A little problem?

[Ed Lim]

I may have a little problem... What are the symptoms of a mis-balanced wheel? My PT drives fine, but when I hit 40-50 mph and up, the steering wheel shakes, but not the whole car. I hope it is just a misbalance, something easily corrected. Can it be something else like mismatched tire pressure, a bad wheel, a bad tire, front end alignment, or something more serious?[:I]

[MichaelDay]

Could be a tire out of round or even a warped front brake rotor.

[2sb]

It sounds like a bent or out of balance front wheel. If you want to check it yourself:
Set park brake and chock one rear tire both front and back of it.
Raise a front tire off the ground. Hold a stick steady near the outside edge of the tread.(Rest end of stick on the ground to make it easier.) Hand rotate the tire, watching to see if the tread varies to left or right of the pointer(stick). Also feel backside of rim for dried clods of mud. Check both sides of tire for large bubbles or if the tread has an unusual zig-zag all the way across it. This could be a broken cord in the tire's body.
Same thing other side.

Do this or have it checked somewhere soon! This could be very dangerous!

[Ed Lim]

Well, I got that shaking looked at today (yesterday), and It was a mis balanced wheel, with a very, very tiny wobble in the rim, almost imperceptible. The guy at NTB did a good job balancing, and the steering wheel shake is gone until about 70mph, where it is still much less than it was at 40mph, but at 90mph, disappears. However, some of the weights had to be put on the outside of the rim, and I dont mean those clips, marring the beauty of my Coddington Smoothies! Oh well, sure dont want to be too much of a slave to fashion to compromise safety. Just remember...DRIVE SAFELY, BUT AT LEAST LOOK GOOD TRYING![?]

[OurPTGT]

one thing you may want to check is, if they're after market wheels you have to remove the OEM STAR washer. They come from the factory with one on each corner.

[Ed Lim]

OEM star washer? I've never heard of such a thing. Please explain...PLEASE!!! I want to enjoy these wheels!!!

[Sci-Fi]

quote:Originally posted by Ed Lim

OEM star washer? I've never heard of such a thing. Please explain...PLEASE!!! I want to enjoy these wheels!!!

There is a retainer washer on one of the lug studs for each wheel that needs to be removed if you are using aftermarket wheels. Only the OEM wheels have a cavity to compensate for it. Not sure of the thickness of the retainer, but it is enough to make the wheels wobble at higher speeds. Just use a long nose pliers and unscrew them.