Wheel Vibration over 80mph

[b_dues]

^^I could not disagree more. Yes, know your limits but you should try things yourself. You don't need tools to check if your bearings need to be replaced (the car comes with a scissor jack). If you need your tires balanced/aligned then obviously don't buy the tools for that as it won't be worth it, just take it to a shop. Most things that you will need or want to do to your car can be done with basic tools and a driveway. These forums offer a substantial amount of knowledge and assistance for just about everything that you will encounter in your Mazda. Having a friend who is knowledgeable helps but certainly don't throw money at people to do all of your work for you.

Again, know your limits. If a job is out of your league due to tools or knowledge, either educate yourself here on the forums or take it to a shop that is equipped with the tools that you need (don't become a certified Unichip tech just to tune your ECU a couple of times, catch my drift?).

That is all.

 

[ucMP3]

I manage a tire shop and deal with this every day. First step is to get the wheels/tires on a balancer. idealy it would be a road force balancer. it will cost extra to have your tires road force balanced but this will certainly reveal ANY vibration due to imbalance, out of round, or otherwise mismatched wheel/tire combos. not all tire shops have this equipment so it may take some searching.

as for the front end having worn out parts; you should be able to get whoever is doing the balancing to check your front end for free. they should also be willing to show you what is bad and what is good.

the alignment is a whole other story. the alignment itself WILL NOT cause your vibration. do not let anyone ever convince you otherwise. worn out parts/tires and out of round/balance wheels/tires will cause your vibration. my guess is they are simply out of balance.

My advice to most of the guys on this board is to find an educated and experienced tech that works on a variety of vehicles to take your car to. These cars aren't ferarri's or anything "exotic." They are unique and can present their own unique problems. I'm not saying that you need to have your "guy" fix everything for your or not be involved in the process, I just can't stress the value of an honest professional opinion and inspection.

You can choose to either invest a lot of time and money into tools and parts and try to fix things yourself - the learning curve can often be steep and expensive or you can save yourself a bundle and hire some help.

Hope this helps,

Ray

^^I could not disagree more. Yes, know your limits but you should try things yourself. You don't need tools to check if your bearings need to be replaced (the car comes with a scissor jack). If you need your tires balanced/aligned then obviously don't buy the tools for that as it won't be worth it, just take it to a shop. Most things that you will need or want to do to your car can be done with basic tools and a driveway. These forums offer a substantial amount of knowledge and assistance for just about everything that you will encounter in your Mazda. Having a friend who is knowledgeable helps but certainly don't throw money at people to do all of your work for you.

Again, know your limits. If a job is out of your league due to tools or knowledge, either educate yourself here on the forums or take it to a shop that is equipped with the tools that you need (don't become a certified Unichip tech just to tune your ECU a couple of times, catch my drift?).

That is all.

^I'm with you, b_dues. F this guy, haha. Most of the ppl on this forum aren't just regular car owners; most of us do all of our own work that is within the scope of a weekend warrior type of grease monkey. It usually costs the same or less than labor would cost, to buy whatever special tools I may need to complete a job. And then, I have the tools for next time and the knowledge to do it again. I enjoy working on my car, it's one of my favorite parts of owning cars. An alignment is one of the few things I don't do myself, as I don't have a nice flat garage or space to pull off a string alignment; but that's about it... And if I need work done , I'll do it and then bring it back for the alignment.

Not to mention the fact that 95% of alignment shops are jackoffs anyways.

Thx, but no thx homie.

 

[GTRay7]

^I'm with you, b_dues. F this guy, haha. Most of the ppl on this forum aren't just regular car owners; most of us do all of our own work that is within the scope of a weekend warrior type of grease monkey. It usually costs the same or less than labor would cost, to buy whatever special tools I may need to complete a job. And then, I have the tools for next time and the knowledge to do it again. I enjoy working on my car, it's one of my favorite parts of owning cars. An alignment is one of the few things I don't do myself, as I don't have a nice flat garage or space to pull off a string alignment; but that's about it... And if I need work done , I'll do it and then bring it back for the alignment.

Not to mention the fact that 95% of alignment shops are jackoffs anyways.

Thx, but no thx homie.

Whoa... sorry for the bad taste i must have left. I certainly didn't mean to suggest everyone on here abandon their tools and bring their cars to the nearest hack of a mechanic and drop it off for the day. I meant to suggest that a trusted mechanic can be a better resource than just about any tool you can buy. They have tools and equipment that just make life easier. There is a balance that can be reached guys.

Please understand that my background started on forums just like these, infact, it started well before this type of forum has been around. RX-7's are where I got started and it all began on e-mail subscription lists - long before this stuff was hip or cool - trust me, I get it! This is the lifestyle that lead to my profession and I take pride in what I do. I also like to think I'm pretty good at it. Believe me, many local tire and alignment shops will do more free work than what you think. Just asking them to help inspect your car if you don't have the experience to know what to look for can be invaluable. Even if you have to pay $20 to get it on a lift and have it checked out seems like it would be worth it.

My advice is basically to use a good mechanic like you would any other tool in your box. Know when to use it and how to use it and you won't get burned.

Hope this clears things up a bit. And I hope you realize i'm here to enjoy the site and offer advice when i'm capable.

Ray