Highway vibrations debacle

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Hey Everyone,

So a while back I posted about vibrations I was feeling in my seat while driving on the highway 70 MPH +. I got my tires road force balanced and it solved the issue. I just got back from a weeks long vacation in Maine. Before I left I had the tires balanced and rotated to ensure a smooth ride up.

While driving up my seat and the entire cabin shook when I exceeded 70 MPH, it got worse and worse the faster I went. The steering wheel didn't shake at all. I figured the tech balancing the tires did a bad job so I visited the BJ's in Portland. They re-balanced all my tires, I was present when the job was being done and noticed they were all out of balance.

The BJ's tech said it look like the shop that did the balancing over balanced each wheel. As soon as I hit the highway the same thing happened, shaking above 70MPH. At this point I determined it was probably a bent wheel. I visited a local wheel repair shop, they checked out both my rear wheels since the steering wheel wasn't shaking I didn't bother checking the front ones.

It turns out both rear wheels are ever so slightly bent, they attempted the straighten out the more bent one. They tech doing the job said he was surprised I even feel anything at all. So I had my hopes up that the problem would be fixed but as soon as I hit the road the same shaking returned. At this point I have no idea what's wrong with my car. I'm thinking of buying 4 new wheels, the car came from the factory with low profile 18 inch wheels which have been a curse.

Any ideas what could be causing the issue? Bent Axle?

A few more details about my car:

Toyo Proxes 4 Plus - Ultra high performance tires (Maybe contribute to harsh ride?) 20K miles on them

Installed thicker 20mm rear sway bar 6 months ago (But I never had shaking until now)

Installed front tower strut bar 6 months ago

-Thanks!
 
Are the wheels hub centric or lug centric? If lug centric there's a necessary adaptor for Toyotas, which are hub centric.
 
There was once a co worker I worked with who just would not put up with it. He was all of 5 ft, and was born. In china. When a client had an issue with her alignment, the wheel would angle left and the car would follow, his response in a deadpan Chinese English was for her to "hold the [censored] wheel" hong was a good mechanic but he didn't have a green card so he got sent back

My hong answer to you would be; so go 68


But seriously

Check your tires for diagonal striping or severe cupping
Check for a bad belt in the tires.
Rotate the tires to see if the shake moves
What car is it? 4wd trucks can get like that when u joints go, or driveshaft weights fall off
 
I'm confused.

You said you had them road force balanced and that solved the issue, then you go on to say talk about all the things you've done to the vibration...

If you had them balanced after the road force balance, then they are no longer road force balanced. In other words, you broke the fix.

BTW, If you will poke around here, you'll find more than one instance that might lead one to the conclusion that BJ's is probably not the best spot for a balance.
 
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear


You lost me right here ..... what does this statement mean ??


They were probably referring to using too much weight. otherwise I have no clue either


Suggestions to OP:
Try rotating the tires one side at a time.

If the vibrations move its a tire or wheel.

If they dont move its suspension/drivetrain.

From previous experience.. I'd say its probably the tires

Was BJ's road force balancing? You can balance a "square" tire but it wont be smooth going down the road.

Do you have cheap lugcentric aftermarket wheels? this may contribute.
 
They had a Coats 1250 balancer at BJs, I had my Sonata road force balanced 1 day before my trip but they didn't have their usual tech doing it. I thought maybe the new guy made an error while balancing the tires.

I only got them balanced because I felt some vibrations in the steering wheel. The problem is I didn't detect the vibrations in my seat because I only drive 65mph in my area. Traffic and speed limits don't really let me open it up too often. I have the factory 18 inch wheels from Hyundai on my car.
 
Has the front end and suspension all around been checked?
Another thing is to check to see if you have warped rotors.
 
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Have you had someone just drive along side your vehicle and look at your wheels while going down the road? Just a thought.




While giving the thumbs up.....
 
There was a thread here a while ago about a Cadillac on which the tires shifted on the rim, confounding any attempt to properly balance them. You may want to draw a chalk mark from rim to tire on each wheel and see if they shift.

An expensive option, of course, is a new set of tires and rims, maybe going down to 17". But as yours are bent, it may be inevitable...
 
I also had the tires checked for cupping and or any other problems. Everyone tells me they look fine. But I will have someone go down th road next to me to see how they look in motion.
 
After reading all of this, I am leaning toward a possible suspension/strut/shock problem. Back in the late 80s I remember a problem child GM FWD that had replacement struts installed (cheap generics, don't remember the brand) and a problem just like yours.

Tires are imperfect, as are rims, and balance jobs. Even if off by a certain small amount, it should not be noticeable to the driver. A bad strut/shock can sometimes let a small harmonic become a large harmonic. Just a shot in the dark.

Can you "drive through it"? What happens when you go above 70-80-85 mph? Does the vibration worsen, or does it ease off after a certain point? The tires are not cupping as one would expect, but then again you aren't spending a lot of time over 70.
 
Last edited:
M
Originally Posted By: punisher
After reading all of this, I am leaning toward a possible suspension/strut/shock problem. Back in the late 80s I remember a problem child GM FWD that had replacement struts installed (cheap generics, don't remember the brand) and a problem just like yours.

Tires are imperfect, as are rims, and balance jobs. Even if off by a certain small amount, it should not be noticeable to the driver. A bad strut/shock can sometimes let a small harmonic become a large harmonic. Just a shot in the dark.

Can you "drive through it"? What happens when you go above 70-80-85 mph? Does the vibration worsen, or does it ease off after a certain point? The tires are not cupping as one would expect, but then again you aren't spending a lot of time over 70.


I can't drive through it, I even took it up to 100 and it only got worse. The shaking just became more violent. I'm starting to think it might be suspension related. The past 2 winters have been brutal I hit many potholes, I lost 2 factory tires when I hit a huge pothole on a dark road. Maybe all the abuse took its toll.

-Thanks
 
Well, one can always try something like Counteract Balancing Beads in their tires and see if that cures the problem. I have had great results with them in my commercial truck tires. That is, if you consider just turning over 430,000 miles on the original set of drive tires on my truck as a good thing. And they will not be replaced till just before winter. By then they should be at around 460,000 miles. First set of steer tires got changed out at 210,000, but I did those a little early because I was offered $150 each for the tires and a discount on the new ones. Current set has over 220,000 on them and they won't get replaced till just before winter either. At least they compensate for not only tire balance, but the tire, wheel, and hub.

http://www.counteractbalancing.com
 
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Well, one can always try something like Counteract Balancing Beads in their tires and see if that cures the problem. I have had great results with them in my commercial truck tires. That is, if you consider just turning over 430,000 miles on the original set of drive tires on my truck as a good thing. And they will not be replaced till just before winter. By then they should be at around 460,000 miles. First set of steer tires got changed out at 210,000, but I did those a little early because I was offered $150 each for the tires and a discount on the new ones. Current set has over 220,000 on them and they won't get replaced till just before winter either. At least they compensate for not only tire balance, but the tire, wheel, and hub.

http://www.counteractbalancing.com




That's interesting, didn't even know that kind of technology existed.

Just another thought, I'm wondering if my alignment is off.

I found this bit of information but I don't know if it's accurate.

http://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair/tire-alignment-how-to-know-when-you-need-it

"Bad alignment can also cause vibration as wheels pull against each other. If your car is shaking while running down the road"
 
Tire balance gets worse with increasing speed. Suspension issues often cause vibration issues at certain speeds and not others. My Jaguar X-Type shakes at 70, but not at higher speeds. It's an AWD car, with worn out suspension. It's no surprise the thing shakes. But the tires are balanced and higher speeds result in a perfectly smooth ride.
 
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