Vibrating between 60-78km/hr

[PRTA 2]

Hi guys,

I'm hoping some of you will be able to help me sort this issue.

I have just put on 19" wheels with brand new tyres (previously had 16" stock wheels before) and the ride was perfectly smooth. However since I put the new wheels on between 60-78km/hr the tyres are vibrating. Speeds above & below this seem fine

What should I be looking for? The tyre place I got them fitted at said to give it a bit of time to wear in the tyres? However I looked around all the wheels and 3 out of the 4 have weights on them to balance them... could this be the issue?

Thanks !

Edited August 23, 2014 by PRTA

[yng_750 247]

First thing is checking the wheels are hubcentric. This causes most issues.

After that wheel balance.

After that magical suspension issues that happened to appear at the same time.

[qube 3570]

If it was a hubcentric problem then i would imagine problem would still be there past 78kmh.

[sonic_attack 89]

If it was a hubcentric problem then i would imagine problem would still be there past 78kmh.

Nope, well possibly. I've had the front end wobble too and it only existed around 85-95KPH. Under or over that it was all smooth sailing and functioning perfectly fine. If you held it right on the sweet spot though for a time that shaking could be quite violent.

[kwhelan 241]

Nope, well possibly. I've had the front end wobble too and it only existed around 85-95KPH. Under or over that it was all smooth sailing and functioning perfectly fine. If you held it right on the sweet spot though for a time that shaking could be quite violent.

mine does it exactly at 100ks and if you hold that speed it feels like youve got a flat tyre,vibrates right thru all the seats and passengers think wheel nuts have come off but if the road surface changes to rough chip it stops instantly so I put it down to cheap Chinese tyres

Luckly we have very few sections of smooth tarseal here or I would have to do something about it but I just alter speed when it happens now.

Interestingly a roundabout off smooth tarseal makes a noise like a wheel bearing has collapsed, again rough chip is silent

Guess you get what you pay for in tyres, would be annoying on an Auckland motorway although 110- 115 is fine So there are ways around it.

[Evo30 6]

Check the 4th wheel if it does not have any weights in it. High chances that the wheel has not been balanced and is the probable cause. It is a simple fix and check.

My mags are not hub centric and I had this issue. Wheel balance fixed it. still not using hub centric locators.

Easy way to check is when you are driving, where can you hear/feel the vibration?
Then stop check the wheels, if the vibration is at the back and your 4th wheel that has no weights on it is located at the rear then that is probably the problem. Balance, fix.

If vibration is coming from the front and both front wheels are balanced, then you will need to check Control arm bushes as they may be worn.

[Tidy30 38]

The RSs I got recently came with cheap Chinese tyres on them. I put them on and the vibrations were absolutely horrendous.

Took it in for a proper balance. Turns out they weren't balanced, which is understandable since the tyres wee brand new, but once we balanced it I saw that these tyres were not concentric and had eccentricities all over the place.

Until I get some better tyres my car vibrates around 90-100km. I don't envisage the tyres will get worn down to round again, it is more likely they just get worn in a similar oval shape, so I'm not counting on anything.

Summary: If its not your control arms or anything, if you have cheap tyres it is possible they are the culprit.

Thanks

[e38king 1]

As has been mentioned, firstly check for locating rings. IE the wheel should sit snugly on the hub without any movement up and down with the wheel bolts removed. If the tyres are correctly balanced it will more than likely be the control arm bushes. It is a very common problem on E46's. I used to come across it alot when customers were upgrading from 15's and 16's to 18's or 19's.

[dr_kahu 8]

As has been mentioned, firstly check for locating rings. IE the wheel should sit snugly on the hub without any movement up and down with the wheel bolts removed.  If the tyres are correctly balanced it will more than likely be the control arm bushes. It is a very common problem on E46's.  I used to come across it alot when customers were upgrading from 15's and 16's to 18's or 19's.

Yeah ok dumb question incoming but what pronounces the issue more when people went up a size?