Wheels Shimmy after 60 MPH

Cool, you found someone who remembered he had eyes and hands. When the
tires are out of shape, no amount of balancing will fix them. You
should check with their maker about a road hazard warranty. Lots of
tires have that so you might be able to get a deal on new ones. Wear
rated likely, but every little helps....

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

danalmsa wrote:
>
> Scott Dorsey wrote:
> > danalmsa > wrote:
> > >
> > >Hello, I checked both by CV joints and I honestly don't think they are
> > >bad. The boots look very good and there were not loose or had any play
> > >where they shouldn't. Also, i took it to another place to try one more
> > >balance and the tech touched the tires and said that they felt out of
> > >shape. He said that no matter how much I balanced, the problem would
> > >not go away.
> >
> > Easy to check. Rotate the tires... move the front ones to the back and
> > the back ones to the front. If the problem moves, it's the tires.
> > --scott
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
>
> Actually, he said all my tires were bad. And I would believe it because
> I had them all balanced on the first try, and I did switch front to
> back, and the issue was there, probably worse.
>
> I think I may have to change rims and tires. The reason being:
>
> 1. To see if the issue disapears.
> 2. I don't like those 17 inch rims. They are Crome. They came with the
> car
> 3. Tires for those Rims are really expensive
>
> I will also try to see if I can find the balancer as recommened in the
> previous post.

KG Wrote:
> On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 05:51:29 -0700, jeffcoslacker
> > wrote:
>
> >I broke the tires loose and re-clocked them so the factory markings
> >lined with the valve stems (as I was taught, but some now claim is not
> >neccessary) and two of them required NO weight and were self balanced,
>
> What factory marking are you referring to? I have been told to center
> the brand name on the valve
> stem, also the dot label and various other marking and have yet to see
> it affect the balance in any
> predictable manor.
> *****************
> Thank You
>
> To reply to this email please remove the AT
> after the kgs in the reply to address as shown above.

Many tires will have a white or other color painted dot inked on them,
line it with the valve stem and they will usually require less or no
weight to balance...don't ask me why, I don't think they balance them
when they make them, but then I've never seen a tire factory either...


--
jeffcoslacker
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danalmsa wrote:
> Hello,
>
> This is the 2nd post for my car, and I posted seperately cause I
> believe they are diiferent issues, though I may be wrong. Anyway, my
> car, a 2003 Camry, starts to shimmy as soon as it hits 60 MPH. I have
> taken it to get balanced (tried 2 places, to rule out a bad shop), yet
> it shimmies.
>
> Below 60, the car is smooth. Above that, it shimmies for a few seconds
> and then stops. Then starts, and so on and so on. It's a cycle.
>
> I had the car aligned (it was pulling to the left a bit) and balanced.
> it doesn't have the original rims. I just bought it last week and it
> came with 17 inch rims (which I really don't like, but can't replace
> for now $$$$$$).
>
> Any help on to what else to check would be appreciated.

Check the steering Idler Arm.

danalmsa wrote:

> 2003 Camry, starts to shimmy as soon as it hits 60 MPH. I have
> taken it to get balanced (tried 2 places, to rule out a bad shop), yet
> it shimmies.
>
> Below 60, the car is smooth. Above that, it shimmies for a few seconds
> and then stops. Then starts, and so on and so on. It's a cycle.

Could it be the ball joints, tie rod ends, or even the power steering
rack? A friend of mine experienced oscillations that worsened with
speed because his power steering system was leaking internally.

"jeffcoslacker" wrote

> > >I broke the tires loose and re-clocked them so the factory markings
> > >lined with the valve stems (as I was taught, but some now claim is not
> > >neccessary) and two of them required NO weight and were self balanced,
> >
> > What factory marking are you referring to?
>
> Many tires will have a white or other color painted dot inked on them,
> line it with the valve stem and they will usually require less or no
> weight to balance...don't ask me why, I don't think they balance them
> when they make them, but then I've never seen a tire factory either...

Not sure where I got this, but it's in my "Tires" folder........

Observe match-mounting procedures.

Proper tire and wheel assembly balancing is important from a
vehicle safety standpoint. In high-speed driving, improperly
balanced tire/wheel assemblies will cause a vehicle to lose
stability and not operate in a safe and comfortable manner.
Improperly balanced tire/wheel assemblies also cause abnormal
tread wear patterns.

To facilitate proper balancing, most tire manufacturers now place
red and yellow marks on the sidewalls of its tires to enable
the best possible match mounting of the tire/wheel assembly.
There are two methods of match-mounting tires to wheel assemblies
using these red or yellow marks:

Uniformity (red mark)
Weight (yellow mark)

- Uniformity Method (Red Dot) -

When performing uniformity match-mounting, the red mark on
the tire, indicating the point of maximum radial force variation,
should be aligned with the wheel assembly's point of minimum
radial run-out, which is generally indicated by a colored dot
or a notch somewhere on the wheel assembly (consult manufacturer
for details).

Radial force variation is the fluctuation in the force that appears
in the rotating axis of a tire when a specific load is applied
and the tire rotated at a specific speed. It is necessary to
minimize radial force variation to ensure trouble-free installation
and operation.

