Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

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fred130111
Posts: 571
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:10 pm

Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by fred130111 »

As above, does anyone recommend a place to get this done in the Sussex area?

Car tramlines pretty badly at the moment between 60 - 70, any grove in the road it will try and follow which can result in nearly shifting lanes on a motor way...

Front Tyres: 205/40/17 - Pirelli p zero nero @ 28PSI
Rear Tyres: 235/40/17 - Hankook ventus v12 evo2 @32PSI

Also has Tein coilovers set to about half way stiffness on each corner

The back feels seriously planted which is nice, thinking of going to kwik fit this weekend as want it done ASAP but they want £50 for 'basic adjustments' and a further £25 per adjustment after that :roll:

Thanks for any help!
Last edited by fred130111 on Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
abovetherim
Posts: 594
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 8:49 pm
Location: Leicester

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by abovetherim »

I can't recommend anyone as im in Leics but you can put your location in here and get your nearest Hunters alignment equiped centre then search for reviews
http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/location/?p ... x=148&y=29

I recently had mine done and everything needed adjusting as i had replaced shocks, springs, topmounts and inner and outer tie rod. Cost me £56 total !!!!
fred130111
Posts: 571
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by fred130111 »

Had the wheels balanced
Had the alignment front and back done

Tramlining is no longer that much of an issue at all and generally the car feels much more stable.

However the steering wheel shakes / vibrates a ridiculous amount at 65 - 70mph, anything below is fine.

Any ideas what this could be? really p1$$ing me off!

:thumleft:
Chumbaside
Posts: 635
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:52 pm
Location: Sutton Coldfield

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by Chumbaside »

Your vibration could be a number of things! These are my go to's:

1. Wheel Balancing - I know you've just had it done, but make sure they use the "fine" setting on their machine for your front wheels. Until I understand this, wheel balancing was always hit am its for me.

2. Sticking brake calliper

3. Warped / distorted brake disc (possible due to above)

4. Wheel bearing (I've had this twice now)

I've always found any MR2 to be extremely sensitive to all of the above and it always seems to manifest at between 65-70 mph.

-Mark
Chumbaside
Posts: 635
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:52 pm
Location: Sutton Coldfield

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by Chumbaside »

BTW, subject made me smile too - I thought I was on the wrong forum!! :lol:
fred130111
Posts: 571
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by fred130111 »

hmmm yeah its very annoying haha!

thanks for your input.


Gonna go back to the tyre shop and say please check balancing again as have a feeling they aren't that great. When I went there the young kid kept asking ' do you have facebook ' and ' wanna join a car club ' :lol: :lol:

For that reason I may just go somewhere else....


Sticking calliper, well seemed fine when I changed the discs and pads only a few weeks back, had the MOT done recently and they said the breaking was fine so at a bit of a brick wall here tbh.

the only other thing I can think is its the cheap 5mm spacers I got from halflaps? They aren't the best fit tbh
CalMac
Posts: 1747
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:08 pm
Location: Northampton

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by CalMac »

Spacers shouldn't be causing an issue, they're made for a generic PCD fitment so are all a bit loose fitting but once the wheel is torqued on they should be fine. Are you using extended studs though? I'm running 5mm spacers on the front to clear my calipers and only get a few threads on the studs, waiting for my extended studs to turn up as it's not ideal and could be causing vibration perhaps.

I'm in the same boat at the moment btw, wheel bearing has just gone straight after replacing and waiting to have that fixed before going to get the geometry set up. Also suffering from tramlining and vibration.

Adding max neg. camber with adjustable bolts made a big difference - only about -1.7 deg. :thumleft:
CalMac
Posts: 1747
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:08 pm
Location: Northampton

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by CalMac »

Also giggedy giggedy
fred130111
Posts: 571
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by fred130111 »

No not using extended studs, there seemed to be more than enough thread left for the nuts to go over nicely.

I didn't know a wheel bearing issue could cause big vibrations? No whine or anything when going along.

Another thought could be the tyres, apparently something can happen inside them if left sitting too long / allowed to go flat.

The way I have described it to every garage I have been to is......

The problem I have is that when doing 70mph it looks like I am wan king off my steering wheel. It's not fun and looks ridiculous, especially when my arms begin to shake.

