Ok...I am getting really tired of this:



I have recently installed my "winter wheel/tire" package on my MR (consisting of a set of Work Emotions and a set or Dunlop M3's). It was originally installed by the dealer, balanced etc...I immediately noticed a wheel vibration/shimmy at 65mph so I took it back and had the wheels re-balanced 3 times…vibration still there.



Thinking that they are just morons, I elect to go to an alignment shop that I know (it has been there since 1940 so the guy knows his stuff) to have them look at it. After balancing the wheels (road force balancing-one of the best) and finding that they are not “OFF” by too much, they noticed that the wheel hub-opening was just a hair larger than the hub itself, so I got centering rings installed. That should fix the problem, right?...Well, it didn’t and even though the shimmy is marginally better, it is still there.



I have balanced the wheels half a dozen times almost, installed centering rings, I have not tracked the car, gone over huge potholes etc. Could it be tire wear? Maybe the stick-on weights are junk/falling off?



I read forums about this and I didn’t really find anyone that had this problem after SO much work to fix it…usually people get the wheels balanced and problem is solved.



Thanks for the input, everyone.

 

i don't think wheel weights would fall off 12 times in a row

 

I had a similar vibration but it was due to using the stock lug nuts from the BBS and not using the ones Discount Tire Direct provided with my winter set. You may want to double check this.....

 

Is it a steering wheel vibration or the whole car? Move the wheels to different positions to see if you can isolate the problem.

Also keep in mind that there are different types of balancing. A static balance (one weight, or row of adhesive weights) will balance the wheel in a vertical plane.
When you have two rows of weights your wheel is also getting balanced in the lateral plane. This is a much better balance.
Now here is the downside to doing a dynamic balance, most machines roundoff and if the lateral balance is close enough the machine may read zero, *BUT* the static balance can still be off up to .35 ounces (which is a lot). All the higher quality machines (the hunter I would assume has this, they make great equipment) will allow you to turn off the rounding setting on the balancer to show what weight needs to be changed to get the static balance in check. On the front I try to get under .10 ounces and the rear under .20 ounces.

Hope that helps

 

Have you had the wheels checked to see if they are defective?? I had a mustang, and bought true cobra wheels- went thruogh the same stuff your going through- finally had the guy at the tire shop try to ballance the wheel with no tire on it- sure enough, defective wheel...if you had the road force balance, there is not a lot of other options- doesnt happen with stock wheels, right?

 

NDqsx: What you are describing is interesting and makes sense...I dont have the techincal knowledge to fully appreciate this information, but I will pass it on to the alignment place and see what they say (FYI, the balancer they use IS a Hunter machine).
Matthew333: I did not have the wheels checked but from what they said, the balancer they use (Hunter brand) will actually identify a defective wheel. From what I remember, the stock wheels do not present a vibration problem.
FYI for everyone else, it is not the car that vibrates...only the steering wheel and only at cruising speeds (65-75mph). It is not a rotor issue because I get no braking vibrations.
One thing that has surprised me is the fact that this bothers me so much that I am getting to appreciate the other more "serious" problems that people have and post comments on. Hopefully I'll get to the bottom of this, and when I do, I will post the info so someone else CAN learn from it.
Thanks

 

bump

 

Have you had your alignment checked lately? I found a link that describes your situation: http://www.justtires.com/services/checkAlignment.html

 

Hey dude, I feel for ya because I had the same issue with another set of Enkei's I had. I had the several different tire shops try to "balance" them but the vibration was still there. I finally went down to the place and watched them balance the wheels, and then I had them put the wheels right back on the balancer. And guess what...they were off by 1/4 oz! So I made them repeat this process until the weight was as close as they could get it. Finally they got it after about 3-4 balances per wheel. The vibration was gone after that...

If that didn't work I would have made them take the tires off the wheels and just balance the wheels (to make sure that one of the wheels wasn't bent or something)...I have the Work Emotions as well and had similar problems (see this thread https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=158835)

Hope this helps.

Luffy

 

I have had the identical experience. There are at least 3 causes of this type of problem: 1) improper operation of the wheel balancer, 2) a bent or defective wheel, 3) a shifted belt or defective tire. In my case I drove 5 hours to the Tire Rack and had them reinstall the tires and balance the wheels. The vibration was gone. Nearly all premium tires have the heavy side of the tire marked and some have the high side of the tire marked. I think the heavy side goes opposite the valve stem to minimize the amount of weight required to balance the tire. So, a good shop that knows what they are doing has solved my tire balance problems at least 3 times and twice on the Evo. So, my conclusion is that improper tire installation and incompetent wheel balance operators can make the same mistakes over and over again.

So, have the runout on your wheels checked. You want to check both lateral and radial runout. Next spin the tire on the vehicle and watch the tire and tread for any type of irregularities. Tires are supposed to be round and not exihibit more than 1-2 mm of radial runout. The tread should likewise run true. Any obvious lateral movement in the tread is a sign that the tire is defective. This stuff is not rocket science. Take you car to someone who will trouble shoot your balance problems and see if you can get your money back from all of the places that failed to recognize the problem.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly have the shop manager take a ride in your car both before and after the tire service. Your vibration may not be tires at all! Axles and drive shafts can cause similar vibrations.

 

Excellent info! I will try this one more time (this time I am going to watch them do it) and I will let you all know how it goes.

Thanks again.

 

any resolution to this problem? (sorry to dig this up from the dead).

I'm going through the same situation?

 

same here please post

 

Thats how I found my problem on my wife's E class, Its the tires !!

 

Sorry for forgetting to update the thread; as it turned out, two of the four tires were out of spec and were giving a rating of 27 & 21 lbs respectively (instead of the normal 18 lbs as I was shown on a "RoadForce Balance" machine). The tires were purchased from TireRack and since I I had had them for over a year trying to figure out what the heck the problem was, the warranty expired.

I do have to say that TireRack offered to examine the wheels and POSSIBLY pro-rate a new set, but the whole idea of sending the tires back (my cost), waiting for them to examine them (while my only vehicle is down for a week or two) was not something I was prepared to do. In other words, they would "help" me but they would also make me jump through hoops to do it. Thanks, but no thanks.



Moral of the story is, INSIST that your wheels tires are balanced PERFECTLY and keep bugging whoever does it for you until it it done properly. I unfortunatelly had to take it to three different places until we figured it out and I gave each place several chances to do it right (mistake no 1: if they dont get it right the first time, move on).



Anyway, I hope this helps and as a closing statement, I have to say that I was dissapointed with TireRack (and shocked because they are USUALLY pretty good with these things); I dont track my car, the tires look almost brand new, I baby my car like you wouldnt believe and I have purchased 3 sets of tires from them in about 18 months that I have owned my MR. Won't be shopping there again but this is only my personal story...other people might have different experiences.



THanks for reading and I hope this helps some of you.