Problems with new wheels
Thread Starter
3rd Gear
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Problems with new wheels
I have a 2012 gs convertible and I just bought new wheels. I had the wheels installed, balanced and all 4 wheels aligned. I was told by the mechanic that the wheels were non oem and they would need a hub spacer or the wheel will vibrate after 80 mph. Well the vibrating started around 50 and at 70, the steering wheel bounced like a ball. It was difficult to hold on to. I've taken it to many places, tire stores, performance shops and another dealer and after many rebalancing of the tires, I still have the problem. No one but the original mechanic has suggested a hub spacer. Is this my answer or what else can I do? It's frustrating. The performance shop said I had a flat spot on the tires but other than that, all said the tires looked good. I have 11k on the tires and the car. That's probably why the flat spot. Any help would be appreciated.
I was in a bind and drove the car from Missouri to California so it's been checked in 2 states. It took longer to drive since I was speed limited.
I was in a bind and drove the car from Missouri to California so it's been checked in 2 states. It took longer to drive since I was speed limited.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,749
Likes: 20
From: Liberty Hill Texas
Strange. I don't have OEM wheels on my '07. I also don't have any hub spacers and I have zero issues with vibration or alignment problems/tire wear.
Good Luck with getting that resolved. Interested to hear what the fix is.
Good Luck with getting that resolved. Interested to hear what the fix is.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,944
Likes: 339
From: Mesquite, Nv
Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
From: Houston
Flat spots can be some what balanced out on your typical balancing machines, but you will feel the flat spot when it makes contact with the road. If they are done with a road force balancer, theres a strong possibility they won't balance out correctly....which means a new set of tires.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 11,973
Likes: 463
From: Tonawanda New York
A flat spotted tire needs to be replaced and will cause vibration. Also lift car and use a dial indicater on wheels while turning them to check run out. Also check that the lugs are the proper torque and are not over tightened.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 9,594
Likes: 959
From: Palm Harbor not far from Sebring Florida
St. Jude Donor '11
Oldtimer
Never heard of having to use spacers so the wheels and tires will balance. Sounds like something is wrong with the wheels or tires and a flat spot on the tires sounds like a good reason.
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Former Vendor
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St. Jude Donor '11-'12
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 984
Likes: 32
From: Atlanta GA
There are only two possibilities..... The tires need to be replaced, or the wheels are defective from the start..... Assuming that the techs were qualified.... And obviously the guy who was suggesting spacers as a fix, had no idea what he is talking about.... (Some people just talk to hear their own voice)....There are plenty of perfectly round aftermarket wheels, but you may have gotten a bad set.....
Personally I would have put the factory wheels back on to compare before I drove for thousands of miles.... Because it would have driven me nuts for my car not to be 100%.....
Plus all that vibration could not be good for your drivetrain or suspension.....
Personally I would have put the factory wheels back on to compare before I drove for thousands of miles.... Because it would have driven me nuts for my car not to be 100%.....
Plus all that vibration could not be good for your drivetrain or suspension.....
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
All the above infor is good, starting with the tinnerman clips that should/must be removed with many all aftermarket wheels. However, if you were more specific, it's possible that people could easily state that spacers were or were not needed. Such as, what wheels are they? Who made them? What size are they? I'm not sure how you flat spot all four tires, if that is the case, other than doing a fairly long power slide, but as mentioned by one poster, if that is the case, that could easily be your issue and not the wheels. But I'd start with the easy, non-costly stuff and work your way up from there. That means pulling the wheel, one at a time, and checking to see if those retainer clips are still on one or more wheels. If you don't know what they look like, do an advanced search on CF C6 Gen and put in wheel clips.
Come back and tell us what it is/was and how you solved the wheel balance issue.
Oh heck: look at post #6, right around one of the wheel studs is the "retainer" aka tinnerman clip.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1571722100
Come back and tell us what it is/was and how you solved the wheel balance issue.
Oh heck: look at post #6, right around one of the wheel studs is the "retainer" aka tinnerman clip.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1571722100
Last edited by AORoads; Aug 3, 2015 at 09:45 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 14,999
Likes: 200
From: Bay Area Ca.
This problem comes up occasionally. My experience with after market wheels was similar.
I was told that the hub was 1mm smaller than the rims bore. The smallest spacer is 3mm so they wanted to bore the rim, to enable the spacer to work. I declined this suggestion and the tech mentioned that sometimes a bit of tape wrapped around the hub will work, IT DID!
No tinnerman issues either and they used the Hunter system. It was a high end retail custom rim shop. I had the Pfdat street alinement done also and the tech nailed the numbers exactly.
The wheels in my instance where LG rims, World Challenge.
This brings to light the debate of hub centric vs stud centric, not addressing this but thought I would post my story.
I was told that the hub was 1mm smaller than the rims bore. The smallest spacer is 3mm so they wanted to bore the rim, to enable the spacer to work. I declined this suggestion and the tech mentioned that sometimes a bit of tape wrapped around the hub will work, IT DID!
No tinnerman issues either and they used the Hunter system. It was a high end retail custom rim shop. I had the Pfdat street alinement done also and the tech nailed the numbers exactly.
The wheels in my instance where LG rims, World Challenge.
This brings to light the debate of hub centric vs stud centric, not addressing this but thought I would post my story.
Thread Starter
3rd Gear
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
The suggestion about wrapping the hub has been the advice from the place where I purchased the wheels online. This is the first time I've ever had to replace wheels on a car so I'm not used to having problems these types of problems. The reason I changed the wheels was the original wheels were corroded from brake dust and salt and was more worried about a failure on the road with them than a situation I had some control over. Again, the problem only starts around 65+ mph not all the time. I figure a flat spot would be felt all the time, a balancing issue would be the same. I did have the brakes changed here to Hawk ceramic to cut down on dust which has made the vibration somewhat better but still there. Thanks to all who took time to help and believe me, the last thing in the world I would do is cause harm to my Vette.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 14,999
Likes: 200
From: Bay Area Ca.
Sometimes OEM is just a easier way to go.
I eventually went back to stock rims due to the offset wasn't right. One side was even with the fender lip an the opposite side the tire bulged out some. Has to do with how the car sits on the frame. With wheels tucked in it is not as noticeable.
Ended up being a hassle and waste of money?
I eventually went back to stock rims due to the offset wasn't right. One side was even with the fender lip an the opposite side the tire bulged out some. Has to do with how the car sits on the frame. With wheels tucked in it is not as noticeable.
Ended up being a hassle and waste of money?
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 4,907
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From: Southwest Kansas
2022 Corvette of the Year Finalist -- Unmodified
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I think that the wheels on our vettes are "hub-centric" and if the wheel center is bigger than the hub it may not fit properly. I'm thinking a different set of wheels is the key.
What type/brand wheels did you install?
What type/brand wheels did you install?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 757
Likes: 47
From: Tracy CA
Its not really a hub spacer but what your looking for is hubcentric rings to fill the gap between the center bore of aftermarket wheels and the hub on the car. The weight of the wheel should really be set on the hub not the wheel studs. But personally I've never had a problem running wheels without hub rings but I usually have them.