deandorsey

i posted this at vetc. also

ok--
i purchased falken ze-512 tires and had them put on at the dealership before i picked up my 6 spd tl.

there had always been a slight steering wheel shimmy-the degree of which would vary. it would also pull to the left a little.
it was never drastic so i just waited until i got a couple rattles and took it back to the dealership a few weeks ago.

when i picked the car up they stated they had rotated the front tire to the back which supposedly fixed the pull.

when i picked it up and drove it home the shimmy was very bad. i brought it back the next day and they told me that the tire was out of round and it would need to be replaced.

so the next day i took it to the garage where i bought the tires originally. he checked all of the tires and ALL of them were out of balance-he balanced them and also stated that the tire was not out of round.

so to my point...while better-the shimmy is still there it is the most noticeable at highway speeds and the most noticeable after ive taken a turn or turned sharply (ex. on ramp). so are they still out of balance or is it even the tire(s)

bty-i run 39 psi front 34.5 psi rear----the increase seems to help a good deal.

jdl75

Does the shimmy change at all when you apply the breaks?

All TL's (auto and 6mt) have Brembo in front, right?

apwalsh

Negative, only the 6MT come with Brembo brakes

Hybrid

Out of round, or flat-spotted tires wouldn't cause a back-and-forth steering wheel shimmy. That's frequently caused by tires with the belts or tread misapplied in some way that causes the tire to pull to one side.

If a tire pulls to the side enough to cause a problem, it should be replaced by the manufacturer, not just moved to the back of the car. The pulling will also cause it, and probably the tire on the opposite side, to wear a little faster.

If your shimmy happens to come and go as you drive on a straight road, or around a curve, that's evidence that both tires on the front have a problem. (They get into and out of synchronization, partially cancelling each other out).

There is a Hunter "road force" balancer that some tire stores have that can easily diagnose these problems.

deandorsey

hybrid- thanks for the advice-i called around and the only place that had one was a toyota dealership!....im taking it in on monday....for $40 >:-(

Hybrid

The balancer is a Hunter GSP9700. Go here on Hunter's website to locate one near you. (You may find more than you can locate by phone).

http://209.176.154.132/pub/search/FindGSP9700.cfm

deandorsey

awesome thanks!--i was on their site before looking for something like that-but i couldnt find anything---

btw-the first place it brought up was the toyota dealership :-P i wish the acura dealership had one!

deandorsey

ok just wanted to update--
went monday to the toyata dealership. the car is MUCH better. the shimmy has all but disappeared. there is still a little "feedback" in the steering wheel but nothing like before. well worth the $45.

btw - the service adviser couldnt believe that my acura dealership didnt have one of these!