So I'm pretty sure this has been asked before. I had just purchased new Mickey Thompson Baja ATZs (325/50R20) and had them mounted on MO951s. I noticed a shimmy.

I went to the local 4x4 shop (I didn't buy the tires from them), and scheduled for them to install my level kit, which was done today, and had them do the alignment and take a look at the shimmy. They said after the alignment the shimmy is still there, but they said the reason is possibly because the 2 front tires are "egg shaped" (I guess oblong). I asked if that was due to manufacturers error or whatever, and he said it was kind of common in larger tires.

So my questions are whether:

1) should I attempt to have the wheels rebalanced? Keep in mind the tech at the local shop said you could tell the way they were balanced was to counter the oblong shape of the wheel. He said rebalancing may or may not help the situation.

2) should I complain to the e-tailer I bought the tires from to get them replaced? Is this a manufacturing fault or just something I have to live with?

Anyway, going to pick up my truck now, hoping to get some responses by the time I get back.

Thanks!

 

I had that problem with a set of PJ 37" tires. I could never get them balanced. It turned out to be the tires. If you just bought them, I'd complain. They need to balance the tires or replace them. I keep getting told that bigger tires are harder to balance. I'm still running 37's. I just complain a lot til they get it right. I have Toyo Open County MT's now. MAJOR difference.
Don't live with it.

 

If the tires are out of round, no amount of balancing will get them corrected. Have them do a road force balance and have them replaced as needed.

 

I agree.

 

They were supposed to be road force balanced when I purchased them, but from talking to the guys @ the shop tonight, it is unlikely. The one used a term of 'static balancing' where he said all the weight is put on the inner-most lip only, and not on the center or the outer edges to truly balance the tire. I would think that if the tires were road force balanced, they would have more weight towards the outer edge.

In any case, I noticed this evening the shimmy was getting better... more in the rear of the car than in the steering, so maybe it's working itself out? I don't know. I'm going to try them out a couple more days and see what happens.

 

Shimmy is definitely there.... scheduled some time Friday morning @ the local Ford dealer that has a road force machine.

 

Welp, took the tires to get road force balanced, and the Ford dealer gave up on it after 1 1/2 hours... didn't charge me, just called and said, "we give up, you can come pick up your truck!"

So I picked up the truck, they told me they tried to add weight, but driving home the shimmy was even worse. When I got home, called Mickey Thompson who said I should go get a regular spin balance done with a 90 degree index (deflate the tire, rotate the wheel 90 degrees, re-inflate) and then balance the tires. So, went back to the local 4x4 shop who had an open slot, and 1 hour later, I have 4 balanced tires!

So now I'm happy and can be comfortable looking bad *** on the street.



Thank you everyone for your input, it's always greatly appreciated.

 

Glad you got it fixed.