Mike kZ Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 In my Z on the highway doing around 75mph, when I'm in a long curve, the steering wheel has a strong shake in it, but when I'm in a straight line it's fine. Any ideas what is causing this? Front wheels have been balanced many time because of this, and the whole front end is rebuilt with poly bushings. The only thing not rebuilt were the inner rack ties. Help this is driving me nuts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 wheel bearings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Were the wheels balanced with weights on the outside of the rim, or only on the inside? If inside only, have them do it again with weights on both sides. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Check the inner tie rods for play. How are the tires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted March 15, 2004 Author Share Posted March 15, 2004 Wheel bearings: I don't remember if I put news one in or not, I'll have to check my records on that. Wheel balancing: One is balance on both sides, because the problem started after I had a new valve put on that wheel, so I re-balanced it. The other wheel is balanced on the inside only, but I didn't have a problem until that valve. I don't think it is the problem, because I balanced it 3 times, and it doesn't shake going straight. Inner tie rods/tires: When i replaced the outer tie rods, cleaned, adjusted, and added new boots to the rack, the inner tie rods seemed to be solid. The tires are new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Mike, I had this problem for a while and finaly ended up indexing my wheels to the hubs each time I had new tires put on the car. It seem to have solved my problem.. When I would remove a wheel and put it back on, I would have a shimmy until I marked the wheel and a wheel stud. The wheels always go back on the hub the same way. Try removing the wheel with the new valve stem and rotate it 180 degrees to the hub and see what happens. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 When tires are balanced on the inside only it is called a static balance. I am not an engineer, but from what I've been told static balance only works when the tire is rolling straight. As soon as you turn static balance goes out the window. I can tell you that balancing with weights on both sides (dynamic balance) is really the right way to do it. Static balance is a joke IMO. It is also possible that they were balanced dynamically, but one side did not need weights on the outside of the rim to be balanced. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Try removing the wheel with the new valve stem and rotate it 180 degrees to the hub and see what happens Do you have wheel spacers? If so I would measure from the od of the spacer to the od of the hub with som calipers to see if you are not off a bit on the hub, but this would shake going straigt. JM's theory sounds promising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted March 15, 2004 Author Share Posted March 15, 2004 If the Dynamic, or Static balance was off, wouldn't it shake going straight too? It only happens in a turn. Would worn wheel bearings act this way? I don't have spacers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Many tires have colored dots on the sidewall which indicate mounting location. Depending on manufacturer the colored dot either lines up with the valve, or 180* from the valve, or indicates a 'high spot' on the tire. Contact the tire manufacturer to find out the dot 'coding'. I have yet to find a tire shop that knows this without me telling them how to fit the tires. They will usually just fit them any old way they want. On directional tires, where the dot ends up on the inside of the rim, have them chalk mark the opposite side of the tire to ensure correct fitment. For Falken Tires (which I use exclusively): The yellow dot is the lightest spot and it is suggested to mount this above the valve stem. The red dot is the high point, recommended to be mounted at the low point of the rim if so marked or, preferably, per actual measurement. Per a product engineer at Falken Tire, these marks are just "starting" points for the tire installer to effectively mount your tires. With some of the new balancing equipment out there, the machine can do a more accurate job matching and balancing then simply relying on these dots alone. Otherwise my $$ are on ball joints. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Jack up the front end, lock the steering wheel and if the wheels jiggle, somthin ain't right, maybe they are ok for going straight but the centrifical forces or what ever stress the bearing enough to make her shake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Do you have another set of tires/rims? You could swap the whole tire/rim combo onto your car and see if the problem goes away, if it does then you know its the tire/rims and not your suspesion/steering system! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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