Not all wheel assemblies indicate the point of minimum radial
run-out, rendering uniformity match mounting sometimes impossible.
If the point of minimum radial run-out is not indicated on a
wheel assembly, the weight method of match mounting should be
used instead.

- Weight Method (Yellow Dot) -

When performing weight match-mounting, the yellow mark on
the tire, indicating the point of lightest weight, should be aligned
with the valve stem on the wheel assembly, which represents the
heaviest weight point of the wheel assembly. After match mounting
by either of the above methods, the tire/wheel assembly can be
balanced.

larry moe 'n curly wrote:
> danalmsa wrote:
>
> > 2003 Camry, starts to shimmy as soon as it hits 60 MPH. I have
> > taken it to get balanced (tried 2 places, to rule out a bad shop), yet
> > it shimmies.
> >
> > Below 60, the car is smooth. Above that, it shimmies for a few seconds
> > and then stops. Then starts, and so on and so on. It's a cycle.
>
> Could it be the ball joints, tie rod ends, or even the power steering
> rack? A friend of mine experienced oscillations that worsened with
> speed because his power steering system was leaking internally.

Hello. It has no leaks and all parts looked as they should. I went to
another place that had Force Balancing and the gentleman was kind
enough to tell me my tires look a bit egg shaped before he put them on
the machine, so I didn't have to spend a dime. So I think that confims
it for me, my tires, though they look like 30% used, are bad. So I'm
going to wait because each tire on that 17 Inch rim cost around 100.
I'd rather get a new set of 15 inch rims and less expensive tires, then
replace the tires for some rims I don't like at all. Thank you all for
your comments. Saved me from more work.

danalmsa wrote:
> larry moe 'n curly wrote:
> > danalmsa wrote:
> >
> > > 2003 Camry, starts to shimmy as soon as it hits 60 MPH. I have
> > > taken it to get balanced (tried 2 places, to rule out a bad shop), yet
> > > it shimmies.
> > >
> > > Below 60, the car is smooth. Above that, it shimmies for a few seconds
> > > and then stops. Then starts, and so on and so on. It's a cycle.
> >
> > Could it be the ball joints, tie rod ends, or even the power steering
> > rack? A friend of mine experienced oscillations that worsened with
> > speed because his power steering system was leaking internally.
>
> Hello. It has no leaks and all parts looked as they should. I went to
> another place that had Force Balancing and the gentleman was kind
> enough to tell me my tires look a bit egg shaped before he put them on
> the machine, so I didn't have to spend a dime. So I think that confims
> it for me, my tires, though they look like 30% used, are bad. So I'm
> going to wait because each tire on that 17 Inch rim cost around 100.
> I'd rather get a new set of 15 inch rims and less expensive tires, then
> replace the tires for some rims I don't like at all. Thank you all for
> your comments. Saved me from more work.

Do you have a good local junkyard that might sell you a set of takeoff
wheels and maybe even tires for cheap?

nate

N8N wrote:
> danalmsa wrote:
> > larry moe 'n curly wrote:
> > > danalmsa wrote:
> > >
> > > > 2003 Camry, starts to shimmy as soon as it hits 60 MPH. I have
> > > > taken it to get balanced (tried 2 places, to rule out a bad shop), yet
> > > > it shimmies.
> > > >
> > > > Below 60, the car is smooth. Above that, it shimmies for a few seconds
> > > > and then stops. Then starts, and so on and so on. It's a cycle.
> > >
> > > Could it be the ball joints, tie rod ends, or even the power steering
> > > rack? A friend of mine experienced oscillations that worsened with
> > > speed because his power steering system was leaking internally.
> >
> > Hello. It has no leaks and all parts looked as they should. I went to
> > another place that had Force Balancing and the gentleman was kind
> > enough to tell me my tires look a bit egg shaped before he put them on
> > the machine, so I didn't have to spend a dime. So I think that confims
> > it for me, my tires, though they look like 30% used, are bad. So I'm
> > going to wait because each tire on that 17 Inch rim cost around 100.
> > I'd rather get a new set of 15 inch rims and less expensive tires, then
> > replace the tires for some rims I don't like at all. Thank you all for
> > your comments. Saved me from more work.
>
> Do you have a good local junkyard that might sell you a set of takeoff
> wheels and maybe even tires for cheap?
>
> nate

I'm new to the city, so I'm not sure what I have around me. I will
look. But I would like to update that, me being as stubborn as I am, I
took the car back for another try at balancing, and the Tech at this
shop balanced the wheels again and gave me some advice. He indicated
that my rims were Lug Centric, and they were probably not centering
correctly.

So I went to a Wheel And Rim shop and bough the apropiate Hub Centric
Rings and then installed them. The shimmy was reduced by a ton. I mean,
it's a difference of night and day. Now, it's not entirely gone, but,
now it's bearable. In fact, the oscilations happen a lot less and
disappear very quickly. I took the car out for a few test drives and I
would hit 80 without feeling it. Then it would start, but be a lot less
and disappear quickly. It can still happen above 60, but I think I can
stand that for a while.