Has anyone that has has new tires mounted or remounted on the OEM 18" wheels (w/TPMS) experienced vibration issues? And were they mounted and balanced by an independent tire shop or the dealer?

I have been having a vibration issue with my new tires that is prevelant thru the steering wheel and it is not from an out of round tire as the vibration is present no matter what wheel is mounted where. I have swapped side to side and front to rear. The wheels have been rebalanced twice by the same shop but to no avail. They say I need new tires.

At first they placed only "knock" weights on the inside rim then the rebalanced with stick-on weights over the inside bead only. The OEM weights were placed about 1" in from the spokes, just about under the brake discs. I think thie is an out of CG issue and will have the dealer check it out.

A fellow member has graciously provided me with the proper way to balance these wheels as per the mfgr specs and will be having the dealer rebalance my wheels on Tuesday. I will keep you updated as to the outcome!

Thanks

 

Hi Rotary Nut,

Can you share this info with us?

Good luck on getting your wheels balanced. So the place you got them mounted/balanced at is claiming your brand new tires are defective?

After having my snow tires/wheels on my car, I think my stock tires/wheels were out of balance as the car had a slight but annoying steering wheel vibration which is not present with the snows on.

Once the snow tires/wheels come off, I'll be taking the original stock tires/wheels in to my Mazda dealer to get balanced. I hope I don't run into the issues you're having.

rx8cited

 

Yes the vibration is annoying as I have Advanced Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both hands and it will tend to make my hands go numb after extended times behind the wheel.

That owner did not want to post the service manual info in the site for fear of whiners citing copyright infringement so I need to respect his decision to do so.

For the most part it is a simple mathmatical calculation that needs to be done to come up with the weight that is to be placed in the outer position of the wheel.

 

No problem on being unable to share - sounds like the info would only be useful to someone with a balancing machine.

I thought the balancing machine did the required mathmatical calculations and told the mechanics exactly how much weight to use and where to put it.

I'm curious to know how it goes for you with the equations - you might want to bring your calculator in case they don't have one :D.

rx8cited

 

I changed my tires and rims for 17" and have vibrations too, between 82 and 95 KM/H. I went 3 times to the dealer, re-balanced and change the tires the last time. They have no idea of what the problem is.

I'm still looking for a solution.

 

Do you have the TPMS installed in your 17" wheels?

The problem I have seems to be an issue with either the OEM 18" wheels or any wheel with the TPMS sensors installed. I have a little bit of experience with aircraft weight and balance so I think the calculation is used to modify the CG of the wheel by accoutnting for arm and moment.

The wheel may be balanced but the CG of the wheel may be off due to the greater mass of the sensors in the wheels.

 

RN,

I too had extensive vibration from my snow tires when I first received them from Tire Rack. They told me the tire needed to br broken down. My understnading is this process entails seperating the wheel and tire and replacing them with the heavy spots on both at 180 degrees from each other. Then a re-balance can be done. I've also expereicned some time ago issues with out of roudn tires causing vibrations around 60 MPH, but I think that doesn't apply to your situation.

Sounds like you got it pretty much covered,but here's my previous post on the subject.

 

Go to GSP9700.com and find a local dealer that has the 9700 Hunter "road force" balancer.

 

Geez, I thought the mild vibration from my 17" M3 runflats at indicated 75-plus mph was just their "knobbyness" compared to stock. (I had no vibration issues with the OEM wheel/tire combo.) Mine also came from Tire Rack, on Sport Fox2 wheels with no pressure sensor. Almost time to take them off; then 7 mos. to research this via WH's helpful prior post.

 

TheDosDog,
Thanks for the tip.

Can you or anyone else share a personal experience with what the 9700 Hunter "road force" balancer did for you? I'm not familiar with this machine or asking for one by name - so I'd like to know more.

Thanks,
rx8cited

 

Because it applies a load to the tire it detects and corrects for other variables than just balance. My only experience is with the new GTO as it is the balancer mandated by Holden. The GSP9700 web site has a demo and dealer locator to find a machine near by.

 

Yep. GPS9700 has been mentioned as one of the best for a long time. My first experience with out of round tires (seems like this thread has shifted a little to this discussion) was on a 98 Lexus GS400. Brand new that year and they were loosing several vehicles to lemon laws due to out of round tires. I had the option as well, but ended up pulling a fresh set of tires off one of the GS400's sitting on the lot that resolved the issue. I beleive the GPS9700 was just coming out about then or at least not many shops had one.

Here's a post on another board from way back in 2000 that might be helpful here.

 

Well just got back from the dealer an I have to just say thanks to Speed racer for the info from the CD on the wheel balancing instructions. The tires run smooth as glass! No vibration(s) at all. It was money well spent.

Now I can get back to enjoying the smoothness of the car (not that I haven't mind ya!) and not have to worry about my hands falling asleep!

 

Can you get disability for advanced carpel tunnel syndrom if your occupation requires typing alot?

 

I have been told yes because in severe cases surgery is required and you then loose some feeling and or functionality of the hand. If it affects you job performance than I would say yes.

Check out this Web MD site for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome