Steering wheel shaking

[trainerKEN]

It's an advanced balancing system done by this thingy ( http://www.gsp9700.com/ ) Most major tire shops have it. Smaller ones may not have it. With the regular balance, they might not get rid of the smaller vibrations, with this one, it's more accurate balancing.

http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm

You can find which shop has this machine.

thanks guys, turns out the shop I took my FX to doesn't appear on the list... I mean, it's a new shop that just opened, but it's a franchise "Just Tires" and none of their stores are on the list... I may have to have mine re-done... for there is still a slight shaking.

 

[jc'sfx]

thanks guys, turns out the shop I took my FX to doesn't appear on the list... I mean, it's a new shop that just opened, but it's a franchise "Just Tires" and none of their stores are on the list... I may have to have mine re-done... for there is still a slight shaking.

Ken - at which speed does your steering wheel shake? Mine does as well @ around 70 and gets a lil worse after that but after 80, it goes away. Maybe I have to take it back also.

 

[trainerKEN]

Ken - at which speed does your steering wheel shake? Mine does as well @ around 70 and gets a lil worse after that but after 80, it goes away. Maybe I have to take it back also.

I would say around 60ish... and less after 70... I wanna say more during idle and less during accelerating... never during braking.

 

[EG3]

Ken - at which speed does your steering wheel shake? Mine does as well @ around 70 and gets a lil worse after that but after 80, it goes away. Maybe I have to take it back also.

Just as a side comment: The shimmy should appear between 60-80. If it's appearing as the speed increases (past through 80), it might be related to the bearings as well. The shimmy should really decrease a lot after 80 as the speed should offset the balance issue at that point.. If it disappears after 80, just get a road force balance and it should go away..

 

[jc'sfx]

Just as a side comment: The shimmy should appear between 60-80. If it's appearing as the speed increases (past through 80), it might be related to the bearings as well. The shimmy should really decrease a lot after 80 as the speed should offset the balance issue at that point.. If it disappears after 80, just get a road force balance and it should go away..

I probably would .. I didnt trust the guys that did the initial mounting and balance to begin with, I was just too excited to put my rims on.

 

[JasonL]

Sorry for bumping an old thread..

So I just installed 4 used Parada Spec-X tires onto OEM wheels the other day and I've noticed that the wheel is shaking/vibrating around 35-40mph and there's also like a slight thumping noise coming from the right. I went back to the place I had them installed at and they're telling me that it's my right rear tire that causing it (says that it's uneven). He said that he could feel it, but I couldn't at all, but then again, I'm no professional. I see that fxlr8 mentions that it may go away after a while if it's just a tire problem.

So I'm just wondering the following and hoping that you guys could help me out:
-Could the right rear tire cause the steering wheel to shake?
-Should I wait for it to even out?
-Should I go for another balance at another place?
-I haven't had a wheel alignment in a while, so could that be the problem?
-Should I be worried? lol

 

[pmanliu]

go back to the tire place and have them check the balance. Look at the readings on the machine yourself, and make sure its close to zero.

thumping noise may mean something else... maybe contact yokohama for a replacement? hopefully others can chime in as well. good luck

 

[tchuck]

...
I went back to the place I had them installed at and they're telling me that it's my right rear tire that causing it (says that it's uneven). He said that he could feel it, but I couldn't at all, but then again, I'm no professional.
...

So the dude told you that the tire he installed on your car is uneven (what does that even mean?), and that it is causing your problem? Did you buy the tires from him? If so, tell him to fix it...?

 

[JasonL]

Yeah I'm gonna have them fix it. The guy that installed my wheels told me that my rear right wheel is warped. I went to other tire shops for a 2nd opinion and they're all telling me that the rear wheel shouldn't be causing any vibration on the steering wheel. They've also found out that they took away my old balancing stickers(forgot what they're called) off my front two rims and never put any back on, so they're guessing that they only did a static balance on the wheels, which is the cheaper version of balancing. My customer is the one that recommended me to go to this place so he's gonna have them fix it for me. I'm just glad I don't have to pay again to balance them. Hopefully all will be well tomorrow

 

[JasonL]

Update: so we opted to go to another tire shop to rebalance them. Apparently the first place I went to (A to Z Tires) didn't even balance them at all. All four tires were out of balance. The front right wheel, which was the one making the thumping noise while rotating, was at 2.25 when they checked it on the balancing machine. That pretty much means I paid 70 bucks to A to Z Tires to install the wheels. They straight up lied to me when I asked them if they balanced it or not and suggested that my rear tire is warped

For all the folks in NY, stay away from A to Z Tires at 65th street, between 14 ave and new utrict ave, cause they're only gonna do a half assed job.

 

[NissanFan84]

I've been working on my fx's shimmy for over a year. Take a look at the steps and drive your fx for a little while (1-2 days) to see if the shimmy is still there:

1) ROADFORCe balancing. Regular balancing doesn't work
2) If you have aftermarket wheels, check the hub centering rings. If they're worn, it may put your wheels out of round
3) Check alingment.
4) Check rotors. Try braking at highways speeds, ie, braking from 70 to 40. If you feel more vibration than the regular, your rotors could be warped. Either get them machined or replaced.
5) If none of the above works, don't do them again, it's wasting money. Go to #6
6) If your fx is under warranty, get the dealership to check the front hub bearings. Usually, the front left bearing gets worn out. You can understand this by taking a wide turn (say 180 degrees) at slow speeds (30-40). It usually makes a humming sound. If it does it while taking a right turn, left bearing is worn, vice versa..
7) If that doesn't work as well, get your dealership check the steering rack. There's a bolt on the steering rack that adjusts the tightness. Get them tighten that up a little bit (over tightening prevents steering wheel to return to original position when parking etc). This did the trick for me.
8) At this point, if you've gone through all the steps above, get your wheels roadforce balanced again.
9) If that doesn't help as well & if your fx is under warranty, try to get them replace the steering rack, test it & if no result, adjust bolt again.

Just for your info, I've been through ALL of these Generally, the roadforce does it. If not, you can get them check the hub bearings and if the bearings are good, get them adjust the steering tightness bolt. My shimmy is 98% gone with tightness adjustment and roadforce after it and I relate the remaining to the warped rotors..

Good luck

Good info to know. I am on the market for an FX and came across this during the test drive.