Truck shakes with new tires

[ahardb0dy]

as for the weights, if while balancing the machine calls for a 1 OZ weight say on the top of the wheel (while on the machine) than when spun again it calls for a .50 OZ weight directly across from the 1 OZ weight it would not be right to put the .50 OZ weight on, I would try (if I was doing the balancing) to remove the 1 Oz weight and put a .50 OZ weight in it's place.

 

Wheels can be bent and not be "obviously" bent as well

[esy]

as for the weights, if while balancing the machine calls for a 1 OZ weight say on the top of the wheel (while on the machine) than when spun again it calls for a .50 OZ weight directly across from the 1 OZ weight it would not be right to put the .50 OZ weight on, I would try (if I was doing the balancing) to remove the 1 Oz weight and put a .50 OZ weight in it's place.

 

Wheels can be bent and not be "obviously" bent as well

 

wait, are you talking on the same side of the wheel? if it's on the same side of the wheel, it's always in the shop workers' best interest to only balance a wheel with one weight on either side of the wheel. if that's what you're getting at, yes, i wholeheartedly agree. not only doe the balance look more professional with only one weight on either side of the wheel, but it's the proper way. i thought you were getting at one weight at the top of the wheel on the outside rim and another weight at the top of the wheel on the inside rim.

 

i agree, a wheel can look normal but once it's spun it's usually extremely easy to tell if it's bent or not.

[ahardb0dy]

sorry for not being more clear, Yes I was referring to on the same side of the wheel, the balancer we had in the shop I worked at had no cover, think it either fell off or they took it off as we used to balance 44's and larger tires and the big tires wouldn't clear the cover. So having no cover, while dangerous if anything was stuck in the tread made it easy to see how the tires spun. It's funny things you remember, I remember balancing a 44" tire one day and it was so bad I had to sit on the machine to keep it down, (it wasn't bolted to the floor either !!) and another time I balanced a 46" Firestone Turf and Field tire (Not DOT approved) on a custom made aluminum wheel and it took only 3 Oz's to zero out! Some 44's were so bad we would lay down 36 Oz's of stick on weights before we tried to balance the tire! Memories, miss having access to a tire machine and balancer anytime I need one!!

[piste]

I had the same experience with Michelin LTX M/S's....serious steering wheel vibration from Day one....rebalanced many times but not much improvement...and sadly that's how it went for the 100K miles of their life...this August I finally replaced them with Bridgestone Revo 2's and MADE SURE based on lots of reading I had done to have them road force balanced....well...not sure if it was the road force balance or that the Michelins were crap and Revo's phenomenal...but my Revos glide like "buttah" at any speed and I have absolutely ZERO steering wheel wobble anymore. They ride better than several all seasons I've used in the past. Not sure what to attribute to what ...but the difference is incredible. Therefore...I am now a BIG fan of the Revos AND road force balancing...it's been a great recipe for me so far.

 

ETA: In case it matters to anyone...the LTXs mentioned above were originally purchased at Costco.

Edited December 8, 2010 by piste

[nunya]

as for the weights, if while balancing the machine calls for a 1 OZ weight say on the top of the wheel (while on the machine) than when spun again it calls for a .50 OZ weight directly across from the 1 OZ weight it would not be right to put the .50 OZ weight on, I would try (if I was doing the balancing) to remove the 1 Oz weight and put a .50 OZ weight in it's place.

 

Wheels can be bent and not be "obviously" bent as well

Normally pick the "happy medium". Don't go strait for the .50, try a .75 first... Odds are it's a mix of a bad spin, a weight that's a little off from it's markings and the weight not bein exactly where it's supposed to be. And a wheel balance "job" is easy money... just Soo bloody boring (I hate the motonany of doein tires)

 

 

OP, you get them re-balanced yet? Any differences?

[sewebster]

I don't know if costco/sam's does auto stuff in Canada?

[pathfounder]

OP, you get them re-balanced yet? Any differences?

 

I dropped by Canadian Tire today and they agreed to check it for free. I am probably going to do an after-hours dropoff tonight. I'll update when I have real news (could be awhile before I wind it out on the highway).

[pathfounder]

So....

 

Left it at CT last night. Tires were rebalanced for free this morning.

