they feel fine goin between 0 and 60 but above 60 on the freeway a slight vibration will develop in the steering wheel. then after about 1 minute it goes away and comes back another 2 minutes later and the same thing continues on and on till I get off the freeway.
what could this be? - I bought these rims and tires off another guy and he has a warranty on the tires through discount tires...I just hope I didnt get ripped off by him =/ he said they were all ok, and he needed to sell for other reasons. - hes on here and dont wanna say anything bad about him, cuz hes cool...but I hope I can get this all fixed.
Im thinkin about gettin em rebalanced and make sure they are aligned....I just fear as Ive read in another post on here this will only fix it temporarily....grrr...my only wacky question is why does this not happen constnatly rather than incrementaly?

 

when i had my wheels put on, i was warned by the shop that put them on that I may need to buy some hubs from the manufacturer. they basically go in the center of the wheel and help keep it centered. i've been experiencing the same thing so I think i'm gonna have to break down and take the shop's advice.

 

Yeah, hubcentric rings are a cheap way to make sure your wheels go on right. There are a few places that sell them. The hub on xBs and xAs are 54.1mm, but you will have to tell them what kind of wheels you have, and they can get some rings that will fit. Try www.1010tires.com , I belive they sell the rings.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

DING DING DING! We have a WINNER! Most likely the solution to your problem...

 

ok you said to tell them what kind of wheels I have??!?! hrm...how do I tell them over website, not sure if they would help me out on that, do any local tire shops sell such rings....
I didnt see any 54.1mm on their site, just 54.06mm is that the correct one? and then just need to find outside diameter, which like above Im assuming where knowing what wheels I have...correct?

Thanks

 

54.06 is the right one, it's often rounded up like that.

You need to find the centerbore measurement of your wheel. Check the wheel mfg or email that site above or maybe check with RogerTTR, he may be able to find the info for you and maybe even the rings themselves.

 

I have hubcentric rings also, but if the wheels you are running are a different offset and width than originally aligned, you may need another alignment to make sure the toe is properly adjusted.

But then again, what the heck do I know.

 

Before I put on my new rims and tires, how important is it to get an alignment after installing the wheels with a different offest? I also have hub spacers (thank you onetongarage.com!) and hub rings that will go on my xA.

 

I have 17" Modern Concepts Vision wheels.
http://www.autotoyaz.com/viwhtipaseto.html

I cant seem to find the bore listed anywhere for these, and I at one time knew their homepage, but cant find it anymore.
anyone offhand know the bore for these wheels? if not how much would it cost to get one wheel measured ya think at a tire place?
Thanks

 

well, there is another way to find out. You can go to an auto store or Sears and rent/buy a Micrometer. You would use the arms on the micrometer that measure things from the inside, and that measurement would be the correct one. This would be a bit difficult because of the tiny arms, but it might work.

 

or its easier to use a caliper?

or better yet, just go straight to your local tire place and ask them to look from the assortment of hub rings they have and see what fits?

 

One thing you guys may not have thought about. Perhaps the original owner used a can of "fix a flat". Sometimes these will condensate as they are put into the tire causing moisture to be introduced into the tire. This water slings around inside and causes all sorts of funny vibrations. The faster you go - the worse it gets. At 30-40 mph, hardly noticeable. But at highway speeds its terrible. Break down the tires and look for water inside. Then dry them out.

 

Yeah, a caliper is the tool I meant. But checking which rings fit would also be a good idea.

 

That reminds me of when I was trying to get some HCRs for mine. I called WheelWorks and they said come on down and we'll see if we have one that fits. I told them i had the size already, they said they don't have sizes on them, but they've got a big 'ol bag of them if I wanted to take a look... Excuse me, I need a set of 4... Hmmm...

So I went and taught the GoodYear guy what I had learned about HCRs, he called another store, found someone who knew what I was talking about and got them ordered. I was surprised at the lack of info the pro's had...

 

Here is a list of possibilities ...

1. Check to see if the wheel/tire combo needs to be rebalanced. Have the tech remove the wheel weights before testing. He is going to charge you anyway.

2. Check the tire pressure. I had a massive shimmy up front till i adjusted the pressure and set both fronts to 33PSI. Now shimmy is all but gone.

3. Check to see if there is a plug in the tire. By inserting a plug, this will offset the balance. See #1.

4. Possibly need Hub Centric Rings.

5. Possibly need an allignment.

 

ok guys ... please help me!
I had hub rings fitted and put onto the car...
and I have had all 4 tires rebalanced with new weights.

the vibration is EXACTLY the same as it was before...as soon as I drove off the lot of discount tire onto a freeway....blam the vibration was back.

I just asked the owner if he had sprayed that can of stuff in there you mentioned but I dont thik he did, but I pm'd him that question...

discount tire said that next time if the balance I just had done...dont work(it doesnt) lol they said bring it back and they will do a rim match on tires...I guess balance each tire and rim seperatly and then take and combine the imperfections of each wheel/tire and match them up to compansate for each other...dont know if that will fix much tho...

what else could it be tho?!?!

next I think I will have the tires switched around and the back ones put on the front and front on back, and see if it goes away.

I would have it realigned as next step...but how can the car be out of alignment already ...I just got it brand new a few weeks ago, and I dont see how an alignment would cause intermitent shaking of the steering wheel.

 

I would try the alignment. The toe might be just off enuff to cause the vibration at different speeds.

 

well now Im totally out of ideas, may try an alignment but seriously doubt thats what it is....grr maybe my tires are just ____ty.

I got one of my stock wheels/tires out and put it on the front right, went out and drove on freeway and the vibration was every 5 seconds rather than every 1 minute.
so, I went and put the wheel back on the right and then put the stock one on the left front. drove around and the vibrations were minor yet constant now.
So then I put all my aftermarket wheels back on but I switched the back ones to the front and front to back... and now there is hardly any vibration at all, yet its still there every now and so often. all above 60mph.

I guess these tires just suck or something, they are the correct speed rating and everything, next Im gonna see how much pressure is in em..they look about right...but gonna double check to make sure thats not whats causing small cups or bumps in tires.
The previous owner said he sprayed nothing inside of them, so that cant be it, also he states hes never had this problem.
But if I put all my stock tires back on and all vibrations go away...well then there had to be something wrong with the setup on his car, I would think.

any more ideas on what I should do guyz? this is killin me lol

 

Or, they could be unevenly worn also. Happens when tires aren't rotated properly.