Steerting Wobble at highway speeds
08-19-2009, 04:18 PM
#1
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Steerting Wobble at highway speeds Hey guys, I'm new to the forum.. I have a 98 c5 Vette and when I reach 50 I start to get a vibration in the steering wheel. When I get up to 75-80 it gets really bad 
. I changed out the driver tie rod end cause I thought that was the problem. Turns out the tie rod end was bad, but it didn't completely fix it. What else could it be? I think alignment or tire balance, but the guy who balanced the tired said it was perfectly in balance. That was done before I replaced the t.r. end though. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
. I changed out the driver tie rod end cause I thought that was the problem. Turns out the tie rod end was bad, but it didn't completely fix it. What else could it be? I think alignment or tire balance, but the guy who balanced the tired said it was perfectly in balance. That was done before I replaced the t.r. end though. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 
08-19-2009, 06:10 PM
#4
Get them rebalanced...and make sure you didn't lose any weights that were put on the tires before. Front end alignment too. A good place will tell you which parts are bad/bent/etc.
Start with the easy stuff first, don't start changing parts. Make sure a tire wall hasen't bulged.
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Start with the easy stuff first, don't start changing parts. Make sure a tire wall hasen't bulged.
.
Headed to my friends shop to check tire balance and alignment tomorrow! 
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08-21-2009, 04:34 PM
#8
Take them to any Nitto dealer and tell them you want the number to Nitto head offices so you can file a complaint that you have defective tires. Depedning on how hard core you are....you will get new tire(s) from them.
After all, you could have been killed if one of the "defective" ones blew out. If you know what I mean.
.
08-22-2009, 12:53 PM
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Every manufacturer makes bad tires from time to time. If man is involved, things can never be perfect.
Take them to any Nitto dealer and tell them you want the number to Nitto head offices so you can file a complaint that you have defective tires. Depedning on how hard core you are....you will get new tire(s) from them.
After all, you could have been killed if one of the "defective" ones blew out. If you know what I mean.
.
Take them to any Nitto dealer and tell them you want the number to Nitto head offices so you can file a complaint that you have defective tires. Depedning on how hard core you are....you will get new tire(s) from them.
After all, you could have been killed if one of the "defective" ones blew out. If you know what I mean.
.
my friend!
09-02-2009, 09:47 PM
#11
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^^ ditto....tires are difficult, you always get a few bad ones in the batch (keep in mind that had nothing to do with the Ford/Firestone issues, that was idiots making stickers without reading the tire mfr's rec. pressures ;-)) . Nitta should hook you up, they messed up their own tires
09-03-2009, 10:22 PM
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It it not a tire balance issue. If the tire was out of balance it would straighten itself out as you increase/decrease speeds. with a new tie rod you MUST get a wheel alignment!!!!!!!!!! Tires is the first obvious choice though, rotate the tires and bring it up to speed. that will eliminate the tire issue. If the vibration occurs during braking, get your rotors replaced/turned. these are just about the only things that will cause a vibration in the steering wheel.
09-04-2009, 03:54 PM
#13
i have a 2002 ss, car came with the stock 10 spoke oem wheels with the oem goodyear f1 tires. Car runs smooth and great with them, never had to balance them, car has almost 50k on it now with about 25k on these tires.
I bought from discounttiredirect shortly after i got the car in 2002, a set of chrome replica zr-1 rims with michelon pilot sport A/S tires. Came mounted and balanced using their road-force bullshit balancer. Well the first time driving with these was horrible.
I took it to a local tire place where i knew the owner, brought the wheels by themselves in the back of my pickup. He used a standard balancer ( i don't know wheel balancers but it wasn't a road force thing) and said all were out of balance. And this is like with less than 100 miles on brand new rims and tires, and I know I didn't loose any weights.
So now with them re-balanced it made a night and day difference, but the car still rides noticeably worse than the oem wheels and goodyears. I've taking these wheels at least 2 or 3 times now, definitely twice to the same pep boys and the guy there was cool and took the time to do them, and on first visit said 1 or 2 wheels were a little out, no change in ride. A year later, i do the same thing and have them put clamp on weights on the inside of the rim, no more stick ons, and still no change. There is still a night and day difference between my oem goodyears and the pilots to this day, with the pilots i can watch the empty passenger seat backrest vibrate going down the highway at certain speeds. Maybe it's the pilot's harder tread because they have a 400 treadware rating, or maybe with the chrome rims being a lot heavier than the oems they don't go well with the bilstein suspension.
point of my story is don't overlook the balance of your wheels, and possibly the tires themselves.
this will probably be the last year running on the goodyears so my plan is when those are all done to swap the michelins over to the oem rims and see how the ride is.
I bought from discounttiredirect shortly after i got the car in 2002, a set of chrome replica zr-1 rims with michelon pilot sport A/S tires. Came mounted and balanced using their road-force bullshit balancer. Well the first time driving with these was horrible.
I took it to a local tire place where i knew the owner, brought the wheels by themselves in the back of my pickup. He used a standard balancer ( i don't know wheel balancers but it wasn't a road force thing) and said all were out of balance. And this is like with less than 100 miles on brand new rims and tires, and I know I didn't loose any weights.
So now with them re-balanced it made a night and day difference, but the car still rides noticeably worse than the oem wheels and goodyears. I've taking these wheels at least 2 or 3 times now, definitely twice to the same pep boys and the guy there was cool and took the time to do them, and on first visit said 1 or 2 wheels were a little out, no change in ride. A year later, i do the same thing and have them put clamp on weights on the inside of the rim, no more stick ons, and still no change. There is still a night and day difference between my oem goodyears and the pilots to this day, with the pilots i can watch the empty passenger seat backrest vibrate going down the highway at certain speeds. Maybe it's the pilot's harder tread because they have a 400 treadware rating, or maybe with the chrome rims being a lot heavier than the oems they don't go well with the bilstein suspension.
point of my story is don't overlook the balance of your wheels, and possibly the tires themselves.
this will probably be the last year running on the goodyears so my plan is when those are all done to swap the michelins over to the oem rims and see how the ride is.