[Malky]

Right, first proper post in this new style forum.[]

I've had problems with vibes through the steering wheel for quite a while now!!

At speeds of say 80ish, you can feel a wobble/vibe in the steering wheel. This is much more pronounced when you acclerate but I think it's still there when coasting with the clutch in (at these speeds).

It seems like sometimes the vibe is worse than others, maybe depending on road surface.

Prettty sure that the car never used to do this.

Any ideas???

I'm wondering if it's the balancing of the wheels as I've heard it's really difficult to balance the BBS RXIIs I have (16"). Now I've swapped front to back and back to front and it's still about the same!!

Everytime I ask to get the wheels balance, the garage always say they are out!!!

What can I do? I've heard about on the car balancing but don't have a clue how/if this works on FWD cars.

Cheers Malc[]

 

[rfsteel]

Find someone that can balance the wheels on the car, this just means
the wheels are not removed and placed on in a machine to be balanced,
but are balanced on your driveshaft.

Alternatively, this might be a possible cause;

Wheel Balance: Out-of-balance
tires will cause a car to vibrate at certain speeds, usually between 50 and 70 mph. A tire
is out of balance when one section of the tire is heavier than the others. One ounce of
imbalance on a front tire is enough to cause a noticeable vibration in the steering wheel at about 60
mph. To balance a wheel, the technician will mount it on a balancing machine which spins
the wheel to locate the heavier part. He will then compensate for the heavy part by
attaching a lead weight on the opposite side. Many people are pleasantly surprised at how
smooth their car drives after balancing all four wheels.

Most high quality tires will hold their balance fairly well and go out of balance very
gradually. If you notice a vibration that wasn't there the day before, it is possible that
one of the lead balancing weights fell off. If you feel the vibration mostly in the
steering wheel, the problem is most likely in a front wheel. If the vibration is mostly in
the seat, the problem is probably in the rear.

For those of you who are very sensitive about vibrations and your shop can't seem to
get that last bit of vibration out, check to see if you have locking wheel lugs. Some
locking lugs are as much as 1.5 ounces heavier than the other lug nuts which
translates to about 1/2 ounce at the wheel rim. Try putting a 1/2 ounce weight opposite
the locking lug and see if it helps.

 

[nrgizerbunny]

I initially thought wheel balance but then as you say you swapped front and back and its still a problem.

I don't see why any particular brand of wheel would be difficult to balance?!? it puzzles me.

When they balance ask them if its a static unbalance or a dynamic
unbalance as this may be your problem. In case your wondering what the
difference between the two are.

static unbalance, best illustrated by a bicycle wheel, if you leave it
in any position and let it go, it usually rolls round to the point
where the valve is nearest the ground. - its basically unbalanced in 1
plane.

dynamic unblaance is where you get two bicycle wheels and put them on
the same shaft, you now have two unbalances (assuming valves are at
different angles) and you need two weights. THis is why the guys at
tyre fitting places usually fit a weight to the inside and outside of
the wheel.

if you've got a dynamic unbalance there is something liekly to be wrong with the driveshaft(s) - I'd say anyway.

 

[Malky]

Find someone that can balance the wheels on the car, this just means the wheels are not removed and placed on in a machine to be balanced, but are balanced on your driveshaft.

Alternatively, this might be a possible cause;

Wheel Balance: Out-of-balance tires will cause a car to vibrate at certain speeds, usually between 50 and 70 mph. A tire is out of balance when one section of the tire is heavier than the others. One ounce of imbalance on a front tire is enough to cause a noticeable vibration in the steering wheel at about 60 mph. To balance a wheel, the technician will mount it on a balancing machine which spins the wheel to locate the heavier part. He will then compensate for the heavy part by attaching a lead weight on the opposite side. Many people are pleasantly surprised at how smooth their car drives after balancing all four wheels.

Most high quality tires will hold their balance fairly well and go out of balance very gradually. If you notice a vibration that wasn't there the day before, it is possible that one of the lead balancing weights fell off. If you feel the vibration mostly in the steering wheel, the problem is most likely in a front wheel. If the vibration is mostly in the seat, the problem is probably in the rear.

For those of you who are very sensitive about vibrations and your shop can't seem to get that last bit of vibration out, check to see if you have locking wheel lugs. Some locking lugs are as much as 1.5 ounces heavier than the other lug nuts which translates to about 1/2 ounce at the wheel rim. Try putting a 1/2 ounce weight opposite the locking lug and see if it helps.

DO you know of anywhere that can balance the wheeks on the car??? I'm in St Albans near Watford??

Malcolm

 

[rfsteel]

Sorry I don't

The only people I have known to do it are down in Portsmouth

http://sites.yell.com/passport/goto/limberlinetyres_r515855/home.html?nat_id=772715&mapable=true

Maybe a quick phone call to them might help you locate someone mobile or closer to you.

 

[andymac]

ATS do on car balancing, Though you shouldnt do it on a FWD drive car
as it requires spinning one wheel upto xyz MPH which puts a huge stress
on the differential,

first of all get the fronts balance by someone reputable, and make sure
the use sticky weights and not clip ons, next refit them BUT WITHOUT
the locking nuts, as these can really throw the balance out, if its
still happening try your spare wheel and or a mates spare wheel, if its
still happening after that I reckon it could be your bottom bushes , if
it only happens with your rims then I am afraid you have a buckled rim.

