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Prblems with balancing Front wheels

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Old Mar 2, 2011 | 09:33 PM
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Default Prblems with balancing Front wheels

I have a 2010 Grand Sport and have had trouble getting the front wheels balanced. I have gone to 2 different Tire Stores for balancing and finally bought a new set of Michilens but stll can't get the front wheels perfectly balanced. The wheels appear to run out properly and are not bent. Had a complete allignment and had the dealer check all suspension components. Still have a slight shimmy in steering wheel. It doesn't seem to be consistant. After balancing, it seems to be smooth at times, then the next time I get in the car it will have a slight shimmy.

Has anyone else had a similar problem or does anyone have suggestions.
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Old Mar 3, 2011 | 02:14 AM
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Have you used the hunter road force machine?
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Old Mar 3, 2011 | 07:32 AM
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stock wheels?
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Old Mar 3, 2011 | 08:26 AM
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Originally Posted by operationblackwater
Have you used the hunter road force machine?

I used to believe in road force balancing but after talking to a few shops that specialize in high end wheels along having there own racing teams I have become a skeptic. Some people swear by it, but the people I think really know wtf there talking about say its a gimmick and doesnt really do any better of a job. Ive had wheels balance the standard way vs road force on both cars and truck and have never noticed a difference.

To get back on topic though. Ive purchased tires in the past that were manufactured defectivly and could not be balanced. This is a VERY possible scenario. If i were you I would contract whomever you bought the tires from and take it up with them.
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Old Mar 3, 2011 | 08:55 AM
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Another thing to check is your brake rotor runout, or at least eliminate that from the equation...Had a club member w/ZR1 who had a problem, factory defect, replaced under warranty. Not well advertised/known.
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Old Mar 3, 2011 | 03:31 PM
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i have had the same problem over and over again and it drove me nuts. i am very particular about this issue and wanted to have no shimmy at any speeds. i finally found a shop that really takes their time and knows what they are doing. they do all the run out stuff and road force balancing but after all that they do a high speed balancing while the tires/wheels are on the car. to get rid of it completely they even use as little as 1/4 of an ounce (if needed) and even rotate the wheel changing the lug position to see if that makes any improvement and it usually does. anytime the wheel comes off the car i have to go back to them to get it just right but fortunately it is not too often and to me it is worth it. good luck.
tks, dal
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Old Mar 3, 2011 | 04:33 PM
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Originally Posted by breecher_7
I used to believe in road force balancing but after talking to a few shops that specialize in high end wheels along having there own racing teams I have become a skeptic. Some people swear by it, but the people I think really know wtf there talking about say its a gimmick and doesnt really do any better of a job. Ive had wheels balance the standard way vs road force on both cars and truck and have never noticed a difference.

To get back on topic though. Ive purchased tires in the past that were manufactured defectivly and could not be balanced. This is a VERY possible scenario. If i were you I would contract whomever you bought the tires from and take it up with them.
The Hunter Road Force balancer will find slightly out-of-round or out-of-true wheel/tire combinations, which is nearly impossible to do with other equipment. If you are lucky and don't have those problems, then a normal balance will do just fine. But if you have some problem, the Road Force balancer is a good place to start. As someone said, you can balance a square but it don't roll very good.

You want a road force of less than 10 on the front wheels and less than 15 on the rears, the monkeys at our local Discount Tires thought that a RF of 20 was fine on a Corvette front and I still had a vibration at 70-75 mph. Made them rotate the tire on the rim, RF down to 4 and car is butter smooth.
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