acuracl32

My Acura 3.2CL has very strong vibration in the steering wheel above 40mph. The wheels are brand new Falken wheels with Falken ZIEX-512 tires (215/50/17). We put them on a Hunter 9700 wheel balance machine and you could see the tire moving left-right as it rotated. Tried all 4 wheels and all 4 looked like they were bad and out of round....one so severely that it took about 34 weights to get it kinda balanced and it still was messed up. Then I took a set of old Dunlop 9000 tires and mounted those. The wheel still shakes, but much less now. The other problem is that the car really shakes like crazy when braking because I guess the rotors are warped. Right now we are out of ideas of why I am still getting this vibration in the steering wheel.

So far we have concluded that the new Falken Tires are all messed up and all 4 are out of round. Since we have vibration with the Dunlop tires it could be either the wheels themselves, but they look perfect. Or the last option is the warped rotors. So I guess my question is, whether warped rotors can cause vibration even when the brakes are not applied?

Thanks

russianDude

Either your tires are unbalanced or you have wrapped rotors.

Starter

1. Sounds like those tires were indeed messed up. Dump them and get some real tires. Or, maybe, the wheels weren't on the machine properly. If those tires were that bad, Falken would have everybody who bought them coming back mad as hell. It's highly unlikely there were just 4 bad ones out of that production run. Where did you buy them - they weren't seconds were they?

2. The Hunter is a good machine, but is only as good as the tech using it. Get someone else to re balance.

3. Warped rotors could contribute to your problem. More likely, you've got two separate problems with the same symptom - a shaking wheel.

VeeralS05

1. New Tires "Toyo Proxes"
2. Just get new rotors it will help the Rotora's is what I suggest
3. Get it check out at a dealer also...if under warranty they might replace the rotors for free...

rondog

iTrader: (1)

ahem, hubcentric wheels would do the trick (shameless plug), but seriously, toyos are awesome, I actually have two wheels in 19" with toyos and they didn't even need any wheel weights, they were balanced naturally. there is a way that the tire should be positioned on the wheel so the valve stem lines up with a part of the tire that acts sorta like a counter weight. Not sure exactly, but an experienced tech could do it well. good luck

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Toyo FZ4's are good too. I have them on my car and beater and they kick ass. I heard the Proxes are real good.
Small chance it could also be the wheels, but since they're new, I doubt it.

moomaster_99

There is usually a yellow dot on the sidewall of the tire. If you can line it up with the valve stem...it should require no weights to balance it.

Also, it is highly unlikely that all 4 tires cant be balanced. More likely your rims are probably bent somewhere.

acuracl32

I bought Continental ContiExtreme tires for these Falken wheels. Someone recomended them to me. I bought these at tirerack.
In terms of the warped rotors, I bought the Power Slot rotors from Tirerack, put them on, and put a brand new pair of OEM brake pads, my car was shaking like crazy without even applying the brake pads. Then I bought some cross drilled/slotted off ebay, same thing. Any thoughts on this?
I bought a set of Hawk high performance rotors today from Tirerack and want to install them on the drilled/slotted rotors that I bought on ebay.

acuracl32

When I brake, the vibration is crazy!!! I could barely hold on to the steering wheel...But could warped rotors be really the problem to this even when I dont brake???

Zubzy887

Yea man I have the same issue. Its prob just the rotors because my steeringwheel vibrates like crazy even after i got my tires changed. Especially after around 50 when im braking...its horrible. So im guessing nothin to do with tires.
my

rondog

iTrader: (1)

call me up tomorrow, i know how bad vibration can get, I've had bent wheels, bubbles in the tires, warped rotors and a messed up axle. I've been through it all, and now I have hubcentric aftermarket wheels (of course), toyo tires, a Rotora 13" big brake kit, a new axle, and Tein coilovers. So i pretty much solved all the problems one way or another. I would prolly be able to give you instructions on how to isolate the vibration and fix it. its just too hard to type it all, easier to just say it. (914) 476-1895, ask for Rondy, call between 1:00 and 4:00 manana. and no pranks guys, lol.

TampaBayCLS

I also put on a set of ContiExtreme Contact. They lasted 30 days. I had a horrible hopping and could not get rid of it after several trips to the tire store and their other locations trying to fing a good tech.

I have learned several things after going through this process.

1) Put Japanese tires on Japanese cars. I just put on Fuzion ZR1's and my problems disappeared.
2) Make sure whatever equiment yout tire shop uses that it was calibrated recently.
3) The tires must be matched mounted. Colored dot on tire aligned with valve stem.
4) Tire shop must use a torque wrench to mount your wheels to the car. NOT a air gun at 150psi until it stops.
5) If you can convince the tire shop, do not use the cones to center your wheel on the machine. They all have adapters that will simulate how the wheel mounts on your car. It is much more accurate than the cones. I was also told by a Coats technican (major tire balancer manufaturer) that the tire shop techs oftion use the incorrect size cone.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

If the user knows how to use the Hunter 9700, That machine will tell you if the rim in bent, & it will tell you if the tires are out of round. First thing I would do is take care of your warped rotors. That may solve alot of your problems. 2nd I would get the tire re-balanced with someone who knows how to use that 9700.

zamo

And third I will go for alignment. That decreased vibrations in my Altima.

carquest

i had similar experiences w/ having the OEM Pilot tires on my car balanced w/ the Hunter Road Force Machine you describe. i had mine re-balanced 7 times the 1st 3 weeks i had the car. it may not be the tires. it may not be the wheels. it may not be the rotors.

i suspect it's just the tech using the machine. or the machine may be damaged/out of cal. the machine mine were done on was "fixed" right before the last balance attempt. now they're dead on. all 4. after 6000 miles.

also, ask what the "road force variation" number is on your tires. mine had to be re-positioned/balanced until the road force variation number was less than 10. it was a royal pain in the ass but the tire shop i had it done at was willing to keep balancing until i was satisfied or i got tired of trying.

they finally got it right. it's worth it.

good luck.

acuracl32

Thanks for all the advices. I will update once the problem is gone.

cltypeSLOW

anyone know where to get some rotoras for a good price?

Allout

That machine has more capabilities that most of the tech's know how to use. Last guy didn't know the machine could hide the weights behind the spokes. The machine measures runout on both the rim and tire. Sometimes breaking the bead and reseating helps too.