Hi everyone,

I purchased a new set of winter tires and wheels from TireRack about 2 months ago. Just today (since the weather has been so warm), I finally put them on. Everything went great until I took the car out for a test drive. I was getting a rhythmic sound like when your brake pads start to go but it didn't sound like the brakes. I had my wife stand by the side of the car as I drove by and she also thought it didn't sound like the usual pad issue. I drove less than 5 miles (was hoping maybe there was something that just needed to work itself out) and then decided to look closer.

Upon closer inspection, I notice there is a slightly worn corner of the weights they put on the tire during balancing. This wheel has a TON on there (probably 6-8 weights), and the corner on one side looks abraded. The only thing that looks like could cause this is the caliper rubbing against the weights. What should I do?

The easy fix would be to grind down a bit of the caliper (is this safe?, and how much expansion will the wheel and caliper have when driving at highway speeds?), the more annoying thing would be to deal with TR for a replacement.

Another more concerning issue has nothing to do with the wheels/tires at all. When I went to put the new tire on the other side of the car I was shocked that the rotor seems to be loose (I can rock it side to side at least 1/16'-1/8" or so). I do lots of highway driving at 75+ mph and want to know if this is something I should get checked out ASAP, or if there is an easy way to see if I can fix it myself (bolts holding the rotor to the car?). Nothing appeared to be damaged or loose to the eye but I wasn't comfortable under the car when I was only using a single jackstand from the tire change (I've done underbody work before and I have multiple jacks/stands/extra tires in case of something failing).

Thanks for your help! (so glad it's a long weekend as I have time to get this taken care of)

 

Would def get on the caliper issue, like you said start with the mounting bolts and make sure everything is tightened up. Also make sure its the caliper and not the rotor which is of no concern to have a little bit of play with the wheel off the car.

 

thank you for response. with wheel on car i could also shake the whole assembly left and right a bit. Will get it checked out ASAP.

 

DO NOT grind the caliper. Move the weight inboard or outboard, so it clears....



The properly tightened wheels, hold the rotor in place. Were you saying the rotors "rocked" with or without the wheels in place??

 

sounds like the wheel was not seating all the way
do you have a thin wheel spacer laying around
maybe try slipping one in for now to see if everything works out fine then.

 

Wonder what happened to the OP??

 

7Enigma - I haven't seen further activity from this thread so I am assuming everything is resolved. Sounds as if the weights just need to be moved slightly. If there are any other issues please give me a call at 800-428-8355 EXT4664.