Funnily enough every place has said yes 100% wheel balancing. So I shall go back to the place I got it done shortly and see what they have to say now that it looks like not only am I masterbating my steering wheel but also like I am being electrocuted at the same time.


xxxxxx car ](*,)
fred130111
Posts: 571
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by fred130111 »

Interesting...... Just went back to the place where they got balanced only a few days ago.

They confirmed both wheels were off by 10g ?
Apparently this would make a noticeable difference however they didn't apologise for not doing the job properly in the first place.

Now to test out the wan ky steering issue :pale:
mr2garageswindon
Posts: 282
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:02 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by mr2garageswindon »

Going back 10 years or so ago working at Toyota in Swindon I had a new apprentice assigned to me. You can usually tell within a couple of weeks how they are gonna turn out, this one was a nob. Never put tools back, always hiding in the tea room, talking bull about cars he'd driven etc. One day his brand new Snap on rollcab arrives. He's naturally all excited and taking his time lining the drawers, putting his tools away in their shiny new home. I had an idea, On previous roadtest I spied a very flat rabbit roadkill... Next roadtest, latex gloves on I peeled the rabbit off the road, put it in a seat cover and chucked it in the car. On returning from road test the apprentice is sat in the tea room. Perfect! I opened up the bottom drawer of his new rollcab and dropped the roadkill surprise in for him to find. Waiting all the rest of the day for him to find it but nope he hadn't looked. Next day I go into work looking forward to his surprise.... Only to be told by the manager he was off sick. Weekend passes and I'm sure he'll be back. Nope, he was off for over a week. The toolbox was starting to stink. Where he'd locked it up there was no way of getting it out without damaging his new box so I ended up pushing his box outside. When he finally came back and asked where his box had gone I said over by the skip. He's not to happy it had been left outside. Brings it in, unlocks and opens up the drawers. Bottom one stinking and loads of little white maggots falling out the holes. He was not happy with me at all. Told me I'd have to buy him a new box... No chance! Just clean it out. He did go to the manager and report what i'd done. Manager was p1$$ing himself laughing and says you gotta expect pranks like that. He left later that week.
mr2garageswindon
Posts: 282
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:02 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by mr2garageswindon »

Oops, Wrong section! Soz :pale:
fred130111
Posts: 571
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by fred130111 »

hmmmm that is funny but wtf :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Did his new tool chest have wheel balance issues as well? hahahaha
SonicSW20
Posts: 3681
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 7:54 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by SonicSW20 »

10g would be noticeable, but wouldn't make it vibrate *that* harshly.

You said you changed the discs and pads a few weeks back - did the issue exist before that?

If you push past 70MPH, does it get worse, stay the same, or become less severe?
t1o1d1d
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:51 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by t1o1d1d »

Have you got spacers on the front? I had 5mm spacers and the car was vibrating over 70mph. Took spacers off and problem solved.

Have you got spigot rings fitted as well?
fred130111
Posts: 571
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by fred130111 »

erm the car was off the road for about a year but nope, there were no issues before :lol:

Not been on any road to enable me to go past 70 but at a guess :wink: it would fade out and become non existent

same as anywhere below 60 there are no vibrators at all.....
fred130111
Posts: 571
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by fred130111 »

yeah I have 5mm spacers, cant really remove them to test as the wheel rubs up against the suspension lol.

spigot rings are in the wheel but I am pretty sure because of the spacer they don't actually mate with the centre bore on the hub ](*,)
t1o1d1d
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:51 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by t1o1d1d »

I had the same issue with my spigot rings. Try taking the wheel off then lining the wheels up more centrally by eye. If the tyre shop put them on they are probably just thrown on.
Helped when i had the issue.
fred130111
Posts: 571
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by fred130111 »

Cheers dude will try that!
SonicSW20
Posts: 3681
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 7:54 pm

Re: Wheel Alignment / Vibrator Issues

Post by SonicSW20 »

If the wheel is not mounted centrally, then you should be able to see the wheel spinning unevenly if you jack it up.

Do you have aftermarket wheels? If so, are you using the correct tapered wheel nuts? Tapered wheel nuts will seat the wheel centrally on an aftermarket wheel as long as you do them up finger tight first and follow a cross pattern while tightening.
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