diamondmit

...OK, I bought 4 brand new MB EXE II wheels and tires (Goodyear F1 GS D3) for my 113,000 mile 2001 GS430 (pics later).

All the wheels are 18 x 9, 35mm offset. Front tires are 235/40/18 and rears are 275/35/18 - looks awesome, drives like crap.

Major vibration at all speeds above 45 mph. Took the car to Direct Tire and had all 4 wheels Roadforce balanced (even though the set was 1 day old and had been Roadforce balanced prior to installation). Vibration is still there at all speeds above 50 mph. At 70-80 mph, vibration reaches maximum amplitude and then fades away, coming back in 3 second cycles....vibe....gone....vibe...etc.

WTF?!! It's going back to DirectTire tomorrow, but does anyone have any ideas? Bad wheel? Out of round tire? Sun spot? Thanks in advance!

DD

sputniknyc

iTrader: (2)

hubcentric rings/?

drewmack

maybe they didn't torque your wheels.

KRGS4

I run 245/40/19 Pilot Sport A/S on TSW 19X8 35mm offset

Vibration 55-65 pmh, 70+mph smooth as a baby.

Roadforce balanced = some vibration cured about 5%

Alignment done (not to spec due to all the suspension changes) but within some degree of "staightening out" = vibrations went away.

when you go to do the alignment, go somewhere that does performence cars/speed shop, this way they don't give you the "lecture" on you should go back to your "stock tires and wheels"

good luck.

DoingDamag

I've had issues with Vibration for the longest. My 2 cents,

Road Force: make sure you go to a shop that KNOWS how to use that machine. Alot of places got it, and they charge you for it, but have no clue what there doing. They balance it like any machine. Finally found a good mechanic that knew what he was doing. Night and day difference.

Torque: Make sure to buy a good torque wrench (20 bucks at Autozone), and torque your lugs, in a star pattern, to 76lbs. You can adjust from there. My factory wheels, for some odd reason, rode fine at 79lbs. When I changed to chrome, 79lbs was too much. Went back to 76lbs, and it rides like glass.

Control Arm Bushings: there was a thread about vibration coming after a turn during highway speeds. Some advised to change the bushings, to which I will do at the end of the month. My car, at all speeds is soooo smooth that any hickup now seems to be amplified. I really think its the hwy, but I'm changing the bushings out more for maintenence than anything.

Vibration shouldn't have anything to do with an alignment. Its all about wheel balance or the drive train. If you feel it more in the steering wheel, its the front tires. If you feel it more in the seat, its the rear tires. Make sure the tires are not slipping on the wheel, either, due to over greasing.

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

proper alignment geared towards perf settings if car is lowered , esp toe settings affect vibration issues but the main culprit is castor arm bushings are so weak from factory that when you up wheel and tire size it amp the vibration issue.. get the daizen bushing kit , change upper a arm and castor arm bushing but leave the control arm bushing stock trust me on this one

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Torquing the wheels is very important.. 76ftlbs... Hubcentric rings is a must also.. With that many miles depending on how the car was driven some suspension pieces may need to be replaced... GL..

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Some tire shops need to have their tire balance machines re-calibrated.... I had new tires mounted and balanced on my 19 inch rims at the popular 106 Tire in Queens that many local members go to.. The steering wheel vibrated like crazy above 60 on the highway. Took the car back to them to have it re-balanced, and same result...They claim that something must be wrong with my car lol right.. So, I decided to go to my old tire guys in Brooklyn (which is 30 miles from my home) to have them balance my tires.. Well worth the trip.. The resuts are no vibrations above 60, and the car feels as if it is on rails.. My advice to you is to go to another tire shop.

diamondmit

balancing shop, hub centric rings, proper torque on the lugs, etc. The only two areas I haven't really investigated is alignment, which I may do tomorrow, and the state of the suspension pieces (ball joints, control arms, bushings, etc). However, I did have the car serviced 3 months ago and all that was checked and came back just fine. Still, since I'm having trouble, I'll have it checked again to see what they might find.

Such a bummer - I LOVE the look, the ride, everything except the absurdly high amplitude vibrations. Discount Tire has offered to take the whole set back, which I'll do if I can't make these work.

I appreciate the suggestions and comments guys.

Regards,
dd

mole

iTrader: (3)

try searching for vibrations here, there are plenty of threads that talk about it.

One of the solutions was the steering rack bushings and pretensioner adjustment. I think, along with what you are doing, most folks have had success.

The only other issue is that the rim and tire setup is simply wrong for the car... meaning it isnt made in a quality manner. I wont go into specifics here since I cant talk about it with knowledge, but others know what putting bargain wheels or the wrong wheels on our cars mean.