yesterday and this morning i noticed that once i hit 60 mph my car starts vibrating...almost like i am driving on cobblestone (not as severe but to a degree)

i haven't hit any potholes so i was thinking can this have anything to do with tire pressure? if the tires are unbalanced (that's what if feels like) how the hell does this happen without hitting something?

 

it's getting colder here in NJ; perhaps your Turanza's are "flatspotting"?

 

yeah i thought about that too, but this didn't happen last year with the same tires... could this be something that happens as the tires get older?

 

I would start with the tires and move on to the rotors.

 

Do you rotate your tires regularly?

On one of my older cars I didn't and my tread ended up looking like a cogged wheel.. wasn't even round any more!

But it was my own fault and I learned from it. Regular rotations ever since

 

Have about 14k miles and have rotated once...

 

How does the tread look? evenly worn? Is the pressure is ok in all tires... Doubt if it is flat spotting. Sounds more like a belt issue in the tire(s). Drive it and see if this is gradual after like 30 or so... Does it get continously worse after a certain speed? Does it get better, worse, or the same if you drive longer, higher speed, etc..? Go take it to a tire place unless you think you will have better luck with the dealer. If the tires have to come off I would prefer to buy a much better set from a tire place.

 

The most obvious diagnosis question is: does the vibration get better (less) as you continue driving each day?? If it starts out bad then gets better after several miles at 60mph, its the tires flat-spotting. My last set of Bridgestone's flat-spotting issue did get more prevalent as they aged...

If it's consistent, then you most likely have a tire or rim issue. You may have just had a weight come off - poor adhesion/cold resulted in it coming off (TL tire/rims are balance with stick-on weights).

Let us know

Cheers

 

Did you change commutes? If you are getting to the point in your commute where you get up to 60 then the tires may not be as warm as they were last year (you compared to the). I live within 2 mi of the highway and the flat spotting is noticeable but gone by another 5 mi.

Did you throw a weight? The stick-ons can come off. Check your rims to see if there is any residue that looks like a weight might have been there before.

oops - guess I just said what KJSmitty said. Must mean it's sound advice if we both thought of it independently.

 

KJSmitty, you seem incredibly knowlegeable! Do you know if wheels slowly lose their balance over time if the weights don't fall off? I have almost 20k on my odo and the wheels are still balanced. I'll have them rebalanced when I get new tires but I am just curious. Thanks a bunch.

dsc888

 

Thanks for the complement - though a little overstated. :-) :-)

The majority of my experience would tell you that given "normal" tread wear, road hazards, and possible tire/belt "shifting", most tires will need several balance jobs over their life-span.

BUT,,,, A previous Honda of mine, 1999 Civic Si with Michelin's, had ~40,000 miles when I finally purchased new tires. I never did have them balanced. I rotated every 5000 miles and thats it. I was extremely amazed at how well they held up not to mention how smooth etc. At about 36,000 their was an extremely minor vibe at speeds over 80. But even that vibration was less than the best balance job I received on the new tires.

Moral to my story: If your tires/ride experience is smooth, just rotate. Many times having them balanced leaves you with issues you didn't have prior.
--Then again, rotation has a way of bringing vibrations out also... You could have a slightly out of balance tire on the rear that you currently don't notice. Moving it to the front where the suspension/steering wheel is less forgiving causes you to feel it.

If you've made it 20K with a smooth ride - drive on. Save your money and possible headaches. Like you said new tires are next anyway. Hopefully they will treat you as well.

Thanks again

Cheers

 

Thanks guys-

I do have residue on the rim (from the weights), but I am pretty sure that it is from the last rebalance when the tires were rotated.

I noticed last night that around 60 mph it starts and between 60-75 or so its about the same. The tires are worn but def not to the point of baldness. I never liked these tires from the day I picked up the car and I'm looking for an excuse to get rid of em. I just hope I don't change them and the problem persists.

I'm also thinking that the change in temp may have affected the tire pressure, therefore now giving an unbalanced ride. Before I ramble on I have to check the pressure to weed out that possibility. In any case, you guys were helpful as usual and I appreciate it.

BTW, STS is one of the few that carries toyos- anyone know of another good place I can buy and have the install done in central/nothern NJ?

Thx again guys!

 

Take at look at the tire pressures and see where they're at.

I've noticed a mild vibration first thing in the morning with my TL that goes away as the tires warm up, like most people have noted with the Bridgestones.

Because of the increased price of gas, I've started running my tire pressures 3 psi higher than recommended to reduce the rolling resistance and help a bit with mileage. What I noticed right away the next morning, after upping the pressures, was a definite reduction in the vibration.

So it appears, on the surface anyway, that these tires may be quite sensitive to the psi they're running at.

That may not help your situation since it sounds like something worse than the normal flatspot vibration, but it may be worth a look.