Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[Scharbag]

Question. I just put new rubber on freshly powder coated wheels 10" ZCPs. I have a bit of a wobble in the steering wheel at 110-120 kph.

I thought it might be the powder coating on the mating surface so I sanded that off with 400 grit and an orbital. No change to the wobble at all.

I did notice the shop only used weights on the inside location closest to the "spokes" on my 10" wide wheels. I would have thought that on such a wide wheel, weights should be on both the inner and outer edges of the wheel.

What has been your experience with balancing and weight locations?

Thanks,

[vitalsigns]

Spacers? If so, those might be the culprits.

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by vitalsigns

Spacers? If so, those might be the culprits.

Only on the rear. Have run those for years with no issues.

[Ajolives]

That's the least effective method to balance a tire. You need weights on the inner and outer portions of the tire. I was a tire changer at Goodyear in my teens, those type of balances are junk.

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by vitalsigns

Spacers? If so, those might be the culprits.

The only time spacers create vibration is when they aren't put on right or if cheap spacers are used. Spacers do not just induce vibration into the car like folks have been saying. Saving a few bucks and or not installing properly is an end user issue.

[vitalsigns]

Originally Posted by Scrippy

The only time spacers create vibration is when they aren't put on right or if cheap spacers are used. Spacers do not just induce vibration into the car like folks have been saying. Saving a few bucks and or not installing properly is an end user issue.

But nevertheless, they are something to eliminate as a possible cause.

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by Scrippy

The only time spacers create vibration is when they aren't put on right or if cheap spacers are used. Spacers do not just induce vibration into the car like folks have been saying. Saving a few bucks and or not installing properly is an end user issue.

Yup.

Spacers are good. As I said, used them for years. No issues.

Pretty sure it is a balance issue. Need an alignment so I will get them rebalanced.

Cheers,

[nishfish87]

Happened to me, one shop put the weights only in the rear of the barrel. Went to discount tire and they balanced it correctly with weights on both ends.

[Scrippy]

Also depends on the tire. Mich PSS get pretty bad towards the last 25% of life IMO.

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by vitalsigns

But nevertheless, they are something to eliminate as a possible cause.

Agreed but it's pretty straight forward. Flat on the surface and use the correct studs or bolts meant for the offset. If there are no obvious scratches or damage which removed material you should be golden.

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by Scrippy

Also depends on the tire. Mich PSS get pretty bad towards the last 25% of life IMO.

These are brand new conti extreme sports. Hope they are not the issue.

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by Scharbag

These are brand new conti extreme sports. Hope they are not the issue.

Originally Posted by Scharbag

These are brand new conti extreme sports. Hope they are not the issue.

I wouldn't think new ANY BRAND tires would be the cause here but if so I would think warranty covers you before you put on extensive miles. I think the crowd hit the nail on the head with regards to weight placement on the wheels.

[Will_L]

Had a similar issue a month or so ago after purchasing PS4's. I had my shop road force balance the wheels and it drives without any vibration in the 80mph + range.

[Davisca455]

+1 for inner and outer weights.

[Scharbag]

Update:

2 wheels were bent slightly. But not by much...

Primarily, I am not a machinist. I was too aggressive when removing the powder coating on the mating surface and fukd that up... So the repair shop is going to remove a couple thou on a lathe and fix the minor bends. Once this is done, re-mount the rubber and balance. Should have them back in a few days.

Note to self: always make sure to mask the mating surfaces... FML.

[Scharbag]

OK, I am now at the end of my rope.

I have had my wheel hubs re-machined and there still seems to be be a wobble at about 105KPH to 115KPH. I can feel it quite pronounced when I turn the wheel when driving on the highway.

I am now at a total loss as to what it can be. The wheel shop said the rims are straight and round. What else is possible? These are new Conti Sport Extremes. What chance is there that the tires are bad?

Perhaps my next step is to re-mount my old PS4S tires to see if the wobble goes away as the old tires ran fine on these rims... Hubs are clean. Car runs fine with my buddies spare set of wheels. Grrrr...

Anyway, anyone have any other suggestions?

Cheers,

[ppatel14]

At this point, I would start to systematically determine the wobble. I know you said you have used spacers for a while now but remove that from the picture first if you're determined to find the issue. I experienced a similar issue and removed my spacers entirely and it reduced the wobble/shaking by 50%.

It seems like you're running a square setup so I would start marking tires, running the configuration, make notes, and rotate them from front to back/corner to corner.

If none of that works, I would check your bushings and then potentially an alignment with a competent shop.

I quite understand your frustration especially with "resetting" everything (powder coating wheels, new tires, and multiple balancing) and not having it work the first time.

[tdott]

Do you have another set of wheels to try?

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by ppatel14

At this point, I would start to systematically determine the wobble. I know you said you have used spacers for a while now but remove that from the picture first if you're determined to find the issue. I experienced a similar issue and removed my spacers entirely and it reduced the wobble/shaking by 50%.

It seems like you're running a square setup so I would start marking tires, running the configuration, make notes, and rotate them from front to back/corner to corner.

If none of that works, I would check your bushings and then potentially an alignment with a competent shop.

I quite understand your frustration especially with "resetting" everything (powder coating wheels, new tires, and multiple balancing) and not having it work the first time.

Yeah, it is driving me NUTS.

I no longer use spacers on the front given the 10" 359s. I still use 12mm spacers on the rear but those are not likely to cause a steering wheel wobble.

Front bushings are fine as they were replaced with stiffer bushings last year. Also, before getting new tires and powder coating, these wheels ran fine with my old PS4S tires.

Alignment was just done too... Found that the front toe was a little messed up but nothing else was bad.

I have used my buddies spare set of 19" 220M wheels and tires and no matter how careless I am when mounting them, there is ZERO wobble with these wheels. So I am pretty sure it is my square 359s or the the new Contis that are causing the issues... FML.

I talked to the shop that sold me the tires today. Dropping it off on Friday to see what we can see. It is a minor wobble at this point but I have OCD and there should be no wobble on an M3 IMHO!!

Thanks for the reply, I agree that a systematic approach is required. I will swap front to back soon and see what happens. I would like to give the powder coating shop a purple nurple for not masking the mating surfaces!!!

Will report back...

Cheers,

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by tdott

Do you have another set of wheels to try?

Yeah, my buddies 220Ms. They work just fine...

[ppatel14]

So I still have this shaking issue on my stock ZCP wheels with MPSS on rear and Pilot A/S on front which are both considerably worn.

When I decided to start tracking, I got the typical 18x10 square setup from Apex with NT01 tires mounted and balanced (inside and outside). In addition, I paired it up with Vorshlag camber plates and got a race alignment. First time rode on the setup to the track, it was butter smooth compared to my ZCP setup. I luckily marked the wheel and tire to see if it moved and it did by an 1 inch. Over time the steering wheel started shaking a bit to and from the track and it still does so I'm thinking it could just be the balancing of tire/wheel combo.

[tdott]

Originally Posted by Scharbag

Yeah, my buddies 220Ms. They work just fine...

Perhaps try somewhere with a Hunter Roadforce balancer. Have them check runout.

The roadforce balancer will tell them if there is excess forces. Also where the low spot of the wheel and high spot of the tire. They would need to rotate the tire on the wheel to match this up for least amount of road force.

Most places won't do this unless you specifically ask. They'll probably charge extra also.

https://www.discounttire.com/learn/road-force-balancing