New 20" wheels having a balance problem.

[k757]

Originally Posted by arteegee

You guys make a good case for retaining the stock wheels.

Originally Posted by mnchvgs79

Funny thing is that I am running STOCK TIRES on just aftermarket 17's so that at least invalidates part of the argument.

I've had my own issues with balancing aftermarket wheels and to me, just not worth my frustration and time at the wheel shop rebalancing, over and over. I like the looks of most aftermarkets, but it's just not me anymore.

[mnchvgs79]

Originally Posted by k757

I've had my own issues with balancing aftermarket wheels and to me, just not worth my frustration and time at the wheel shop rebalancing, over and over. I like the looks of most aftermarkets, but it's just not me anymore.

Then again, it doesn't really even happen for me until 75+ MPH and the highest speed limit here is 65, not to mention it doesn't do it all the time.

[k757]

Originally Posted by mnchvgs79

Then again, it doesn't really even happen for me until 75+ MPH and the highest speed limit here is 65, not to mention it doesn't do it all the time.

You have it much better than I did. In my case, once you hit 55 mph, they would shake.

[Ruffles]

Well, I played around with my air pressure and this is what I found.

I've always just run my tires around 35 PSI. I don't really know why, I just have. I lowered the pressure to 30 PSI and the vibration got noticeably worse. I looked at the tires closely and could see cupping on the edges. I also noticed that the tire listed the max payload at 50 PSI. I had thought I was riding on the edges of the tires due to the grooves in the road but perhaps what was really just because of under inflation. I increased the pressure to 45 PSI and the problem has almost completely gone away. In fact, when I notice it now, it's hard to tell if it's the vibration / shimmy problem or just an all around section of rougher road.

For those of you with this problem, play with your air pressure. I was amazed at the difference it made.

On a related note, 45 PSI is as high as I've gone so far. Since the tires say the max is 50 PSI, is that where I should be running? I've always thought that the max pressure was just that, a max. For normal driving, it should be somewhat less. What do you think?

[TheAl1456]

Originally Posted by Ruffles

Well, I played around with my air pressure and this is what I found.

I've always just run my tires around 35 PSI. I don't really know why, I just have. I lowered the pressure to 30 PSI and the vibration got noticeably worse. I looked at the tires closely and could see cupping on the edges. I also noticed that the tire listed the max payload at 50 PSI. I had thought I was riding on the edges of the tires due to the grooves in the road but perhaps what was really just because of under inflation. I increased the pressure to 45 PSI and the problem has almost completely gone away. In fact, when I notice it now, it's hard to tell if it's the vibration / shimmy problem or just an all around section of rougher road.

For those of you with this problem, play with your air pressure. I was amazed at the difference it made.

On a related note, 45 PSI is as high as I've gone so far. Since the tires say the max is 50 PSI, is that where I should be running? I've always thought that the max pressure was just that, a max. For normal driving, it should be somewhat less. What do you think?

I agree that the problem could be the tire pressue (if you've had the wheels properly balanced, have hubcentric rings, etc.). I recently got 20" wheels installed on my car and the installer set the pressure to 37 psi. Now I've read somewhere that the tire pressure should be the same even when you proportionally increase the size of the wheel and tire. That being said, it should be around 32 psi according to the sticker in the door jam (psi when cold, but what "cold" is considered, I am not sure).

I have 20x8.5 wheels with 255/50-20 tires all around. At 37 psi, I too noticed a vibration at 70-75 mph. I thought it was just the rough roads in the area, but I noticed it too on some smoother roads. Once I lowered my tire pressure to 32 psi (it was about 70 degrees out) and took it out for a drive, the vibration became non-existent.

So I agree that you should play around with the tire pressure, but from the previous post, we've had different results with lower and higher pressure. In my case the slightly higher pressure cause the vibration and the solution was to lower it.

Ruffles,

How long have you been driving on those tires with the vibration? Could it be that over time, by driving on them, the tire is now ruined and no matter what you do with the pressure, you are going to have vibration since the tire is now possibly mishapen? Just a thought.

[MikeT]

Originally Posted by MeTa

Just bumping, I would realy like to fix my problem. I just dont know too much fixing stuff like this.

MeTa, were the wheels balanced using weights that attch the the wheel's lip or were the wheel's balanced using tape weights that attach to the inner part of the wheel?

[Ruffles]

I've only got a couple thousand miles on them. I drove them for about 5 months last year and then switch to the stockers for the winter. I don't think I've done any permanent damage to the tires and they still have a lot of life left.

I guess the tread design determines the way they ride. Mine are more "lugged" at the edges for lack of a better term. In the center, the tread is more "fine".
The air pressure determines where you ride and for mine, riding more on the center portion produces a smoother ride.

[ONTHEVERGE]

Very good points and solid points made across the board. My money is on tire pressure, but it does still make you wonder why this happens? I think it has to be a few things: tire pressure, Ridge design, rims, and tires. I ride on 22X9.5's and I have no problems; none I notice, and ride around 38-40 psi

[MeTa]

Originally Posted by MikeT

MeTa, were the wheels balanced using weights that attch the the wheel's lip or were the wheel's balanced using tape weights that attach to the inner part of the wheel?

Both, but the second time was when I got them on the inside but they were road force balanced.

But now that you say that I have heard that the inner weights arent as good as the outer ones.

[alreadyinuse]

any body ever resolve this issue? I've got 20's on my RTL and have a very noticable vibration between 68-75 mph. I don't know if I have the hub centric rings or not, how can I tell? if not, where should I get them and how much should I expect to pay?