Vibration Nightmare

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ecarlcl

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I've hemmed and hawed over this issue for a couple months. I've found a few threads on the subject but nothing conclusive for my situation.

First a little history. I replaced my factory set of Michelins last September with a set of Dunlop Sport Signatures that I bought from tirerack.com because the Michelins were worn out. I never had a problem with the Michelins but since I changed tires I have developed a vibration at highway speeds that I can't seem to get out. It's in the steering wheel a little bit and I can feel it through the seat/floor pan. The tires have less than 10k on them. They're supposed to be 60,000 mile tires.

The first thing I did was take it to my local Ford dealer. They said the tires had flat spots. This made sense as the car does sit in the garage a lot.

After about 1000 miles of no improvement I call tire rack and explain the situation. They tell me that flat spotting is not a tire issue and recommend that I take it to a local Dunlop dealer if I want. I took my car to the closest one I could find and they look at the tires and say they're fine. They rebalanced all four wheels and tell me one of the wheels is bent. I bought a used replacement and had it mounted and balanced. I still had a significant vibration. I took it back a few times and they ended up rotating the tires to get most of it out of the steering wheel and make it "tolerable".

After some research I called around and found a shop in Kansas City that has a road force balance machine. I took it there and had them do all four wheels. It made a big positive difference but I still have a vibration.

I called tirerack again and explain that all the dealer did was re balance and send me on my way. I told them that I had it road force balanced and it still isn't right. They asked me to get in touch with another dealer. I called a couple and was told nothing could be done because I didn't buy the tires from them.

I'm thinking a have another bent wheel or two, or the tires could be junk. I could buy different OEM wheels but I don't want to end up with a bent wheel. I could buy new aftermarket wheels with different tires but I'm not sure I want to spend that much money. I could also just buy different tires but that may not solve the issue.

What should be my next move?
 
Sounds like you have done alot, I am guessing with all of the visits, nobody has found any of the bushings, links, or rods to be worn and/or torn?
 
JDS353 said:
did they check you ball joints you could be getting wheel shake from worn suspenion parts
Click to expand...

When I took it to the Ford dealer I told them it had a vibration at highway speeds and nothing else. I assume they checked over everything that could cause it. But assumptions can be dangerous. I'll ask them to be sure.

Andrizzle said:
Sounds like you have done alot, I am guessing with all of the visits, nobody has found any of the bushings, links, or rods to be worn and/or torn?
Click to expand...

The front sway bar end links were replaced about a month ago and I have new front sway bar bushings going in tomorrow because they are making noise. That's all anyone has made me aware of. Bad sway bar components can't cause a vibration can they?
 
Yes they can. My front swaybar bushings are totally shot, I feel and hear it every bump. I am tackling them this coming weekend, but I have a gen2 so I have to do some cutting, I think if I can recall correctly, the gen1 sway bar bushings are easier to change as they are stand alone units and not molded into the bar itself.

Wow that was a huge run on sentence, but yes. lol
 
Andrizzle said:
Yes they can. My front swaybar bushings are totally shot, I feel and hear it every bump. I am tackling them this coming weekend, but I have a gen2 so I have to do some cutting, I think if I can recall correctly, the gen1 sway bar bushings are easier to change as they are stand alone units and not molded into the bar itself.

Wow that was a huge run on sentence, but yes. lol
Click to expand...

Oh. Well I'll see how I fare after I get it back from the stealership tomorrow night. I have a set of Energy Suspension poly bushings going on it. I won't miss that clunk noise.
 
Trust me, once those bushings get worn out, the sway bar is basically free floating and 'teeter-totting' back and forth with each wheel hitting different bumps etc... Lowering the car I have found puts an extreme stress on these bushings as well. Mine have never been replaced and I am over 100k - so I am due either way, but lowering has made the issue much more significant.

I will have the car jackstood for oil change and sway bar this weekend, Ill let you know how the new rubber works out!
 
Well got the bushings done. The clunkity clunk is gone. If anything the vibration is worse. So I guess we're back to the drawing board on that one.

EDIT maybe I'm thinking about this all wrong, perhaps I should buy a cheap LS off of craigs list, swap wheels and flip it. Profit!
 
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My steering wheel vibrates at high speed too. A couple of years back, I used to have a lump on the front passenger side tire that caused severe vibrations on my steering wheel. I had them replaced and could still feel a little vibration. I think its the ball joints but I am not willing to pay a whole lot of money to find out.
 
