Originally Posted By: SubLGT
Came across this comment at another tire forum:
"...what you're probably experiencing [with your Nokian R2 tires] is excessive road force. I've mounted/balanced tons of tires and have always found Nokian tires to be bad for that………
http://forums.beyond.ca/st2/vibration-wi...mp;pagenumber=2
I can believe it.
I don't...!
I had a vibration problem with new Michelins on oem Honda wheels... balanced twice, still vibrated... tire chain KAL TIRE, sent me to a different location with a road force balancer. Tech spun two wheels, deemed one worthy of adjustment, matched the tire to the wheel as per machine instructions. 20 minutes , no vibration...
And i've had 4 sets of Nokian winters, and all have run dead smooth. A couple of tires needed "tweaking..." but never had one that couldn't be made smooth...
Most drivers have no idea how much effort oems put into getting that new car smoothness... wheels tolerances are tightly controlled, all wheels are measured and MARKED for low spot, those that don't meet spec are discarded... same with tires, which have tighter manufacturing tolerances than after market tires, and are all tested and MARKED with a red dot for the stiff spot.
Then the assembly is match mounted, and tested again on really expensive machines... and if it passes, put on the new car...
In my experience with tires, anytime the oem tire is replaced, the odds are at least one of the tires will have a road force vibration. You can balance any wheel/tire assembly, but that doesn't mean it will run smooth...
Most vibrations are not balance related... they are almost always excessive road force issues. Some shops understand this, and either road force balance the wheel, or they do old school adjusting, rotate tire 180 * , re-balance...
Other shops just don't have a clue, and blame the wheel (unless it's bent or the lug holes are drilled crooked, it's never the wheel...) , or the car, or anything but the tire... then the car owner blames the tech, or the balance machine, or the tire...
If you have a vibration with new tires, the first step is to CHECK the balance. Spin the wheel with the weights as they were... and see what the machine says. If it zeros out, or is really close, it is almost always a road force issue.
Don't let them keep re-balancing... over and over... to do the same experiment over and over, and expect a different result is insanity, as per some guy named Einstein...
Nokians seem about the same as any other tire I've run, most are just fine, some take a little adjusting, and once in a while, a tire is defective. I haven't had one yet...!