Problems after mounting winter tires

[talon4x4]

I just put a set of 195/50-15 Graspics on my '02 Protege5. Now, the steering wheel shakes at all speeds and is somewhat unsafe feeling once I hit 40mph. Any ideas on what could be causing this? Do they just need to be re-balanced, or could something else be causing this?

Any ideas on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[AZMSP]

i vote balance. are they new or used? also check the tires for broken belts, i had this on my old dsm and it wobbled like crazy.

 

[talon4x4]

They are used, about 4000 miles. How would I got about checking for broken belts?

 

[Brian MP5T]

I just put a set of 195/50-15 Graspics on my '02 Protege5. Now, the steering wheel shakes at all speeds and is somewhat unsafe feeling once I hit 40mph. Any ideas on what could be causing this? Do they just need to be re-balanced, or could something else be causing this?

Any ideas on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Sean

I Second the Balance Thang! I has a s*** set of tires for another car and after two tries at El-Balencio they replaced them. Manufacturing Defect. Look Into it and Good Luck

(mj) (gun)

P.S. I just read the post before mine. If they are used and abused like someone has problems with reverse paralell parking, you might actually see a warp in the tire. Check for abrasions in the side wall. As for ruptured belts in the tire tread itself. **** man. I dont know.

 

[AZMSP]

usually they will have an uneven feel to them when you run your hand down the tread. kind of like tape, when your trying to get tape off a roll you spin it and feel for the ridge, just like that. it starts small, but over time will turn into a huge lump because air leakes into the belt of the tire.

and if there used, spend the $25 to get them balanced.

 

[talon4x4]

Thanks for the ideas. Sounds like balancing it is. The tires themselves seem perfect to the touch, no scuffs in the sidewalls either, so I don't think its a belt.

Thanks again!

 

[rowan]

Are your winter rims hubcentric? If not, do you have centering rings on?

 

[Poseur]

Rowan might be onto something. Make sure that 1st your rims are proper for your car in EVERY way, most notably the centering hole is large enough to clear the hub. Next, if you had any non-stock wheels on your car before, check and see if they used centering rings which may have stuck to your car that the new wheels won't "fit" over. This would all cause a SEVERE wobble. I know I did it to my civic once before I knew what centering rings were. rings stuck to my rear hubs. Fortunately I caught is soon.

 

[talon4x4]

Well I found the problem. The lugs were extremely loose for some reason. I even went around the car twice and checked them before driving it but somehow after I started driving they became very loose on the front left tire. Tightened 'em down and the car rides perfectly now.

 

[Poseur]

Might want to have someone drive along side or behind you, etc and wtch to see if they see any strange wobble just to be sure. Thelug loosening thing also happened to me with my centering rings on the honda. I know I'm generaly of the "if I don't notice it, it's gotta be okay" mentality, but there are many lessons I've learned on my old cars, and now with my first new new car, hopefully don't have to learn any new ones...