I have done next to everything. I have got the alignment checked, I have balanced the tires, I have replaced the tires and still Im getting the same stuff. When I start driving past 40 MPH, the steering wheel starts to shake to the left and right really fast as if the wheels were out of balance. The car seems to have lost a LOT of its stability once going past 70 MPH, the car seems to want to wade into the turns and it does not feel safe or sharp at all. I was out of the country for a while, I have a slight idea that my younger brother took it for a joy ride and possibly did something to the car.

Could this the Shock/suspension related?
Could the wheel be bent which is causing the vibration?
Any other ideas for why the car feels soo ****ty when taking semi sharp turns?

I know this is a specific question on such a broad statement but any ideas can help.

By the way, this is a 2006 MR on stock suspension and wheels with stock Advan A046

 

brake rotors, alignment, tires....
beyond that its going to suck$

 

brake rotors seem to be okay since the steering wheel does not shake when I apply the brakes.

 

sounds like a bent wheel. when you had them balanced did you watch them on the balancing maching as they spun? it's usually pretty easy to detect. also, if you're running crap brand tires, that could contribute to the problem as many of the lower quality tires are difficult if not impossible to balance.

 

The place that balanced the wheels should have picked up a bent one. Only other thing that's caused vibrations for me (on an old skool BMW) was wheels with center hole bigger than the locating lug thing on the hub so the wheel never mounted perfectly. Fixed with some cheap plastic rings to fill the gap.

Other than that, steering rack?

 

if someone reputable replaced and balanced the tires and did the alignment the only other thing I can think is brakes. It is possible you have a loose suspension compenent (tie rod or something) but your brother would have had to **** up something pretty bad, and that probably would have showed up on the alignment machine.

Do yourself a favor and have the brakes checked. Does the vibration get slightly worse or slightly better when the brakes are applied VERY light? (ie, just touching?). You can also try to do the bed-in process stopping from 90-5 mph 3-5 times in a short period of time and then driving for ~20 min to allow cool off.

Lastly, if your parking brake was on that whole time see if one of your rear rotors is frozen or a parking brake cable is broken and leaving one of the pads slightly touching. Is it easy to push the car on a level surface? Is it too easy to pull the e-brake?

 

You should start by asking your little bro if he "knows" what might of happened...
I would recommend the dealer, but they might give you some crazy story that you have to replace your whole suspention or something...

But it does sound like your rotors might be warped since thats the only thing you havent checked that might cause the vibration...

 

A bent wheel can be very hard to see on the balancer if the wobble is small. A bent wheel can still balance, yet wobble while on the road. Use a straight-edge to check the rim's runout at at least 6 points. Obviously start with the front, the rears will not shake the steering wheel. You could also have a broken belt in one of your tires which is next to impossible to determine without process of elimination. Rotate your tires one by one and see if the wobble changes. An alignment will not cause the steering wheel to shake unless the specs are WAYYY out. Also, even though it seems obvious, check loosen and re-torque your front wheels.

 

from my ejamacated guess, i bet your rotors is what causing your wheel to shake, rub your finger at the edge of the rotor and see if you have a LIP. If not then check for if your at minimum thickness already (any local brake shop can check it out). Besides that i wouldnt really know why your wheel would be vibrating, well keep us updated once you find out the problem and GOOD LUCK!!

 

I've seen tires actually have some of the steel belts become damaged before. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a bad tire.

 

or you have a bad tire or a bent wheel. I had the same issue too until a reputable shop told me one of my wheels was bent.

 

My guess is someones brother could have hit and damaged something in the front end. Check the a-arms, bushings, tie-rods -- looseness and sloppy driving can be due to hitting a curb or pothole. Check the rims for trueness also.

 

Does the vibration go away at some speed faster?

I had this same problem, only at 68mph it started and went away about 74mph-75mph...guess what: strut mounts.

The factory strut mounts have the bearing isolated by rubber...this fatigues and gives an oscillation that is pretty well damped at lower speeds, gets really bad in a fairly narrow range, then goes away as the vibration goes beyond the harmonic. New mounts: problem solved.

After the rubber fatigues a little, it can not hold the strut in a steady position through some vibration frequency ranges.

Oh, BTW...I was not smart enough to figure this out on my own, Mr. Robert Fuller is the one that gets credit for that.

HTH, YMMV.

 

dont know dude, im having the same problem too sorta. i think mines a bent wheel, gay part is im about to take a little road trip today... with this

 

Ok maybe one of your wheels is bent.
Your rotors can be warped( follow the suggestions of Evo 9 "Miss Rose")
Your tires are not balanced right
You have a bad tire
Your Ball joints are busted(If your little douche bag brother ran over a curb or a big pot hole)

The most probable explanation is either a bent wheel or you have warped rotors.