I got my Saleen 23" rims installed from Discount Tire in May.

Bought the Rims brand new - Bought the tires brand new from onlinetires.com.

I have had these wheels back to Discount Tire 3 times because of the shaking I am getting through the steering column. The problem is still there!!! However they maintain that the wheels have been properly balanced. I have tried 2 different Discount Tire stores.

They say that the wheels are balanced but I never had this shaking before. Could it be another problem with my truck possibly? I am not an expert but surely this has to be a wheel balancing problem?

One thing that is notable is that I still need the TPMS sensors to be mounted in the new wheels... would this possibly make the difference?

Also, the shaking only appears to be extreme within the first couple of times of reaching between 60 - 70mph, after that it seems to settle down to a small vibration.

I would really like rid of this problem as I love these wheels!

Any input is GREATLY appreciated.

HTB

 

If the the tires were balanced with the sensors in the wheels and then they were removed it could throw the balance off. But, if they have not been installed and the wheels were balanced with rubber stems they should be fine. The tires need to be tested for being out of round. To do that, find a shop near you with a Hunter GSP9700 Roadforce balancer, as I doubt it has been done yet. It simulates the weight of the car on the wheel as it is being balanced. If you have an out of round tire it will find it and then the tire can be warrantied. If the tire tests inside of 22 lbs road force they can usually rotate the tire 25% at a time on the rim until the tire balances out. If beyond 22 lbs road force the tire is out of round.

Good luck.

www.gsp9700.com

 

Flat spotting. After tires with that little sidewall sit for a while they can get flat spots and cause that vibration you're feeling. I'd suggest you get the granules that you put inside the tires to balance them out, since they automatically find the area that needs balanced each time you reach highway speeds. Other than that maybe find a stiffer tire, but you're going to be pretty limited with 23" wheels.

 

Thanks so much for the input guys...

The discount tire that i used however do apparently have one of these gsp9700's...

I guess i just need to persist!

 

x2 for the hunter..i have a coats and hate it. But there is some stuff called equal, not the stuff you but in coffee, that you can break down one side of the tire and throw it in and it acts like a balancer. i've sold it to many customers with customs wheels and tires and has cured the shaking.

 

I just put on 22's on my truck and had the same problem. The roadforce balancer def. fixed my issue but for some odd reason my passenger seat flutters at 38-39 mph and agin at 75 mph. Very weird I have brought it to many places and they said it is going to be something I have to live with. No shaking in drivers seat or throught the steering column. Anyone else have the problem of passenger seat shaking? Oh and when someone sits in the passenger seat it doesn't shake and they can't feel anything. Odd.

 

The seat flutters because there's no weight to hold it down, obviously. The real answer is that while better, your tires are still not balanced.

 

FWIW, since I have these same rims/tires and now a different set of 22's, I think Ford F150's are picky as hell in regards to vibrations around 65-75 mph, for some reason I had the same issue as the OP and my saleens never had the tpms sensors either. Damon I bought my tires from you guys, they were the Contis (made in Germany as I understand?) however, in my rural area only a few people have the road force machine and for what ever reason I never was able to get them balanced by a gsp9700 due to my scheduling issues or what not, I still have them too their sitting in my garage. Like I say, I think ford f150s are vibration prone more so than other vehicles. My 22's are so far fine and I did put the sensors in these. However, if you read a LOT of posts on this forum their are many people with this issue and many different types of tires ranging from stock to custom sizes...IMHO.

PS-I feel part of the issue is a $7-8 employee working on objects that weight as much as they do and not really caring what kind of job they do, as long as the job gets done. In a lot of places anyway, not all, but most.

 

If it still vibrates they did not do a good enough job, or one or more of the tires is out of round and it cannot be balanced. The Hunter is a very powerfull unit and, if in the right hands will do 2 things: Balance your wheel and tire 100%, or tell you it cannot be done. There's really no in-between.

Call them back and tell them you want to make an appointment to have their BEST tech give it another shot. Have them remove the tires from the rims and test the wheels first for variation (bent in) and lateral runout (wobble) at the area between the lips where the bead sits before the tires go back on. If your wheels are bent to the point a tire won't balance, the machine will tell you.

The "problem" with the Hunter unit is it can take a couple of hours worth of troubleshooting to really get your head around it sometimes. And most of the time it comes down to a shop throwing in the towel at a "good enough" job before it is truly completed because they need to move on to other cars.

My dad has a 31 Chevy with old Cragar wheels that are really not very good but he likes them. He had a shake in the wheel that nobody else could get out. It took one of my best guys a few hours but he got it down to the point his cheap tires were almost 100%

The balancer can be plugged into a printer. I will be happy to look at a prinout if you need me to.

 

x2 on the road force balancing. x2 on finding a tech that knows how to use it. I went to one shop that had one (no idea if it was hunter or not) and they told me tires were out of round. I went to another shop that knew what they were doing and they fixed it up, no problem no shaking. My best advice is ask around about shops. The second shop was a little hole in the wall place but not only did they have a road force machine they had another machine that could mount and index(spin) a tire without touching the rim. The only other place I have seen one of those was on the TV show Overhaulin. Anyway these guys knew their stuff. If there is a shop around that sells alot of 20" + tires and rims you might ask them. Chances are they know how or know someone that does.

 

I use a Coats balancer every day at Goodyear where I work at. I personally have never had a comeback on a balance job. Now, my 2 co-workers, can't make that claim. I often end up fixing their comebacks.

I've done every type of wheel and tire combination imaginable. Ranging from your everyday wheels and tires on daily driven cars, wheels and tires for SCCA road race prepped Corvettes and Porsches, wheels for classic muscle cars, and big custom wheels.(20 inch+)

I think it's just a matter of taking your time on a job, making sure your machine is set up properly for the job, and double-checking yourself on the job to ensure the customer will be happy with the job you did.

Some people swear by the roadforce balancing machines, but I'm not one of them.

 

Im haveing the same problem. Id say make sure you paid for the lifetime balance. After a few times, they are no longer making money off you but its costing them over and over. After about 5 times my guys finnaly got it acceptable for the most part. I always take it for a highspeed (65+) run after I pick it up and call them right away and tell em if its not right. That way they know its wrong.
Mine still isnt right, but at least the finally let me know i have a wheel that isnt round.

 

If you have a wheel that isn't round... can it be fixed?

 

Maybe. But for me its not worth the cost.

 

I think I would get a second opinion on an out of round wheel? That doesn't happen that often at least in my experience.