 

[Malky]

Cheers for the replies guys...

I have a spare set of steel wheels which I'll get balanced while I watch them doing it!! Then I'll refit without the locking nut but using a spare bolt.

Then try the same on the alloys...

In fact maybe I'll do the alloys first!!

I'll post my findings...

 

[Reflex TDI]

Malky

As per your email give me a ring on my moby. I have a good tyre contact in Hemel Hempstead who will help with balancing and he also knows a company in Watford that do balancing "on the car".

I would also look into 4-wheel alignment if you are not making progress. Your idea about a little swapover at the weekend also worthwhile.

James[]

 

[BexGTi]

My cars been doing that since ive put my 18's on [:'(] Does your steering vibrate when you brake after going say 60/70/80ish too?

 

[Brian1.8t]

ive already posted a very similar thread about this one. I had the very same problem. have had wheels balanced on the car...still exactly the same. Even went out and bought a brand new set of 18" wheels.....still the same problem.

have fished around and been told it could be

*Bushes

* Shockers

* inner CV joint

Put it into VW and they blamed the fact the car is lowered and has aftermarket alloys? I tried explaining that these have been on the car for a few years with no problems but they werent having it. Their technical fix was to swap the back to the front.!

if anyone can shed any light on this or if anyone has had the same problem and had id fixed, id love to hear how they did it!

Brian

 

[Brian1.8t]

think this is our answer!

http://www.uk-mkivs.net/forums/140328/ShowPost.aspx

Question...if my inner cv joints were worn, surely it would be cheaper to buy 2 new inner cv joint and have them fitted, than to buy 2 new driveshafts??

 

[enigma1992]

Consider not just the wheel, but the disc brakes too. I went through the pain of having wheels constantly rebalanced until I had brand new disc brakes fitted to the front and then - no problems.

 

[Brian1.8t]

Consider not just the wheel, but the disc brakes too. I went through the pain of having wheels constantly rebalanced until I had brand new disc brakes fitted to the front and then - no problems.

strange you say this as the bloke in krapfit said the same thing when I was in having the wheels balanced. I just thought he was trying the usual upsell techniques. Surely the discs would have to be pretty badly warped before that would cause vibration through driving at speed without braking?

 

[enigma1992]

Always good to be cautious!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

If you have always had the problem, it could be that the discs were incorrectly fitted - i.e. the hub face was not scrubbed clean with a wire brush. There would be an intolerance that translates to the outer edge of the disc giving a slight wobble. In itself it would be a little problem, but remember the pads are hovering over the disc and you could get them glancing off making a big problem at speed.<o></o>

The discs too could be warped giving the same effect.<o></o>

Finally, if the car has been stood for a while at some stage you would notice that the discs get rusted over, that is soon cleared after driving and braking on them. The area that the pad covers could or would be less corroded and so the result is an area of the disc that is slightly prouder of the disc surface than the rest of the disc. This again could cause the wobble.<o></o>

The car standing problem I have experienced in the past and I can confirm that new discs fixed it.

Good luck.

 

[Malky]

Yeah, I've had a dodgey set of Greenstuff discs supplied by AMD in the past. The wobble was clearly visible with the car up on hydralic stand, quite pronounced!!!

I've had the car down the motorway on Sat night and found that the wobble actually happens while accelerating or while coasting between 75-100 ish. Maybe it's just wheel balancing after all.

As far as I can tell, the locking wheel nut bolt and a normal bolt differ by about 5grms. So I dunno if this could have much of an effect as the wheel bolts are fairly close to the centre of the wheel. The locking one is heavier by 5g. Anyone good at working these sorts of things out??

Hoepfully get the wheel balancing checked by someone reputable this week!

Keep the suggestions flowwing in!

 

[Malky]

All sorted now!!!

Got all 4 wheel re-balanced by someone I truest (thanks Reflex TDI for the tip) and vibe is gone!

Two of the wheels were particularly out the other two were OK. Will be having words with the tyre fitters who put the tyres on and balance them orginally!! One was done only 2 weeks ago!

Was totally out![][]

Still sorted now...

 

[vwtdi130]

I've had that problem three times on different cars, the first time it happened was on my first car, the tire was a remould and it was put out of shape. The second time it happened it turned out to be wheel balancing, and finally the third time it was a warped front brake disk (only really vibrated and wobbled when braking though)

 

[Malky]

It's amazing how much better it is... Much smoother and you really don't think you are going as fast as you are!!!

Really annoying that the tyre place I used two weeks ago couldn't balance the wheel properly!! Won't be going back there, except to complain!!

So annoying I had this while I was driving in France as the roads are btter and the speed limits are higher than here!

Still, it'll make the drive upto Blackpool more fun on Friday.

 

[nudda]

Result - Thats what I like to see !

The "on the car" balancing ... is that the same as laser allignment ?
Theres a place near me who do that and theyve got some chav operating
the machine who doesnt even know what hes doing. I wouldnt go back
there ... however I need some place like the one malky went to .... the
steering shakes lots when driving at around 70-80mph. Anyone recommend
one around surrey somewhere ?

 

[Malky]

I should say, on the car wheel balancing cannot be done on FWD cars except on the rear wheels that is. The Diffs don't like it. Only of any real use on RWD cars.