Hello,

I have an 05 sedan with the 18" OEM rims. Last year, I installed 245/45/R18 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-2 tires on the rears only.

Now, the fronts have worn so I installed new tires (same brand), and rotated the tires (new tires in rear, old tires in front). All tires have 40 psi and torqued to 85 Ft Ibs. Now, I am experiencing steering wheel vibration at 65-75 mph. I got the old tires rebalanced and it is still doing the same thing.

I was thinking it was a suspension problem so I installed the new tires up front and put the old tires in the rear to check if I notice the same problem. No steering wheel vibration is noticed and there is only slight rear vibration.

What could be with the wheel? I know it has something to do with the old tires but am stumped on the problem. I would like to hear your opinions. Thanks.

 

u should have the tires rebalanced at a different shop to rule out improper balancing. you should also find out what style/type of balance your shop used. if im not mistaken, 30psi is your spec but probably not the solution to your problem.
Because your front tires are "older" than your rears, you now have different tread depths of the fronts and rears. this can sometimes can cause harsh conditions as your describing.

>check your front treads. Is there alignment wear? treads chunking off? was tire rotation performed during the past year? Balancing can not fix improper tire wear due to lack of rotation and/or mechanical wear.

>have all tires rebalanced at the dealership/other shop to rule out improper balancing.

hope this helps.

 

Thanks for your reply. I don't know what type of balancing machine they used. But the new tires seem to have been balanced properly. When I replaced the old front tires, I found that there was uneven tread wear. The inner tread had greater wear than the outer. Also, I found the tires to have saw-tooth tread pattern. Could the issue be related to an alignment?

 

=) sounds like improper tire wear caused by a lack of rotation. replace your old tires(now in the front) and everything should be good.

i dout that its alignment. but a good rule of thumb... have your alignment checked/adjusted when replacing 4 tires.


can you take a picture of your front tire treads?

 

Well, I already replaced the one set of old tires with a new one. The new tires do not have any issues when in front but when I put the other set of old tires that has about 10,000 miles in front the steering wheel shakes. There is about 60% of tread left over. I am thinking about taking these tires to another shake to get balanced.

 

slight bent on a wheel can cause vibration. vibration normally starts around 65mph+. get your wheels balance asap, you dont want enough vibration to ruin your alignment.

 

Even if the wheel is bent, a good shop might be able to balance it out. On my last car, I had a wheel that was basically oval shaped on the inside. The shop told me and I had them mount and balance a new tire on it anyway. Never had any vibration at all. When it came time for new tires, I replaced the wheel, but I never Had any vibration.

Also, your tire pressure seems a bit high. You should be around 30-32 psi. Post a pic of the tire so we can judge the wear pattern.

Also when was the last time you had an aligment

 

check your control arm bushing! could be that problem! and its causin vibrations just like in mine

 

If you can find a shop with the New Hunter Balance machine, it can compensate for slightly bent wheels as well as hard spots on the tire.

 

yeah, new hunter stuff are awesome, you ever get to use the new alignment machine? it's like lasers everywhere. lol