Michelin Latitude Tour HP ZP wont balance?

[Boomer]

I had a set of Coopers one time on a Saturn. Tires would balance but car shook on the road. Turned out at least two of them were out of round. Last Coopers I ever bought.

 

[CapriRacer]

Went to a new tire shop that does road force balance using a Hunter 9700 machine, and their technician is a true old school master pro! He was taking words out of my mouth as I was explaining my issue.

He did road force balance on all four wheels, all four were initially in the red zone when he measured run out. The good news is all four rims are fine, the runout was in the tires. He said he sees it more and more lately with Michelins unfortunately.

He was able to reset the tires on the rims, and one wheel set into green zone on the run out, two wheels in the yellow, and one was still in the red, but with half the run out force than before - 25 vs 51 (I think its measured in pounds).

As far as the balance, he was able to zero out the balance on all four wheels. Two wheels did not even need any weights at all.

Drove the car, and it felt silk smooth on the highway, so I am satisfied. However, I won't be buying these same tires next time around. Disappointed to see the most reputable brand drop their quality.

Thanks for letting us know what happened. It's always good to add to the database of experiences.

But there are still a few unresolved issues:

1) Why did the one tire shop keep getting different answers as to how much balance weight was needed? The only thing I can think of is the shop was using a cone that was too small and the wheel was shifting on the machine.

2) One assembly went from 51# to 25# - that's a 26# difference. That means there was at least a 13# wheel - which is a relatively high number for a wheel.

Side note: Hunter presets acceptable numbers for both the wheel and the assembly at the same value. Wheels are usually much rounder than the tire - meaning a lower number. I've always wondered why.

Another side note: OP got an acceptable ride with a 25# assembly. That value is quite different than what has been reported by others on this website. I maintain that each vehicle and each driver has different tolerance levels.

 

[slowx6m]

Thanks for letting us know what happened. It's always good to add to the database of experiences.

But there are still a few unresolved issues:

1) Why did the one tire shop keep getting different answers as to how much balance weight was needed? The only thing I can think of is the shop was using a cone that was too small and the wheel was shifting on the machine.

2) One assembly went from 51# to 25# - that's a 26# difference. That means there was at least a 13# wheel - which is a relatively high number for a wheel.

Side note: Hunter presets acceptable numbers for both the wheel and the assembly at the same value. Wheels are usually much rounder than the tire - meaning a lower number. I've always wondered why.

Another side note: OP got an acceptable ride with a 25# assembly. That value is quite different than what has been reported by others on this website. I maintain that each vehicle and each driver has different tolerance levels.

I've always noticed with BMWs they are less prone to transfer wheel vibrations into the cabin. I guess they might have better suspension/steering column construction that damped vibrations. The worst I had was a Lexus GS many years ago, the whole steering column construction had many wobbly joints that amplified any wheel hopping/vibrations to untolerable levels.