Topic: Steering wheel vibration/shake at highway speed

[aquadorhj]

So....   against my insurance advisor's wishes, i had my car's front wheels re-balanced, as steering wheel shake was noticeable.  (this was after my body shop had it "balanced" twice) and i have a visit to banff planned over the weekend.

i took it to a huge kal-tire joint where my body shop took it to get it aligned.  alignment is pretty good(as i thought, front right is off.... by 0.3 degree over max factory recommended).  i got to check out their alignment machine and balancing machine, and they are laser machines, and hunter road force balancing machines.

i paid kal-tire $40 out of my pocket

steering shake/vibration is noticeably better, but it still shakes a bit over 120km/h. 

what do you think is the issue?   . could my rim be out of true? ....  but it only happens at high speed...

[rrocket]

what do you think is the issue?   . could my rim be out of true? ....  but it only happens at high speed...

Something is out of true/balance.  It's even possible there's a broken cord in the tire.

Did you have the tires rebalanced?  It's not impossible that one of the weights came off when you crashed over a curb....

[aquadorhj]

what do you think is the issue?   . could my rim be out of true? ....  but it only happens at high speed...

Something is out of true/balance.  It's even possible there's a broken cord in the tire.

Did you have the tires rebalanced?  It's not impossible that one of the weights came off when you crashed over a curb....

true, but  roadforce balancing would have caught that.     re-tire damage, i am not sure.  it looks fine from outside, and nobody mentioned anything about the tires.

i'm going in to have the repair re-assessed on tuesday, i think, so i'll ask.  (not that i expect straight answer...)

[Mike]

I had a cord go out on my pirelli on my cobalt, it shook the car at highway speeds.  Also, a lot of cars get the shakes (very minor though) when the original oem tires are replaced.

One last thing, it is f'n cold in Alberta right now.  Are you still on your summer tires?

[aquadorhj]

I had a cord go out on my pirelli on my cobalt, it shook the car at highway speeds.  Also, a lot of cars get the shakes (very minor though) when the original oem tires are replaced.

One last thing, it is f'n cold in Alberta right now.  Are you still on your summer tires?

but i drove the car for 2 weeks before it was damaged..  i took it to above 140 during that time and it didn't shake at all.  now i can feel the shake/vibration in the steering wheel above 110 on newly paved highway. 

it ain't that cold.  we are getting some flurries, and i'm testing out the Dunlop wintersports M3 tires.  (summer's in the basement.)    traction control light's been blinkin away happily this morning during commute.

[Mike]

were the winters on before the shakes?  Most winter tires seem to shake to a degree.  Maybe be softer sidewalls, may be tire to rim matching, I do not know.  I am no expert

[ktm525]

Subtle balance issues suck. The4 tight suspension of the M3 is going to magnify any imperfections. The roadforce balancing would have detected a out of true rim (bent). A couple of things you  may want to do, start simple.

(1)Jack car up and remove the wheel, rotate a couple of lug positions and tighten back down. While the wheel is off recheck that the hub mounting area is clean and free from stuck debris. Both sides front.

Test it out

(2)  Recheck all the control arms etc in the front. The G8 last year had a little shimmy at high speed that was traced back to worn control arms.

(3)Could always try rebalancing the fronts. If you go this way have them deflate the tires and remount, sometimes this helps.



When I bought a set of Hankooks a few years back for my Volvo V70R it took 4 rebalancings to get rid of all the vibration. Frustrating.

[aquadorhj]

so i'm in banff right now.  i drove with cruise set on 120km/h.  (little over 110 by gps).

strangest thing.   
it will vibrate/shake for a bit,  then stop.  then start again.

i tried to determine when it would shake, (uphill, downhill, turn, engine load high/low, rough surface, smooth surface) but it seems completely random.

i don't know what's going on.   if it was balancing issue, it would shake at high speed all the time, but it doesn't. 
steering wheel would be rock solid even on rough surfaces one minute, and shake on glass smooth pavement the next. (just as an example..  as indicated above, it would randomly do this in any condition)

...maybe suspension issue? .... shite.. i'm gonna have to take the wheel off and check for myself..

[2latecrew]

Check the brakes also. Warped rotors, loose caliper. The car was in a pretty serious accident bent hub or suspension parts. Balance issues drive me crazy also.

[articsteve]

Find a Bimmer club in COWTOWN and ask one of the members to take your unit for a spin and get an objective opinion before you suffer irreversible psychological consequences ..... or trade it in the spring.

[aquadorhj]

But I just went for a drive in minewanka loop and I fell in love with my car again.

Picture this.

Lone driver, M3, and
10km of winding mountain road lightly sprinkled with snow and gravel to keep me on my toes and keeps the traction control on. 

My inline 6 howling all the way to red line at every short straights in between curves.

Wild animals wondering where that sound and light is coming from. ( I slowed right the heck down. )

There's a lot of crappy happenings in my life at the moment, but I feel alive and invigorated.
I'm not selling my car unless it was to get NSX or 911 or newer m3. 

[airbalancer]

 

[johngenx]

I drove back from Mt. Robson Park yesterday and had some horrible roads, so count yourself lucky!  (Even rigs were at <60km/h for stretches!)

I've had a few cars there were very sensitive to wheel/tire balance, all of them German, all RWD.  I found that even after road-force balancing, tire temperature changes would cause subtle vibrations.  As an example, some running at higher speeds and then coming back down to the posted would sometimes give a little time of minor vibrations as the tire cooled and changed diameter.  Tiny, but present.

The most-sensitive AND hardest car was the C36.  The tires were asymmetrical, unidirectional, and staggered, so they were corner-specific.  No moving them.  As they wore, they were rebalanced frequently.  PITA.

[ktm525]

The variation or lack therof is a combo of two slightly out of balance wheels. At times they may be partially cancelling each other out while at other times they amplify each other. The rotation is varied every curve as the outside wheel is taking a longer path.

[Schmengie]

I had a vibration that drove me bonkers for a while. It only happened at low speed and seemed to vary depending on the road surface, at highway speeds it disappeared altogether. The brakes pulsated slightly as well, so I suspected a warped disc. I had the brakes checked and they were fine, but I noticed the adapter ring in one of the wheels - the alloys are lug-centric - was skewed slightly and jammed in it's recess. I had it re-seated, the wheels put back on and the problem vanished. 'Whew...

[Julie]

But I just went for a drive in minewanka loop and I fell in love with my car again.

Picture this.

Lone driver, M3, and
10km of winding mountain road lightly sprinkled with snow and gravel to keep me on my toes and keeps the traction control on. 

My inline 6 howling all the way to red line at every short straights in between curves.

Wild animals wondering where that sound and light is coming from. ( I slowed right the heck down. )

There's a lot of crappy happenings in my life at the moment, but I feel alive and invigorated.
I'm not selling my car unless it was to get NSX or 911 or newer m3. 

Haha!

I second artic's suggestion to get another M3 owner to check out your car for you.  Also ask if they have garage recommendations.