retired08

I just had new aftermarket (West Coast Corvette) wheels put on using my Eagle F1 tires that are almost new. Car ran smooth to 135 so there was no balancing issue before the new wheels. Now at about 75-80 I have a vibration. Here's the question, when the guy balanced the wheels, he added the "old" style weight to the inner rim so they wouldn't show. I watched and they all balanced to 00. All my other vettes have used stick on weights and never an issue so, is it wrong to use the "old" style hammer on weights on such a wide wheel and do the new wheel balancer's indicate any problems for speeds over 75?

lightbulb

Lets take this one step at a time and the critical first question is, was your tires and rims balanced on a Hunter roadforce machine?

saplumr

Depends on front or rear by vibration in steering wheel or seat.

lightbulb

I don't really think that is relative yet because if he didn't do it on a Hunter he will never get it right especially with aftermarket rims.

retired08

Sorry I don't remember what machine it was. The vibration is in the steering wheel...approximately 75-82mph. They used the old style hammer on weights, max was 2.5ozs. indicator on the machine showed 00 on all four wheels.

lightbulb

You have no way of telling anything that's going on with your rims and tires when you just use a spin balance machine.

lightbulb

Really can't tell you much without roadforce numbers.

saplumr

I'm pretty sure it's relevant regardless of what type machine was used. It certainly doesn't matter whether they're aftermarket or not. Road force machines are good but old type machines work just fine.

saplumr

One or both front tires are out.

lightbulb

Ok so now what. If they were balanced on a spin machine he has NO RECOURSE. He will go back and tell the thech he has a vibration and the tech will tell him they balanced to zero, what else do you want me do? There is NOTHING else he can do. He cannot match mount the tires and rims, he cannot get roadforce numbers and he cannot get runout of the tires and or rims to see where the vibration is or what could be causing it and for the most part he CANNOT correct anything on a spin balance machine. Aftermarket rims are not always true as compared to OEM.

saplumr

No disrespect but that is the exact reason wheels and tires have to be balanced. One of those front tires is not properly balanced and needs to be re-checked. This isn't brain surgery.

lightbulb

As a first simple line of defense, were your lug nuts torqued to 100ft lbs in a star pattern. If they were air gunned on they can very well be too tight and cause distortion in the rim because they are usually soft aluminum. It happened to me once, and when I properly re torqued to precisely 100lbs vibration was gone.

lightbulb

I think you know what my point is. If he goes back and has them rebalanced on a spin machine and they still read 00 and he still has vibration he has other issues which a spin balance has NO cure for and at that point CANNOT help you whereas a Hunter roadforce with it's various capabilities is needed.

lightbulb

But proper balancing entails far more than just adding weights to a car that has a vibration. You should know that. As is the op case he is showing 00 balance with the weights and he still has a shimmy. He has other issues with his tire wheel combo that a spin balance will NOT find or correct but a Hunter roadforce machine will.

saplumr

You certainly seem to have all the necessary information to steer the OP in the right direction. I doubt any more posts will be needed. Have a good day.

LowRyter

I never had good luck with aftermarket wheels particularly with used tires.

When I had to deal with it, I found a shop that could balance the wheels when mounted on the car and also able to shave some tread to ensure the tires were perfectly round.

I won't buy aftermarket wheels anymore. Always a hassle. I hope you can find a shop that's able to do what I suggest.

jaki30

The oem wheels have a recess machined around the lug holes. This is for the tin nuts that hold the rotor and brake assy together during the build process. Failure to remove the tin nuts when using aftermarket wheels will not allow the hub to sit flat on the rotor. Tire will balance to the rim off the car, but, the wheel doesnt track properly. Most aftermarket wheels do not have the recess around the lug holes.

lightbulb

Yes you are 100% correct and that also should be checked, I totally forgot about this situation in my prior posts.

lightbulb

I won't either. A lot of members have also complained and wind up having to fight to get their money back because they would not balance out correctly. Just not worth the possible problems down the road.

saplumr

Just for the ones who think OEM wheels are always perfect and all aftermarket wheels are inferior need a reality check. I've had multiple WCC 3 piece wheel sets and from my personal experience those wheels are a quality GM OEM can't touch. I've got a new $83K Yukon Denali XL (22's) and a new $74K Denali diesel (20's) and those wheels are the farthest thing from perfect as possible. I junked the Corvette factory wheels 12 years ago.