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First of all did the op even mention where he felt the vibration? And is he talking about a steering wheel shimmy or a vibration in the car. Does he feel it in the seat of his pants? Vibration and shimmy are two different things and two probable different causes.
First of all did the op even mention where he felt the vibration? And is he talking about a steering wheel shimmy or a vibration in the car. Does he feel it in the seat of his pants? Vibration and shimmy are two different things and two probable different causes.
Sorry I wasn't trying to ignore you. I am trying to do other crap around my house also and pay attention to this too, and I think I just scrolled too fast.
So a very tiny amount in the steering but it resonates through the whole car. Seems to start from the front to the back like a pulsating wave. If I let go of the steering wheel for a bit it does vibrate very slightly.
Sorry I wasn't trying to ignore you. I am trying to do other crap around my house also and pay attention to this too, and I think I just scrolled too fast.
So a very tiny amount in the steering but it resonates through the whole car. Seems to start from the front to the back like a pulsating wave. If I let go of the steering wheel for a bit it does vibrate very slightly.
i think this will help diagnose, have you tried swapping the wheels left to right and vice versa?
I don't think it has anything to do with shock absorbers.
Only reason. I thought of it was I didn't know if it transmitting vibration into the shicks that the mag ride would try to compensate somehow for it. Not sure how quick it trys to rebound and stuff. Sorry very first corvette and also know much of nothing about the mag ride system.
That's interesting but I'd like to know how that could be? By just swapping from side to side you haven't changed anything with the two wheels/tires but somehow that fixes the problem and according to you also says the wheels/tires are the "culprit". Seems contradictory to me. I think more explanation is required.
Sorry I wasn't trying to ignore you. I am trying to do other crap around my house also and pay attention to this too, and I think I just scrolled too fast.
So a very tiny amount in the steering but it resonates through the whole car. Seems to start from the front to the back like a pulsating wave. If I let go of the steering wheel for a bit it does vibrate very slightly.
Originally Posted by samk6
I would think if it had something to do with mag ride then I would get a light correct? I notice it as I come up toward 70 and 80 and the pulsation just gets repetitively faster the faster i go. I havent really pushed it past 100 much just cause its not smooth.
You speak of pulsation, as in the vibration increases and decreases. Consider this: if there's even a 2/10" difference between circumferences on the tires of the size on your vette, then going at 60 mph, the relative rotational positions of the tires change 360 degrees twice a minute because there would be a 2 rpm difference in wheel speeds. Let's use the valve stems as reference points, and consider just the front wheels. Twice a minute, the valve stems are in the same relative position, and twice a minute, they are 180 degrees apart. The same would be true of the rear wheels with respect to each other. That means that if an imbalance existed on both front wheels, then that imbalance would be in sync on both wheels every 30 seconds, and would make the vibration worse. That's just for a 2/10" difference in circumference. With 4/10", it would happen every 15 seconds. At 70 mph, it would be more like 13 seconds. You'd only need roughly an increase in 1/10" of the tire diameter to get a 4/10" difference in circumference. I'm thinking that that could easily happen if the tire pressures differ even by a couple of PSI. It's not an excuse for an improper balance job, but it could explain why you get the pulsating effect.
To a different point, I don't understand why you didn't take it back to the shop and complain. I'd go back, and have the service adviser take a run in the car with you so they could experience the issue. Any shop I've been to would re-balance them again at least once at their expense if the result wasn't OK, or at least explain to you why they think that's the best result that they can get with their equipment. Just saying.
Last edited by FatsWaller; May 29, 2022 at 11:34 AM.
Reason: fixed typo ' -> "
You speak of pulsation, as in the vibration increases and decreases. Consider this: if there's even a 2/10" difference between circumferences on the tires of the size on your vette, then going at 60 mph, the relative rotational positions of the tires change 360 degrees twice a minute because there would be a 2 rpm difference in wheel speeds. Let's use the valve stems as reference points, and consider just the front wheels. Twice a minute, the valve stems are in the same relative position, and twice a minute, they are 180 degrees apart. The same would be true of the rear wheels with respect to each other. That means that if an imbalance existed on both front wheels, then that imbalance would be in sync on both wheels every 30 seconds, and would make the vibration worse. That's just for a 2/10" difference in circumference. With 4/10", it would happen every 15 seconds. At 70 mph, it would be more like 13 seconds. You'd only need roughly an increase in 1/10" of the tire diameter to get a 4/10" difference in circumference. I'm thinking that that could easily happen if the tire pressures differ even by a couple of PSI. It's not an excuse for an improper balance job, but it could explain why you get the pulsating effect.
