic that when a tire refused to balance or seemed to want excessive weight we would break the bead and spin the tire 180 degrees on the rim and balance it then. That may help if the dot isn't still on the sidewall.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,503
Likes: 2
From: Oklahoma City OK
Well Crapper 
Closer to 90 my back wheels have a shimmy too... This shop balanced all for of my tires when I first got the new rims and they did a top notch job. Now they cant seem to get it right.
Since I paid tires plus I will try the other location and see if they get it right before I swear them off...
They have always treated me well but for some reason they cant get this right...
Closer to 90 my back wheels have a shimmy too... This shop balanced all for of my tires when I first got the new rims and they did a top notch job. Now they cant seem to get it right.
Since I paid tires plus I will try the other location and see if they get it right before I swear them off...
They have always treated me well but for some reason they cant get this right...
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 163
Likes: 0
From: Durham NC
Similar Problem with Hankooks
I just had 4 Hankook Ventus Evo V12s installed and had a 70mph and above vibration/shimmy with the front tires.
With only 275 miles on them returned to tire shop and balance was still good but you could clearly see both tires were out of round when spinning on the balancer. One was very obvious the other not as much.
They told me to call Discount Tire while at the shop and request 2 new replacements.
Customer service was very helpful sent them out 2nd Day Air UPS and should be at the shop tomorrow. They also stated they would reimburse me the cost to mount and rebalance the tires at the shop.
Hopefully the replacements will cure my problem.
With only 275 miles on them returned to tire shop and balance was still good but you could clearly see both tires were out of round when spinning on the balancer. One was very obvious the other not as much.
They told me to call Discount Tire while at the shop and request 2 new replacements.
Customer service was very helpful sent them out 2nd Day Air UPS and should be at the shop tomorrow. They also stated they would reimburse me the cost to mount and rebalance the tires at the shop.
Hopefully the replacements will cure my problem.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,940
Likes: 43
From: shavertown Pa.
Usually when the front tires are out of balance the car will shake between 45 and 55, above that it was always the rear tires that are out of balance.
Unless something has changed that is still the case, if the tires come into balance off the car try finding a place than can balance the wheels on the car, did you possinly have rotors off and not have put them back exactly where they were, or maybe a rotor lost one of it's balance weights....
Unless something has changed that is still the case, if the tires come into balance off the car try finding a place than can balance the wheels on the car, did you possinly have rotors off and not have put them back exactly where they were, or maybe a rotor lost one of it's balance weights....
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,503
Likes: 2
From: Oklahoma City OK
I had about 1,000 miles on the tires before I switched rims. They were balanced just fine before...
And these wheels with different tires were balanced just fine before the switch.
I am betting the operator is a new guy who cant get it right, so my wheels are in the truck and I will drive up to a different Tires Plus tomorrow and drop them off.
wish me luck
And these wheels with different tires were balanced just fine before the switch.
I am betting the operator is a new guy who cant get it right, so my wheels are in the truck and I will drive up to a different Tires Plus tomorrow and drop them off.
wish me luck