I'm at the Acura dealer right now because ever since I put on my Dunlop winter sport 3D's which are a rotational tire I have had vibration on the freeway at 70-85mph. My other Kuhmo's are also rotational and I thought sometimes I felt vibration too but not as bad. I had the Kuhmo’s Road Force Balanced but not the Dunlop’s. The service guy says that they never put rotational tires on the Acura’s and I never should because the suspension is so sophisticated and all that mumbo jumbo. They are going to Road Force Balance them and we'll see what happens. Thoughts?

 

Whoops meant directional. Had them road force balanced and still have vibration at highway speeds. My god it's the last car all over again, my family and friends are going to think I'm crazy but the tech felt it. I'm having Tire Rack talk to the dealership right now because the dealer says its from directional tires which is BS in my book and said they all have run out.

 

Agree that it's BS.

Possibilities are:
a) need rebalancing, use the Road Force balancer every time (most likely).
b) one or more of the tires is out of round.
c) one or more of your wheels is out of round (less likely).

Git 'er done, it's supposed to snow on Wednesday/Thursday around here!

Edited title for you, too.

 

I have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S which are a directional tire and I have absolutely no vibration issues at all. None. Great tire and much quieter than OEMs.

Make sure they're using the right weights for the balancing. The RL is supposed to use the tape weight as opposed to the traditional weights that are installed on the lip of the rim.

 

I have the OEM wheels and snow tires on right now so I should be okay for tomorrow and Thursday, can't wait to see how they perform this winter! Had them Road Force Balanced yesterday and there is still vibration. The dealer said there is excessive run off and something else. Had Tire Rack talk to the dealer directely and now I have an appointment with a local Goodyear (Dunlop) dealer to inspect the tires since the dealer says 3 are bad. Goodyear wants to look at them first before they commit to replacing 3. I think it's BS and there is an underlying problem. Dealer said all four wheels were fine and not bent.

 

I've had a vibration at 75-80 ever since I got my 05 RL. Finally had it road forced balanced (Michelin OEMs) and they found that one of the wheels has a slight warp. I'll probably take it in to get the wheel repaired and see if that alleviates the vibration. I can't justify buying a new wheel just yet, and the repair is only around $125.

btw ... I've never owned a honda/acura that didn't vibrate.

 

I would spend $125 in a heartbeat to alleviate my problem. Maybe I'll just get a 2010 TL SH-AWD 6 speed.....

 

i don't have an RL (i have a CL) but i've had a few sets of directional tires and never had any type of vibration problem.

 

Or maybe look at the brake rotors. If they are not straight ( what is the word for this ??? ) this can be the problem to.

 

Well Goodyear (Dunlop) has decided to replace them with their new Dunlop Graspic DS-3 that just came out this year. I really don't think it's the tires and I'm not happy about sacrificing the performance of the Winter Sport 3D's but we will see if this alleviates the problem. If it doesn't the guy at the tire shop said he put the Winter Sports back on still give me the Graspic's to keep. I will have them look at the rotors too though the dealer said they were fine. If the tires don't fix it I will head back to the dealer and tell him how his directional tire BS didn't work. I have an appointment at 8:30 tomorrow AM to have the Graspic's put on so I will keep you updated. Here is a link to the Graspic's
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....andard%20Model

 

When you say Road Force Balanced, they are using this wheel balancer right?

www.gsp9700.com

That's the only Road Force balancing machine I'm aware of. It's like 13k if purchased new. Most dealerships have them, but a lot still do not.

It sounds like these tires may very well be defective. That is a tough, especially since you bought them from the Tire Rack. Fortunately Tire Rack usually has great customer service, so you should be in good shape with them. However, it is definitely strange that they are having problems getting them balanced.

Chris

 

Yes they are using a true Road Force Balancer I even saw it and it says on the Hunter website that the dealer indeed does have one. They said they are balanced they are just saying it's internal damage, excessive runoff, and the belts inside the tire are damaged. Yeah Tire Rack rocks in these situations they took care of everything for me. I hope it's just the tires.

 

I assume it did not have this vibration when you drove it home from NJ? If so, then it looks not to be an issue with the car.

But then you have one vendor for the wheels, another for the tires, and all point to the other. I have been in this situation before...frustrating.

Let's assume it is not the car, and it is between the wheels or tires. Which is the easier to swap / exchange?

My suggestion is to find a wheel tire dealer local who deals with fine wheel / tire packages. Explain your situation and ask what type of diagnostic fee they require to diagnose whether you have an out of round wheel or tire.

Quality aftermarket wheel / tire vendors should have some skill in diagnosing this. It is not uncommon to up-size wheels or tires and introduce a vibration issue not inherent to the car. This is very typical with over-sized wheels and low profile tires so many desire.

Ultimately, I would buy wheels and tires from the same vendor to have one point of contact to resolve issues. That peace of mind is worth a price variance in most situations. This is only because I had phantom vibration issued in the past. I tend to be keenly focused on vibrations after any wheel rotation, alignment or tire change situation. I admit being anxious about it until I have driven the car to my satisfaction that they were gone.

I had an issue with one of my former Isuzu (certainly not an apples to apples comparison). New, OEM wheels and tires where fine. But they wore quickly and got a horrible whine. I replaced the tires with more expensive tires. A vibration was introduced that could not be resolved...even swapping tires of the same make and a two other brands. Multiple visits and frustration by me and my tire dealer.

Short story. Went back to the OEM tire model. Vibration disappeared. Confused, but satisfied. Two years later talking to my Isuzu Tech I learned there was a harmonic vibration in the vehicle no amount of alignment or balancing could cure. It just so happened that the OEM tires that were selected by the manufacturer apparently masked the vibration. And it only was discovered after numerous owners changed tires and the vibration reared it's ugly head.

As a result, I am finicky and anxious about changing wheels and tires. Smooth, non vibrating wheels are paramount to me.

 

I have to say that there were times where I felt a vibration driving home from NJ. I thought it was the tires or wheels and I knew I would be changing both out when I got home and put on my 19's and switched out the OEM's w/ my OEM's and snow tires. You are correct in this being all over the place! I will try to make it with one so its easier to deal with. What I find odd is I didn't feel the vibration much with the 19's on which you would think would amplify the vibration. It was a lot worse with the OEM wheels and snows on. I don't know well see what happens tomorrow.

 

Dunlop Graspic DS-3's installed and vibration gone! I guess the guy at the dealer was right there was internal damage with the tires. The Graspic are super soft but I don't feel a huge difference between them and the SP Sport Winter 3D's as far as handling cababilities. They don't fold over like goo like my last pair of Blizzaks did in corners. I recommend them so far.