Vibration in steering wheel 70mph+

[actionstan]

Hello All,

I am having an issue with my 99 Saturn sl1 it currently has 133k miles on it, 2000 miles ago I purchased 4 new nexen tires from Tire Discounters, they mounted them and aligned them.

Ever since I have had the new tires I get a vibration at 70 mph+ with my old tires (michelins) It rode as smooth as butter, but I had to get rid of them because they were 7 years old. I should also mention that the steering wheel seems to have a little more play, which could just be the handling of the new tires, but i am unsure.

I was wondering does this sound like a balance issue or alignment issue? Could it just be the fact that Ive gone down to a cheaper tire brand. And does anyone have any experience with tire discounters? Do you think they will check it out at least, without a big hassle?

Thanks!

 

[Nyquist]

Most likely one of them isn't balanced properly. It could be something like a wheel weight that fell off.

 

[salv]

Balance or there is excessive runout in one or more tires.

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: salv
Balance or there is excessive runout in one or more tires.


is there an easy way to check for this? This means the tire is bad and not perfectly round right?

If this is the case do tire manufactures consider this covered under warranty?

 

[gregk24]

I was having that EXACT same issue after I got my new Yoko's on the Accord. Shakiness and vibration over 70 mph and the steering wasnt as precise, it was a little "floaty" feeling too. I just had them aligned, balanced and rotated and all is smooth again as it should be. I recommend you do the same. It was worth getting it fixed.

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: gregk24
I was having that EXACT same issue after I got my new Yoko's on the Accord. Shakiness and vibration over 70 mph and the steering wasnt as precise, it was a little "floaty" feeling too. I just had them aligned, balanced and rotated and all is smooth again as it should be. I recommend you do the same. It was worth getting it fixed.


interesting, well Ill look into it, hopefully Tire Discounters is willing to stand behind there work! what you describe is the exact same thing im having.

 

[stephen9666]

A new tire with thick tread may not handle as well as a worn tire with less tread. The extra tread can squirm and impact handling.

I would get them rebalanced and go from there. If they have a Roadforce machine then get the RF numbers, too.

 

[bvance554]

They should rebalance them for free. Its not a tire warranty issue. Its an intstallation issue and i don't know of many tire shops that don't offfer free rotation and balancing. In your case the balancing is just off. Probably human error on the part of the installer.

 

[stephen9666]

More info here:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/tread-squirm-on-new-tires.196127/

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
A new tire with thick tread may not handle as well as a worn tire with less tread. The extra tread can squirm and impact handling.

I would get them rebalanced and go from there. If they have a Roadforce machine then get the RF numbers, too.


I see, that makes sense that they handle differently especially in part of the steering wheel play, however i SHOULD mention i have had the tires 2000 miles now, and in the thread you posted others mentioned this goes away in hundreds of miles

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: bvance554
They should rebalance them for free. Its not a tire warranty issue. Its an intstallation issue and i don't know of many tire shops that don't offfer free rotation and balancing. In your case the balancing is just off. Probably human error on the part of the installer.


They are supposed to rebalance them every 5000 for free, i was trying to wait until then but its starting to eat at me.

I guess what worries me most and gives me that [censored] gut feeling that its a possible alignment issue, i dont have a bunch of money to spend on expensive alignments especially since they aligned the tires when i bought them. If its a balance issue that will be so much relief.

 

[Rand]

alignments usually offer at least 6month 6000 mile warranty also.

 

[stephen9666]

The alignment won't cause new tires to vibrate.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: actionstan
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
A new tire with thick tread may not handle as well as a worn tire with less tread. The extra tread can squirm and impact handling.

I would get them rebalanced and go from there. If they have a Roadforce machine then get the RF numbers, too.


I see, that makes sense that they handle differently especially in part of the steering wheel play, however i SHOULD mention i have had the tires 2000 miles now, and in the thread you posted others mentioned this goes away in hundreds of miles


If it's an issue with release compound or something on the tires, then yes. If it's related to a difference in tread depth, then probably not.

 

[ueberooo]

Could an aging tie rod end or balljoint cause this?

 

[MaximusD]

bent rim is my guess.

 

[Tosh]

Originally Posted By: actionstan
It rode as smooth as butter, but I had to get rid of them because they were 7 years old.

Thanks!

Did your friends giggle and tell you they had gone out of fashion?

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: Tosh
Originally Posted By: actionstan
It rode as smooth as butter, but I had to get rid of them because they were 7 years old.

Thanks!

Did your friends giggle and tell you they had gone out of fashion?


Lol no, more of a safety issue starting to get rather large and deep cracks because of there age

 

[actionstan]

I just contacted Tire Discounters through there website via chat, and i'm pretty happy, they said the shop SHOULD stand by there work, and if for some crazy reason this is an alignment problem (doubtful) that's covered for 6 months too.

well see what happens when i go to the shop this weekend.

Someone mentioned the tires could be "out of round" if this is the case is this typically covered under the manufactures warranty?

 

[threeputtpar]

I've found that there are three things that can cause the problem you describe.

1. Balancing issue
2. Tire uniformity issue (out of round)
3. Wheel is bent or out of round.

A balancing issue usually shows up at about 45mph and stays at speeds above that.

Tire uniformity issues can and will be noticed at all speeds.

A bent wheel will act like an unbalanced tire, but typically gets better at higher speeds. A wheel can be bent, but allow the tire/wheel combo to be in perfect balance and still cause vibration issues.