tire balance

[generix]

i had a nice encounter with a pothole while visiting my parents this past weekend. now i have a semi-noticeable steering wheel vibration from about 60-75mph and what feels like a little bit of vibration from the front right wheel. the rim doesn't look bent, i keep meaning to check the wheel weights to see if one came off.

i guess i have two questions:

1. i'm thinking wheel out of balance, possibly slight alignment problems as well. could this be anything more serious?

2. would i be better off having the dealer look at the wheel while feigning ignorance about how it happened? i know it's a long shot, but i'm thinking i could wrangle a free balance out of it if i say that i noticed a weight came off or something along those lines.

3. should i just find a good shop and have them check it out?

 

[TX Speed Demon]

NTB does a wheel balance for like $15. If your rim isn't bent that's all you'll need. It could be bent on the inside tough (part facing the car) and still look fine on the outside.

 

[zmepro]

i would say get your tires balanced and get an alignment, it may cost you upwards of $70 for all of it but if it keeps your tires from wearing out in 4k miles then it was worth it

 

[cbcbd]

1. Probably nothing more serious than that, especially since it only kicks in after 60mph

2/3. If you are under 12K miles then ask the dealer and act stupid - I don't know if it'll cover balancing, but I know alignment is covered if you play it off like it has been like that since you got it and just didn't have time. If you are over 12K don't bother going there for balancing, you can probably find a better place that does it. Go there for alignment.

On a side note, I'm passing through Savannah on a road trip in August, what is there to check out there?

 

[generix]

1. Probably nothing more serious than that, especially since it only kicks in after 60mph

2/3. If you are under 12K miles then ask the dealer and act stupid - I don't know if it'll cover balancing, but I know alignment is covered if you play it off like it has been like that since you got it and just didn't have time. If you are over 12K don't bother going there for balancing, you can probably find a better place that does it. Go there for alignment.

On a side note, I'm passing through Savannah on a road trip in August, what is there to check out there?

yeah, i'm hoping it's just out of balance, if i hadn't been on interstates and stuff, i'm not sure i even would have noticed it.

the only bad thing about the dealer is that i just got it aligned for free about a 1000 miles ago, so i'll probably be paying for an alignment either way. has anyone had good luck with other shops doing MSP alignment? i can't remember how different it is from the regular proteges. i did get the spec sheet from this last dealer one, i suppose i could always take that to another shop.

savannah has a lot of bars on river street. a good bit of downtown is the historic district, so old buildings and stuff. there are a lot of artsy things around because of SCAD, so that's cool sometimes. if you want, shoot me a PM with when you are coming and whatnot, and maybe we can meet up or something.

 

[rubixcubix]

Hey so Wheel works has this deal where you pay for lifetime rotation and balance, i think about 60 bucks ones and they will rotate your tires for as long as you have them and balance the wheels too for no charge. their other good deal is their alignment, 70bucks but with a 1 year 12K mile warrenty, bring it back anytime within that period and they will check it and fix it (if its whacked) for free. But before you take your car to any place thats touching your wheels, take pics of your rims to make sure they dont scratch them up, like trying to get the center cap off or anything.

 

[cbcbd]

savannah has a lot of bars on river street. a good bit of downtown is the historic district, so old buildings and stuff. there are a lot of artsy things around because of SCAD, so that's cool sometimes. if you want, shoot me a PM with when you are coming and whatnot, and maybe we can meet up or something.

Cool, thanks. My girlfriend and I will be driving from Texas to CT and we're picking places that we might want to visit. If we go through Savannah I'll get in touch and maybe could even have a meet! (even though I'll be in her focus)

doug

 

[generix]

bleh, rim is bent. i need a new 03.5 racing hart. if anyone knows of a source for new ones, or has old ones to sell, Please let me know. dealer quoted a ridiculous price to me for what may not even be an 03.5 rim.

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76750