ok, so i ran over something about a month back and had to get new rims, it dented a few things under the car as well and now it feels like the wheels are out of balance above 60mph (it holds an alignment perfect other than steering wheel vibration,even then it stays straight). i have had the wheels balanced 3 times to no avail, the cv axles and rack and pinion seem fine and the tie rods and ball joints are not bent and boots look fine, what else besides wheel balance can anyone think of that would be causing this?
wheel balancing issue
- Thread starter kms1990
- Start date
what things were dented, do you know where the vibration is coming from, what size rims are you running, do you have wheel spacers, does the vibration happen during braking, there are a lot of questions as you can see, if its from the front its most likely the axle/axles, just because it seems fine doesnt always mean it is, youre gonna have to go into detail about what happened, what was damaged and what was replaced so someone here can help you narrow down the problem
1. no it only vibrates at highway speed not at all while braking (braking helps and brakes were recently all redone)
2 i feel it through the steering wheel but do not seem to feel the whole car vibrate
3 it dented the oil pan (slightly nothing major) dented the crossmemeber on the front and thats all i really see dented (not really dented but scraped) may have scraped more more but i cannot tell
4 its 16 inch wheels so no bigger than stock as i just replaced the bent ones with ones of same size and no wheel spacers are on it
5 it turns and handles fine at all speeds just has a vibration through the steering wheel when above 60mph or so no noise or any other signs the cv axles or rack and pinion are bad or have any issues. the tie rods and control arms look fine and so do the sway bars/links
2 i feel it through the steering wheel but do not seem to feel the whole car vibrate
3 it dented the oil pan (slightly nothing major) dented the crossmemeber on the front and thats all i really see dented (not really dented but scraped) may have scraped more more but i cannot tell
4 its 16 inch wheels so no bigger than stock as i just replaced the bent ones with ones of same size and no wheel spacers are on it
5 it turns and handles fine at all speeds just has a vibration through the steering wheel when above 60mph or so no noise or any other signs the cv axles or rack and pinion are bad or have any issues. the tie rods and control arms look fine and so do the sway bars/links
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tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
If hitting the brakes helps it's probly the wheel bearing
didnt even think about that as its not making any noises to indicate a wheel bearing, but i guess its still a possibility (braking stops it for a slight second at highway speed but only if i brake to under 60mph if i am still over 60 it still shakes the wheel)
tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
If a rim is bent you should be able to see it wobble when balancing it. Pull them off and check for bends. Regardless I've had 3 sets of rims all with bends and they have all road smoothly. At low speeds on a 215-40-17 I can feel it but 215-45-17 I never noticed it at all and have never noticed above 10mph
My guess is on cheap messed up tire, defective tire, broken belt in tire, or wheel bearing. If they can't balance a wheel due to a slight bend then they need to find a new day job
My guess is on cheap messed up tire, defective tire, broken belt in tire, or wheel bearing. If they can't balance a wheel due to a slight bend then they need to find a new day job
not a bent rim but the fact that i got aftermarkets and they can only "static" balance them. the afternarket wheels cannot have weights on the outside so that shop believes that is my issue, i have ordered reconditioned oem wheels and i am going to see if that fixes it. i am fairly sure it will, i have good yokohama tires on it and they had no problems on same tires before new rims so its not tires. i have 205 50 16s and those tires were fine on old rims, and i only feel it above 60mph.
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dude go to another tire shop, i have rims with a 1" lip (not big at all using sticky weights) and i have no vibrations what so ever, the person you are going to is either lazy, doesnt have the patience or has an outdated machine
tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
This is by far the most retarded thing I have ever heard. Static balance is actually better when done right because it can place the weights anywhere on the wheel. My oem legacy gt wheels are static balanced, along with my ms3, ADR's, and the racing harts on my mp3 were. And guess what absolutely no vibrations at all. Even the stock wheels on my mazda 3 were static balanced from the factory, I can take a picture of it with the original tire after 40k miles
Go to an actual shop instead of a backyard idiot that decided to open a shop
Hmm, have you checked your control arm bushings? I was vibrating like a mofo when I upgraded my wheels. Currently running 17x7.5 +35 lowered on coilovers about inch and half and I don't rub, however I have my rear fenders rolled too. Check your bushings and before sending the wheels back, that seems like a hassle to send those back and turn out to be bushings or something.
i have looked at the control arms and all the suspension as well as a trusted mechanic friend of mine and all looks good nothing was bent ripped or torn, i think the rims are just defective, they were a little on the cheap side so having issues with them doesnt surprise me
i am ordering new oem ones i bought the ones with an issue currently on the car directly from a discount tire location they are same size as factory and i had noissues with vibration at all before these aftermarket rims were put on
"it gets better if I hit the brakes" = bearings or control arm bushings [focus here]. By 'loading' the suspension with the brakes - think about what components are 'torqued' when you hit the brakes... 
"it gets better if I hit the brakes" /= cannot affect a bad wheel or tire. [try to cancel the sale of the new OEM rims]
"it gets better if I hit the brakes" /= cannot affect a bad wheel or tire. [try to cancel the sale of the new OEM rims]
i mean if i tap the brakes while going 60 for a temporary second it stops but as soon as i get going again above 60 it does it so if i tap it above 60 and dont slow below 60 it does not help, i ordered refinished factory wheels from rock auto and i am returning the ones i bought from discount which are having the issues now