Mad*Max

Had the tires replaced and subsequent to that had one of the front TPMS swapped (they broke the bead and changed without dismounting the tire).

When I cross 60 mph there is a slight vibration (most of the times) - could it be that the balancing is out since the TPMS was swapped (I presume different brands are slightly different in shape/size)?

Just wondering if people think it is balancing before I take my time out to get it re-done?



PS - there was nothing prior to tire change and I am not sure if it developed after the TPMS swap or the tire change

SixAddict

Oh Boy

Absolutely make sure whoever put your wheel back on they torqued it to 100 ft lbs. I had this happen to me once when some idiot buried his air gun on my lugs. Car shook like crazy, re torqued my self to 100 and it was smooth again.

windyC6

And torquing the lugs too tight will throw the wheel out of balance for what reason ??......

Icecap

Probably a balance issue. That is why I removed and reinstalled my own tires taking them into a tire shop when I had my sensors replaced. I used the opportunity to thoroughly clean the wheel barrels since they had never been done. As well as a lot of filth, road grime, bits of asphalt and brake dust I still had the adhesive tape from a previous balance that I removed as well as the current weights that were still stuck on the wheels. I wanted to make sure that there was a clean surface for the weights to stick to when balanced.

I was turned off having a tire shop touch my car last year when I had a flat due to a screw that one of my nearly new Michelin Pilot SS ZP tires picked up. I went to the same store that sold the tires since they had free lifetime flat repairs on tires they sold. I was shocked that the ape that worked on my car didn't treat it with respect having gone at it with his 600 lb/ft lR impact and then scratched the face of my wheel while dismounting and remounting the tire on the wheel I didn't return to them for the sensors.and instead found a tire store that has the specialized no touch equipment for run flat tires.

Icecap

Not balance but over torquing or uneven tightening can cause distortion of the wheel causing it to wobble and not run true.

Mad*Max

I can loosen the nuts and re-torque to 100, I don't think there is any way to know if they are overtightened, undertightened yes but probably not over?

Dave S

If when replacing the TPMS sensor, the mechanic wasn't careful & allowed the tire to rotate on the wheel, that would cause an imbalance & vibration at speed. Have the wheel/tire re-balanced.

Oh Boy

Just get out your torque wrench and set it to 105. Don't loosen any lugs yet, just try to tighten them some more and see if they move. If they move a little they were probably near 100. If they don't move at all just keep upping the torque setting until you do get the lugs to move. At that point you will have a idea what the torque was. This is just one diagnostic to rule out or confirm the cause of your vibration.

Mad*Max

Okay, thanks, I will try this just to see if they were overtightened or not.

Mad*Max

So I re-torqued the nuts on all four wheels to 100. I am not sure if they were overtightened or not, if they were by not much.

Did a test run and was okay at 60 mph but beyond 75 mph there is an ever so slight vibration (does not seem rock solid). Seems like re-torqueing did help but I will get the tire guy to re-balance when I get time to go see him as he is far from my place.

Thanks all!

Turbo6TA

Just have all the tires re-balanced, and you will be ok ...

Nothin' to it

Mad*Max

I finally was able to find time to get the wheels re-balanced and I am glad to report that it seems like everything is good now, thanks for all the replies!!!!

nick14003

pretty sure they balance tires when they change them...

Mad*Max

You don't think that the TPMS swap could alter the balancing of the tire? That wheel was noticeably out of balance (according to the "tech").

FatsWaller

The vette wheels are "lug centric" meaning that the studs and lug nuts position the wheel on the hub. You get the best result when you torque up the lug nuts when there is no load on the wheel, because the weight of the car could push the wheel slightly off center if you lower it first to the ground before the nuts are torqued. As such, torqueing would be difficult without an air gun, especially on the front wheels, so if you are doing it yourself, you tighten them as best you can before lowering to the ground. After that, I lower the wheel just enough so that the wheel won't spin when using the torque wrench. On the rears, you have a parking brake. I'm sure some of you will say that you didn't worry about this, and there was no vibration, but IMHO, one should follow best practices.

windyC6

Are you suggesting that while the wheel would be pushed up if lowered, that the wheel isn't heavy enough to bottom out...so-to-speak... on the studs while hanging there ?........

FatsWaller

Off the top of my head,the wheel/tire weighs around 40 lbs. The corner of the car about 800. It would be much easier for the taper on the lug nuts to locate the wheel with 40 lbs of downward pressure, compared to 800 upwards. IMHO, you get a better result with the tire off of the ground.

nick14003

the tpms is inside the tire which means they need to take the tire off in order to change it, anytime the tire comes off the rim it is common practice to rebalance the wheel.

Mad*Max

mine was changed without removing the tire, I am talking about something else