To a different point, I don't understand why you didn't take it back to the shop and complain. I'd go back, and have the service adviser take a run in the car with you so they could experience the issue. Any shop I've been to would re-balance them again at least once at their expense if the result wasn't OK, or at least explain to you why they think that's the best result that they can get with their equipment. Just saying.
I actually did take it back and he drove the car with me in it after they changed the tires and did the alignment. He felt exactly what i did and the they took the car back and did the road force balance on it. After all that i explained that it did help alot but the same vibration was still there just alot less noticable than before.
I got told that it might be just the nature of the beast because it's a corvette and they ride rough. So I wasn't going to take it back after they said that was all they could do.
That same vibration and pulsation was there and did not change when I took it up there to have the 11 year old nitto invos taken off and put new tires, Continental, put on.
I believe they either stuck at balancing vette tires or the rims are cheap junk. I haven't had this issue with the 11 other cars and trucks I have taken to this dealer and they have always been the nicest ppl to me and have done lots of things, even for free, to help me out.
At this point I'm still trying to research for someone around the st louis mo area that would be great to go to that balances at least high end cars with big tires.
Tires pressures are spot on at 30 psi also. And they only have about 500 miles on them and never have spun the rears.
If those ZR-1 rims are replicas, then I guarantee one (or more) is not 100% round. This is why I would never buy replica wheels (which I know came with the car, so it's not your fault).
You can buy used OEM wheels from Detroit Wheels (that's where I bought my chrome Grand Cherokee Summit rims - Jeep doesn't offer these in chrome). I have no affiliation with them...found them via a Google search and discovered they take OEM rims in on trade, chrome/black them and re-sell. They ONLY deal with OEM rims. Give them a shot. The rims for my Jeep look AWESOME (and they have that ZR-1 look )
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Continental tires have had issues with vibration. You can google the problem. I had them along with C7 Z06 factory wheels and had vibration. Got rid of them for Forgeline wheels and Hankook tires. No more vibration.
Continental tires have had issues with vibration. You can google the problem. I had them along with C7 Z06 factory wheels and had vibration. Got rid of them for Forgeline wheels and Hankook tires. No more vibration.
Wish I could afford some Forgeline. They are really nice wheels.
Sam, When everything is right your Corvette should run smooth as silk on a good road no matter how fast you are going. Saying it's because it's a Corvette just reveals how incompetent that dealer is in finding the real problem. When the car is moving there are lot's of things spinning and any one of them could be the culprit. But wheels & tires are the most obvious. Get the balance checked at a high end shop. And again, when the wheel is spinning on the balance machine, it doesn't take a genius to see a bent or out of round wheel. It's obvious.
Sam, When everything is right your Corvette should run smooth as silk on a good road no matter how fast you are going. Saying it's because it's a Corvette just reveals how incompetent that dealer is in finding the real problem. When the car is moving there are lot's of things spinning and any one of them could be the culprit. But wheels & tires are the most obvious. Get the balance checked at a high end shop. And again, when the wheel is spinning on the balance machine, it doesn't take a genius to see a bent or out of round wheel. It's obvious.
For sure. I'll chime back in when and if the problem is found.
Sam, When everything is right your Corvette should run smooth as silk on a good road no matter how fast you are going. Saying it's because it's a Corvette just reveals how incompetent that dealer is in finding the real problem. When the car is moving there are lot's of things spinning and any one of them could be the culprit. But wheels & tires are the most obvious. Get the balance checked at a high end shop. And again, when the wheel is spinning on the balance machine, it doesn't take a genius to see a bent or out of round wheel. It's obvious.
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