I have had a vibration issue myself, but intermittent. When I bought my car it had some ghetto-fabulous rims on it with some pretty worn out goodyears so the slight vibration in the steering wheel at 60 mph and above was understood.

I installed my Stern wheels with new tires and the vibration was totally gone for about a week. Now, about every other couple days at 70 mph or more I'll have that same small vibration in the steering. Some day it's not there at all no matter how fast I drive, and other days i'll have it. I haven't had the wheels rebalanced because if that was the issue it would happen all of the time I would think. The suspension checks out alright and I have new bushings in the sway bar as well. The only thing that might be the issue is a malfunction coil on it's way out again causing the engine to be unbalanced and that vibration is being transfered to the steering wheel. Who knows though. :rolleyes:
 
I just found a set of cheap used oem wheels. Previous owner says they balanced and were vibration free when they were on the car. If that doesn't do it I'll try different tires.

Thanks for all the input.
 
That seems like a really wierd problem. Could it be a driveline issue like the rubber isolator the driveshaft connects to or the driveshaft itself? I guess that wouldnt cause as much vibration in the steering wheel but I wonder if it could be something unrelated to the tires/wheels/suspension?
 
natural resonance of that particular tire

There is a natural resonance of each tire design. The manufacturers try to get most of it out but some stays,,,,each car has its own resonance too. Match the two opposing resonances and you'll get a vibration at certain speeds. Try different tires next time.
 
Could be permanent flat spots, yes? I believe that's my problem with the Yokohamas I have.
 
i had a similar problem. turned out to be corrosion on the rims. this caused the rim to sit slightly off and caused the vibration. the tire guy tried sanding them down a bit, which was better but not gone. if you live in a place where this could be an issue, look at the back of the rims when they're off.
 
the title of this thread made me assume you accidently sat on your wife's vibrator as it was jabbed into the couch or something :P
 
As soon as I saw you posted in this thread, I immediately thought the same thing.
 
I just got a set of metallic finish 5 spoke 17" stockers for $75. I love craigslist. They look mint. I'll get them mounted later this week. If that doesn't make a difference I'll get a new set of tires and see if that does it. Hopefully at that point Tirerack or Dunlop will stand behind them. At the very least I can flip these wheels and make a little money.
 
I had the same vibration in the steering wheel and for the life of me coundn't figure out what the problem was. First off I had 20" rims and the vibration was severe at 60-70 mph. over the winter I put the stock wheels on and there was still some vibration but not alot. The stock rims had 225/55/16 for tires. Well the good weather broke and decided to put the 20's back on, vibration got worse, so I pulled the 20's and sold them. I also got the factory size tires on the stock rims 215/60/16 and guess what
( absolutely no vibration ) I painted the stockers black to match the car, they look good for now till I can get a set of 17's. I would rather sacrifice looks for a safe ride.
 
I notice more vibration with my 19's as well. From what I gather, they are near impossible to get perfectly balanced, since they cannot put the weights all the way on the outside of the rim (no "rim" to put it on). So the furthest they can get them is just behind where the spokes meet the barrel.
 
I got my "new" set of wheels mounted today. I still have the same vibration. I'm going to be looking into tires tomorrow. I hope someone will stand behind these Dunlops.

2 important life lessons learned here...

1. Don't buy tires online, if you have a problem you're screwed.

2. Don't pay under $200 a piece for new V rated tires.

I did get a very nice new set of wheels out of all this though. :D

Edit: Thanks for the input guys.
 
Don't pay under 200? Wtf Y not. V rated tires for the stock 17's don't cost that much. I think u can even get michelins for less than 2 a piece

And check the manufacture date of ur tirerack tires to make sure they aint 06 tires or somethin. I doubt they r but old tires made my car ride like ish and vibrate on the highway
 
dNyce LS said:
Don't pay under 200? Wtf Y not. V rated tires for the stock 17's don't cost that much. I think u can even get michelins for less than 2 a piece

And check the manufacture date of ur tirerack tires to make sure they aint 06 tires or somethin. I doubt they r but old tires made my car ride like ish and vibrate on the highway
Click to expand...

Old tires could very well be the case I'll have to look them up. Trying to stay under $200 and keep the V rating is what got me into these Dunlops in the first place. I found a good local tire place so I'll see what they have.

Before I do anything drastic I'm going to have the guy that runs the shop take a ride with me and/or drive my car and see what he thinks. The possibility exists that this could still be in the suspension.
 
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