 

Was told that all rims are slightly bent, which I can believe. All tires are "choppy" as well apparently.

 

I think based on the fact that the truck was fine with the old tires (other than having no traction), the new tires are just not that good. It's possible that the last owner had suspension issues which caused unusual wear, or the tires are just crap.

 

I hardly ever drive on the highway, and it's only a problem above 100 or so, so I am just going to live with it for the winter, and probably after that as well.

[adamzan]

I have a really hard time believing that all 4 rims are bent. The tires could just be @!*%, though.

 

I have 4 WD21 Lego wheels with good Bridgestone dueler AT's on them sitting at home, if you wanna try them out sometime, and see if it cures the problem...

[esy]

I have a really hard time believing that all 4 rims are bent. The tires could just be @!*%, though.

 

 

2nd. you've got to do quite a bit to be able to bend all wheels. most bent wheels (those that are significant enough to even be felt) are ones that are hitting the curb and putting a nice dent in the rim, and the rim flange. in offroading situations, i agree that it's easier to bend a wheel, but you've got to be driving like a tool to be able to bend them all, just my opinion.

 

what does the shop mean by "choppy"? do they mean feathered or cupping tires? feathered tires shouldn't really cause a vibration at high speeds. you'll usually just hear more road noise like a hum, and you'll probably only feel the feathered tires when braking/driving at slower speeds. tires that are cupping will be worse. tires that are cupped usually have a wavy type of wear in the tread which can definitely cause a vibration issue that resembles a bad balance.

 

nothing wrong with the tires or the work of the shop. the tires will stay that away until they smooth out through normal wear, and will just be annoying more than anything.

[Simon]

I believe you mentioned 6 spoke alloys. You will not bend them. You'll break them before they bend.

 

If the tech told you that, go back, smack him in the mouth, never go back there, and take Adam's shop recommendations with a grain of salt.

 

Chances are, if they think your rims are bent, they don't have them mounted on the balancer properly, which means, they shouldn't be balancing tires. Find another shop.

[adamzan]

Thing is did he take it to the one I suggested or to the original one? The one I suggested was recommended to me by a guy in my friends vw/audi club. I've never had issues with them.

Edited December 14, 2010 by adamzan

[pathfounder]

I believe you mentioned 6 spoke alloys. You will not bend them. You'll break them before they bend.

 

If the tech told you that, go back, smack him in the mouth, never go back there, and take Adam's shop recommendations with a grain of salt.

 

Chances are, if they think your rims are bent, they don't have them mounted on the balancer properly, which means, they shouldn't be balancing tires. Find another shop.

 

I didn't take them to the shop that Adam recommended, just the same chain.

 

I have no doubt that they are a bunch of crooks there, but I don't have the time/patience/money to take this any further. My truck is at a point where if the tires rattle the truck to bits, so be it. It got me to my exam and back this morning, so it's doing its job quite well.

 

You're probably right about the bent rim theory. I think what really happened here is they did a BS balancing job the first time, and just gave me a list of other possibilities to distract me from that, and so that if it's still rough, they can say "we told you so".

[pathfounder]

 

I have 4 WD21 Lego wheels with good Bridgestone dueler AT's on them sitting at home, if you wanna try them out sometime, and see if it cures the problem...

 

Thanks, might take you up on that sometime.

[pathfounder]

I drove it on the freeway today. I only got up to about 120, but there was no shaking of any kind. It used to start shaking lightly at 80, and terribly over 105 or so.

 

Clearly, it was the first balance job (or lack of one) that caused it.

[piste]

I drove it on the freeway today. I only got up to about 120, but there was no shaking of any kind. It used to start shaking lightly at 80, and terribly over 105 or so.

 

Clearly, it was the first balance job (or lack of one) that caused it.

 

Was this last balancing that cured the problem a road force balance on a Hunter machine? or no?

[pathfounder]

Balance job #1 and balance job #2 were exactly the same, other than different amounts of suckage. I think they just didn't care the first time.

[adamzan]

That's what usually happens. Although I find with CT there are good and bad shops. Like I know the one on Carling is good but the one in kanata is crap.

 

I had a shake the other day but it was because I got snow in my rims after doing donuts in my college parking lot