Vibration at Highway Speeds

[The Critic]

Hi Folks-

The 2010 Altima in my signature belongs to my parents. I picked up the vehicle yesterday for scheduled maintenance and observed a moderate vibration while cruising at highway speeds (60+mph).

I inspected the vehicle and did not find any obvious damage to suspension components. The CV Axles inspected OK. I measured lateral runout on all 4 rotors and they were between 0.0005”-0.001”, so I think the hub assemblies are OK. However, I removed all 4 tire/wheel assemblies for inspection and observed a small bend in the driver-rear (L/R) wheel assembly:

1) Close-up view:


2) Distant view:


Could this explain the vibration that I am observing at highway speeds? I am a bit skeptical because the bend is small and the wheel is currently mounted on the rear axle.

The tires on this car are fairly new, and are Michelin Premier A/S tires with about 5,000 miles on them. My dad already had them balanced twice with no improvement in the vibration issue, so I was ready to have a road-force balanced performed. But given that we have an obvious bent wheel, I am hesitant to proceed further without resolving the bent wheel first.

What do you guys recommend?

 

[OneEyeJack]

You could start by looking for other suspension damage that might have occurred when the wheel got bent.

Maybe move the wheel around to different corners and see how it feels.

The wheel can be repaired but I have no idea if it's cost effective.

I'd fix the wheel problem before going any farther. It should be fixed, anyhow.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
You could start by looking for other suspension damage that might have occurred when the wheel got bent.

Maybe move the wheel around to different corners and see how it feels.

The wheel can be repaired but I have no idea if it's cost effective.

I'd fix the wheel problem before going any farther. It should be fixed, anyhow.


Agreed

 

[KrisZ]

This kind of damage to the rim can definitely cause vibration. You can install a spare in its place to see if it makes any difference.

 

[supton]

I have to wonder if road force would find that. I bet the tire is out of round due to the bead pulled just slightly wrong (just my guess).

Edit: I like the idea of installing the spare.

 

[NHGUY]

I've had a 60-69 mph vibration for quite some time.Replaced rear tires Saturday....vibration gone.It came and went and was pretty violent at a certain speed.All sorts of new parts couldn't stop the issue.I would have never guessed it was a rear tire (I figured front).

 

[eljefino]

Unlikely. I have a way bigger gouged dent in my mercedes rim and it rides mint.

You'd do well to spin the tires up and watch the wheels (and tires) for wobble. A rear axle on a FWD car is pretty good, especially if you take the brakes out.

This rim could have an invisible shallow wobble that will show when you spin it up but so may also the other three.

 

[JHZR2]

A broken belt in a tire from such an impact sure could cause issues. Not to mention the change in mass distribution.

I like the idea of running a spare for a bit to see if it resolves. Or, if you put it on the front axle, I suspect youll see a steering wheel shake, which would be fairly indicative imo.

 

[Merkava_4]

The bent wheel is your problem.

 

[Nick1994]

Yup, throw on the spare and take it for a spin.

Even if it's a donut spare you can get it up on the highway for a minute, it's not going to blow. As long as it's full.

 

[The Critic]

I took the car to a tire shop that had the GSP9700 Road Force Touch Balancer. We performed the road-force test on all 4 wheels.

The results were 11-lbs, 14-lbs, 16-lbs (assembly with bent tire/wheel) and 17-lbs. No force-matching was done on any of the tire/wheels.

When we performed the measurement on the bent wheel, the machine displayed a "force-match cannot be performed due to exceeded limits" message. Also, with the force of the roller, it was apparent that the bent wheel had a significant wobble once the assembly was under load.

My understanding is that under 26-lbs is considered to be acceptable, but an ideal number is 15-lbs.

For now, the tire/wheel assemblies with 11-lb and 14-lb are on the front axle, and there is still a slight vibration (felt thru the steering wheel) on the highway.

So in summary -

1- the bent tire/wheel assembly is probably an issue and contributing to the car's vibration at any speed.
2- some vehicles may have vibration issues even with tire/wheel assemblies that are "correctly balanced."

 

[SatinSilver]

Michael,

How do you think the damage happened?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Michael,

How do you think the damage happened?


Your guess is as good as mine. Pothole?

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: The Critic


Your guess is as good as mine. Pothole?


Since it's on the inside, that would be my guess.

 

[The Critic]

Found a replacement wheel on Ebay for $119. Will post pictures of the bent one once I get the tire swapped over.

 

[Schmoe]

CAREFUL on ebay....I had to replace a wheel on my Accord last year....they were "refurbished" to say it nicely and WAYYYYYYY out of round. Had to heat it up and beat the bejesus out of it.

 

[The Critic]

This one is fixed.

The replacement used wheel from eBay reduced the vibration at highway speeds from noticeable, to a barely noticeable level. According to the GSP9700, the road force value of the "new" assembly is 12 lbs, which is well within specs.