Wheel Vibration from 60mph

[stevett]

Hi All,

Recently had my sport design 2part wheels reconditioned at Lepsons and tyres refitted after, but ever since then I am getting vibration from 60mph through the steering wheel and car to some extent, which gets progressively worse at you go quicker and appears more noticable on rough surfaces but is definitely there even on smoothest tarmac I can find.

I have had garage check balancing and tracking - it was out so had them balanced but still happening to some extent. I have replaced wheel bolts with Designtek stainless but other than that no other changes.

And tyres (with 800 miles on them) were on wheels before and no vibration at all before wheel refurb.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[bobsan]

had same issue, replaced wheel lock nut with reg. bolts and problem went away, the lock nut is 1.4g heavier then reg. bolt.

 

[njrichardson]

I was getting the vibration from 70mph or more when I had my wheels/tyres changed. The cause turned out to be the inside of the new tyres rubbing agaist the outside base of the suspension strut coil at speed. I could've waited 'till the tyres wore down, but as I only do 2000 miles a year I fitted 5mm spacers on the front wheels and that fixed it.

If you get the car on a ramp and see part of the shielding around the outside base of the suspension coil looking worn or clean, that's your issue.

 

[steveoz32]

I would have said that you lost a weight - easy done after a refurb if they are bent around and don't adhere properly.

I've had vibration issues in a few cars, and 99% of the time it's either been a flat spot or tyre issue or the balancing, I would go to another garage and get the front rebalanced to be sure (for the minimal cost).

Other issues could be bearings or CV joint, but that would not have worn out just after fitting new wheels and you would hear a whine or knock around corners, it points to me that there is a problem with the balancing and or rim.


Cheers,

 

[stevett]

Hi,

I don't think it is weights given that new weights were put on by Lepsons (wheels were completely stripped/acid bathed) and then re-balanced from stratch by another Porsche Indy, but you are right it might be worth a third try with weights...

Again I don't suspect tyres as they were perfect on the car before the wheels were refurbed and replaced back onto the car. Again dito CV joints and no knocking at all around corners.

I am going to try putting the old wheel bolts on first and see if that helps - if not I am out of ideas....

I was also wondering that if the tyres had been swapped left to right when re-fitted (since they are s symetrical pattern across the tyre) could be causing this vibration, but given they had less than 800miles and they have worn consistently across the tyre to date this seems unlikely to me.

Second garage checked out rims and said they were not buckled or out of alignment from their inspection.

Thanks, Steve

 

[steveoz32]

Strange, well, through process of elimination try the bolts, but I've fitted all sorts of bolts to wheels and have never had an issue (even shorted bolts as a temporary measure where one was stripped and I re-tapped the hub).

Whatever the cause, it's too much of a coincidence that this happened after having the wheels re-fitted, so either something wasn't done quite right, or something was disturbed during the process. If the wheels have no flat spots, tyres are good and you've had them balanced twice, then try the bolts, if that doesn't work then the new rims and tyres are showing something that was wrong previously that the other set up didn't.

With regards to your tyres are they asymmetric? What model are they? I doubt two garages would have fitted them the wrong way though.


Cheers,

 

[stevett]

Bridgestone S02-A tyres and tyres are symetrical across the tyre in terms of tread and groves and were spot-on before the wheel refurb including a trackday at Brands where I hit 120mph + with no sign of vibration. I think I will be trying bolts or if that doesn't work taking car back to Lepsons...

They did check the wheels for buckling at the Porsche Indy last week just in case I had damaged them since the wheels were refurbed but nothing was found to be wrong.

I also checked suspension struts as per previous reply, but definitely not rubbing against springs/struts and definitely no knocking or creaks which indicate suspension has suddenly become a problem.

Only left with bolts and wheels as far as I can see. Will give it a go this week with bolts.

Thanks, Steve

 

[steveoz32]

Good luck, it's anoying going throught the process of eliminating things, but fingers crossed you will find it soon - much like me with my hot start issue!

Cheers,

 

[YvesD]

Touched a raw nerve here with me.

I've been messing about with wheel/tyre combinations on my BMW 335i all year and can report after, goodness me, 8 - 10 attempts? not had a perfect balance yet from my Main Dealer or independents. Very frustrating.

The following link might be of interest though, aside from the very best 'old school' wheel balancing man, this machine is supposed to be the state of the art. Its my next bet anyway.


http://www.pro-align.co.uk/products/balancers/psbalhunter.htm

Yves

 

[stevett]

Hi All,

Had the wheel balancing checked again for third time and was more or less correct. I have also switched back to the standard Porsche steel wheel bolts and checked tyres pressures and vibration has reduced noticably.

Still having vibraton through steering wheel, but it is completely inconsistent depending on road surface. If road is smooth tarmac the vibration goes completely and yet at exactly same speed (70mph) will return as a nasty vibration throught the steering wheel and the seats when on a rough surface- passenger seat was vibrating noticably and felt through steering too and is def not regular steering feedback. It is tramlining a little too.

I assume since it comes/goes depending on road surface wheel buckling/balancing is unlikely?

OPC suspect toe in/caster alignment and recommended a geometry check (since apparently potholes knock out the alignment regularly on 911's).

Any had similar experience as I really want to get this sorted or recommend next course of action?

Thanks, Steve

 

[DRDT]

The new Hunter wheel balancing kit which most Tyre Fitters should now have has the facility to identify any new tyre imbalance (in manufacture) and then indicate to the fitter where to re-position the tyre on the wheel to 'balance' out the 'imbalances' of the tyre and wheel or at least mitigate the worst of the 'imbalances'. One of my new rear Pirelli P-Zero N4's had to be rotated a few times to different positions on the wheel until the machine was satisfied the whole combination was in tolerance. Fascinating to watch the machine do its work and I have had no vibration problems whatsoever since. Worth a check.