High speed vibrations Options

[Coligion]

My car just hit 96k miles, but this high speed vibration issue has always been a problem. When going over 55 mph, I'll get a ton of vibration from the steering wheel. I do have aftermarket wheels/tires. When I first bouht the wheels, I did not have centering rings and believed that would solve the problem. No dice. Even after getting the correct sized rings the car still vibrates. Before getting the rings, I did have the alignment and the wheels balanced. I wouldn't think inserting plastic hub-rings--in the center of wheel--could offset the balance, right? The shock/struts are relatively new, so it couldn't be that. Also, the car had this vibration problem even with the original wheels....Any helpful advice is appreciated.

[VieT9sD]

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This post has been edited by VieT9sD: Oct 23, 2010 - 5:45 PM

[SwissFerdi]

I'd say alignment.

[Coligion]

I've lost count of how many times I've aligned the car in the past three years. I've had an ongoing problem with the car wanting to pull to the right, so it's been aligned by a lot of different places in hopes of resolving the issue. I'm sure it could be related to alignment, but I have spent a great deal of time trying to get that right.

VieT9sD, what you're describing does happen to me on the highway. The car will have moments when it's quite smooth and other times it's very shaky and vibrational. Like you said, it seems to depend a lot on the road. However, more often than not, it's almost always not smooth, so i can't quite attribute all of my problems to the road surface.

I still find it interesting that these wheel vibration issues existed with the stock wheels. That makes me think it's something suspension based, but what exactly I don't know....Like I said in my first post, do you think added in the centering rings could mess up my balanced tires?

[AMCMoe]

What about tie rods / ball joints?

[Ryouxrs]

i have the same prob as VieT9sD its kinda funny we have the EXACT same symptoms, but ive had it aligned twice has brand new tires on stock steelies, and i just replaced a bad front wheel bearing, and i cnt feel any play in the front suspension, so what the hell gives?

[Mstoochn]

aftermarket rims are most likely your problem, i bought cheap rims that were not 100% True (OUT OF ROUND) and causes my car to vibrate over 70MPH, does it calm down at certain speed brackets? thats the best indication that your rims are F'd like mine, (they only need to be out 2mm' to be a noticable vibration)

crusing 35-40 MPH i get a wheel hop
70-85 MPH wheel vibration
100-120MPH serious vibration

notice the speed brackets.

[Stambo]

could always try rebalancing the wheels, couldn't hurt

[VieT9sD]

i definitely thought of rebalancing, but it doesn't really explain why the steering wheel vibrates on some roads, while on others is smooth. if the wheel really did needed rebalance, wouldn't it vibrate on all roads?

Mstoochn asks, "...does it calm down at a certain speed bracket?" On the road that my steering wheel does vibrate, it feels smooth when im going 65. When i hit 70, it starts to vibrate. Then anything above 70 just increase the amount of vibration.

This post has been edited by VieT9sD: Aug 9, 2009 - 12:36 PM

[samir0189]

Have you noticed if the vibrations are only on acceleration, or on uphills etc?

[Harold_Fastwaker]

funny.

I have bad vibration from 67-70mph and thats it. I had an alignment done last year with new wheels and I still had the issue. I changed to my new wheels which were balanced and the vibration continues at the same speed slot. I go in for an alignment this week, I am hoping it fixes this damn issue.

[Coligion]

I appreciate all the responses

AMCMoe, how do you recommend checking on the tie rods and ball joints?

Mstoochn, the speed at which the vibrations begin is fairly consistant. I don't notice anything until I hit 55 - 60 mph. I also have never noticed a hop or specific speeds (other than high speeds) that trigger the vibration.

samir0189, the wheel vibrations are pretty constant, regardless of acceleration, deceleration, or braking. As long as I'm going around 60+, they are always there.

Something else to note....there also seems to be some vibration at the gas pedal while traveling at those speeds. Not sure how much of that is normal or if it could be linked to my steering wheel vibrations....

[Stambo]

For checking ball joints you have to jack the lower control arm up some so you'll be able to feel if the ball join is loose or not. Check that by lifting the wheel up and down, and put one hand on the top of the tire and the bottom and wiggle back and forth. If its bad it'll be obvious.

[conus00]

Interesting, I've got the same problem: I know that it is not related to the size of the wheels. I drive my Celi on 18'" summer rims wrapped in Toyo Proxes and also on winter 15" rims wrapped in Hancooks.
The problem persists in driving on both sets of rims. I thought I was the only one with this problem...

This post has been edited by conus00: Aug 12, 2009 - 11:20 PM

[Espo]

Make sure your tires themselves aren't out of round. Jack your front and rear end (both or one at a time, your option - just make sure you use jack stands) and spin the wheels while looking at something fixed in the background (wheel well, cement, etc.) if you notice a flat spot in your tires, that's your problem. I had an '02 Sunfire and for the life of me couldn't figure out what the problem was until me and a friend went to change my rear drum brakes, he spun the tire when we put it back on and it was out of round, which explained my vibration at 55+mph.

[AMCMoe]

Like Stambo said jack one of the front wheels up and put your hands at 11 and 5 o'clock and try to move the wheel, if it has obvious play in it then your ball joints are bad. To check the tie rods put your hands at 3 and 9 o'clock try to move it.

[Mstoochn]

i definitely thought of rebalancing, but it doesn't really explain why the steering wheel vibrates on some roads, while on others is smooth. if the wheel really did needed rebalance, wouldn't it vibrate on all roads?

Mstoochn asks, "...does it calm down at a certain speed bracket?" On the road that my steering wheel does vibrate, it feels smooth when im going 65. When i hit 70, it starts to vibrate. Then anything above 70 just increase the amount of vibration.

go to a local tire shop, just ask them to spin your wheel on the balancer, watch the edge of the rim, see if it moves up and down at ALL, it should NOT

second, watch across the tire to make sure its an even surface, no bumps because those you definitly feel at high speed!

also, putting your hands at 3 and 9 will be inconclusive unless you have someone holding your steering wheel VERY tight

This post has been edited by Mstoochn: Aug 13, 2009 - 12:14 PM

[playr158]

its most likely a tire wear and/or balance issue....


wheel hop at 35mph :facepalm:

[AMCMoe]

also, putting your hands at 3 and 9 will be inconclusive unless you have someone holding your steering wheel VERY tight

If you have one tire in the air and the other is still on the ground, why would it be any different than someone holding the steering wheel?

This post has been edited by AMCMoe: Aug 13, 2009 - 2:54 PM

[Coligion]

I had mentioned the centering rings as possibly being a culprit in the first post, but I later dismissed the idea after supposidly getting the correct sized rings. After looking at them further, I still feel they are not as tight on the hub/wheel as they could be. So, instead of ordering new rings, I used thin, invisible tape and lined the insde of the hub. After re-inserting the rings, they are now much more snug and secure. I did this to the front wheels first and later drove on the freeway. I could definitely feel an improvement. I just got done doing the backs, so hopefully I will see some more slight improvement.