Do wheels Wear out

[FFeng7]

Anybody ever heard of a wheel wearing out? I had new tires in stalled a few weeks ago and had a terrible vibration. Instead of returning to the store where I bought them I went to a alignment shop I go to and had them rebalence the tires. Now it still vibrates like crazy. I have the cheap chrome wheels I think there pacers or something. There on a 1987 ford ranger. Is it possible that the lugnut holes are enlarged and not centering on the hub? Dont know but it seems like the vibration is better on some days then others. Also sometime when you come to a stop with the wheels cut to the left or right you can hear a clunk. Anyway what do you guys think?
Thanks.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Wheel bearings,but not wheels.

 

[FFeng7]

The wheel bearings seem to be tight, but maybe I should check them again. I thought it was strange that the vibration started after the new tires. Not to point the finger because the wheels are old but if they were overtightened to many times over thier life could it damage the wheels or lug nuts?

 

[Sayjac]

A while back I took in an 01 Civic to get the tires rotated an balanced at DT. I came out and noticed a vibration up front, so I went back. They put the tires on the balance machine and they were balanced right but one of the wheels (oe steel) was bent/warped. They showed it to me on the balance machine as it turned.

Bought a used steel wheel at a local Honda junk yard, got the tire mounted, cured.

Perhaps you have a bent wheel or wheels.

 

[Quest]

wheels, incl. steel wheels, alloys and mags, seldom goes bad unless (a) poorly casted (mags, alloys) or (b) you hit a curb/big bad porthole.

If you get the shimmy or vibration, do not discount the possibility of tire problems (belts breaking apart) or worn steering components. Sometimes, excessive wheel hops due to worn shocks/struts will cause vibrations also.

Q.

p.s. bearing seldom causes vibrations but more like a rumbling noise.

 

[stockrex]

yes, and they need to be flushed, you can find wheel flush next to the engine flush and slick666,

 

[roushstage2]

Clever

 

[Geonerd]

I suppose it's possible that the tire shop nerfed one of your rims when they installed the tires. If the rims are cheap enough, and the shop monkeys sufficiently incompetent, it's possible that something is permanently bent. Improper bolt tightening might have warped the whole wheel, or maybe the tire changing machine bent the outside rim area?

Try rotating front-to-back, and/or with the spare, to isolate the tire/wheel that is causing the problem.

 

[stockrex]

ffeng, sorry for the sarcasm, the tire shop did not balance the tires properly, somethings instead of adding more weight they can turn em around and other things, which shop did you visit?

 

[97f150]

Last set of tires I bought at Wallys for my Sentra a few years back they put me a note on the receipt saying that all 4 of my rims were warped and they could not balance them. The car shook bad too, never done that before. I lived with it figuring when I had the money I would buy new rims (these are the steel cheapies). Got bored one day and brought it back to have tires rotated and rebalanced under there mait/protection plan. Different tech balanced them and never said two words about a bent rim and the car rode as smooth as ever. Just had a new set put on yesterday at Sams and still no word about anything being bent.

 

[FFeng7]

I may try torqueing them instead of the impact wrench. Just strange I had no vibrations on the old tires. The new ones do and they were balenced at two seperate shops. This is a beater truck so its not the end of the world just upsetting. Also tried to save a dollar and buy the cheap Douglas X-trac. The tires were rotated at the second shop like I said no real difference in ride.
PS. whats the torque for these lugs? Any ideas?

 

[Kestas]

One thought - your tires may not be round.

 

[moklock]

A shop with a roadforce balancer may be able to help rule out either the tire or wheel by running it while loaded on the balancer.

A Hunter GSP9700 balancer is usually required equipment at most dealerships anymore for such diagnosis, some tire shops will have roadforce units as well. You can find a local dealer/shop with that particular machine from the Hunter site http://www.gsp9700.com.

 

[Snafu]

Originally Posted By: FFeng7

PS. whats the torque for these lugs? Any ideas?




I'm going to guess somewhere between 80 and 100 ft lbs. Check your owners manual to be sure.

 

[Mr Nice]

Do some brand tires tend to get 'flat spots' when parked for a few days ?

 

[lightbulb]

I've just recently had a similar experience to this. Bought a set of new tires from Tire Rack. Got them installed at wally world. It ended up taking 3 different wally world locations and 4 total attempts balancing the tires before they could keep the weights on (and no, I don't have special rims). Obviously there was some vibration after the weights fell off. But even after the 4th balancing attempt when weights stayed on there was still some vibrations above 65 mph. I ended up taking it to a Discount Tire to balance. However, even after DT, there still seems to be some slight vibrations above 65. I'm wondering if all the issues with wally world led the vibrations I'm experiencing or if I'm just paying more attention with the new tires and being overly sensitive.

 

[eljefino]

If your aftermaket rims don't have lips near the bead surface for normal crimp on weights they're already at a disadvantage. You'll notice most factory alloys have this lip.

If they used sticky weights in the middle, you only got a static balance, which is not as good as a 2-plane one where they put weights on the inside and out. If your weights are behind a spoke they may have done that to hide them and not necessarily because it's the exact spot where they should be put.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Do some brand tires tend to get 'flat spots' when parked for a few days ?


I think this is more related to the presence (or absence) of nylon in the tire, rather than brand. I also think that it is related to the part of the country you live in.

Originally Posted By: eljefino
......

If they used sticky weights in the middle, you only got a static balance .......


There is one technique where the weights are hidden behind the spokes. Needless to say, this requires the use of tape-on weights, but because the weights are placed so close to the center of the wheel, it looks like the tire is only statically balanced, but it is, in fact, dynamically balanced.