mmanus88 Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 driving up to boston yesterday i noticed that my steering wheel shimmys a little while driving (even on the smoothest of highways) does this car do that by nature for whateer reason or is it a tire/wheel alignment problem? i am told if it is an alignment problem then its not tha tbig of a deal and can be taken care of "asap at leisure" any opinions? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWortham Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 It could be a number of things. The most common cause is tire balance. The tires could either be out of balance or out of round. Seeing as how it's a new car, that would be the most likely. I'd either take it to the dealer or a good tire shop to have the tires checked. Other sources of vibration: - Bent wheel - Tire out of round (radial or lateral runout) - Wheel to axle mounting error - Inconsistent tire sidewall stiffness (force variation) - Brake component wear or failure - Drive train or engine component wear or failure - Suspension wear or failure - Wheel bearing wear or failure - Wheel alignment is out http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireBalancing.dos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmanus88 Posted April 25, 2005 Author Share Posted April 25, 2005 thanks sworth, i'll take it over once i get back home. i can still drive without much worry correct? (boston to NJ is a 4-5 hour drive). this is nothing major to worry about as long as its taken care of in the next few days right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 the stock alignment for the front tires are around zero degrees for camber.. this causes a lot fhat drifting feeling of in and out of lanes and such. By dialing in some negative camber, that should fix most of the problem when all else above that SWortham mention didnt work. By running just a little bit of negative camber (say around -0.5 degrees) will have a noticeable difference in the car staying more aligned with the path of which you want to travel. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWortham Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 thanks sworth, i'll take it over once i get back home. i can still drive without much worry correct? (boston to NJ is a 4-5 hour drive). this is nothing major to worry about as long as its taken care of in the next few days right? You kinda have to use your own judgment there. If the shimmy becomes violent then you know it's serious, and you wouldn't want your tires ripping apart on the highway (not likely, but possible). Chances are if it's a minor vibration you'll be fine for the trip. By the way getting tires balanced will typically cost around $10 per tire if it's not warrantied. And if you go to a shop with a Hunter GSP9700 balancer then road force will be checked too so they'll know if the tire is out of round or uneven in any way. And balance is going to be the most critical on the front tires so you may just want to have the fronts balanced first and only worry about the rears if you still feel vibration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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