pete1033

I just replaced a flat tire on the passenger side. The steering wheel has vibrated for quite some time, with the vibration increasing in frequency at higher speeds, and at its worst when turning left at high speeds. Once I got the tire off, I could see on the inside of the wheel a low spot that got so bald it caused the flat. After I got the new tires, no vibration at all, the car felt really nice. Now a few days later I'm starting to get the vibration again, thinking another low spot is forming. I'm thinking I need a front-end alignment, but would there be anything else besides that? The tires were also professionally balanced and installed at a shop.

A6Gary

the valve stem. The yellow dot is the low point on the tire as marked by the manufacturer. I recently purchased a set of Falken Ziex ZE-512s from Discount Tire and three of the four were installed incorrectly as directed by Falken. I can visually tell that they are incorrectly installed because there are a large number of counterweights mounted on the alloy wheel, which should be no more than two counterweights per wheel. I also notice a slight viration at high speeds, which another indication that they are not correctly installled. I am having Discount Tire remount and re-balance the three tires in accordance with Falken's instructions.

audijim113

for high performance tires? Been around cars and shops all my life and never heard that.

Most tires that vibrate after being properly balanced can usually be traced to a manufacturing defect. Problem is, tire dealers won't believe you. They'll keep balancing or try to "fix" the problem by moving a wobbly tire to the rear.

There is a machine that really good alignment or frame straightening shops have. It is called a "road force" balancer. It not only balances the tire, but tells you how much force (in pounds) the tire exerts in any one direction. In other words, if the tire is out of round or has a bump/flat spot, etc, the machine will document it.

Problem is they charge about $40 per tire. It would be nice to buy a set of tires from a shop that has such a machine and have the shop do it for free to verify they are good. My guess is 1/2 the tires made would be rejected by the machine as being out of spec. That would mean mounting and unmounting tires over and over to find good ones.

A6Gary

to indicate these points on the tire. Also, some wheel manufacturers are doing the same so that they match the tire when they are mounted together (I believe I've seen a yellow dot on my wife's '00 VW Passat wheel). My vibration problem is more related to a harmonic that developes at the higher speed, nothing most drivers would pay attention to. But I can detect the minimal harmonic "feel" while I'm driving at 60 MPH and higher. This feel wasn't there with the previous tires mounted (BTW, none of the counterweights used on that set was more than 1 or 2 weights on each wheel). Do a Google search on tire balancing dots and you'll see how they are suppose to be utilized.

rmccomiskie

The balancing machine to look for is the Hunter 9700 (http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/). Yes, they call it Road Force Balancing. Presses a roller against the tire at about 800 lbs while it's spinning. The computer figures out where the imbalance is, inside vs outside too. I've had mine done a few times and it does a great job. My tire guy will actually dismount the tires and try to match heavy side to light side. It is expensive though. About $120 for four around here (MA). The Hunter website has a dealer locator.

rosskuhns

Not auto manufacturer specific, but tire manufacturer specific. One of them does this (high/low spot) others do not, at least that's my understanding.

Ross

audisrock

Almost all tire manufacturers have these dots, they usually wear off after the first week or two especially if you wash the car often.

Tires I know that have the dots:

Bridgestone Potenza RE950
BF Goodrich Traction T/A

Even some good tire shops forget to align the dot with the valve stems as they're supposed to.

I have a vibration too, but I think it's because of some crappy work done when I had the entire front suspension overhauled especially since the vibration is now worse than it was with the old worn out bushings, ball joints, shocks, etc on the car.....I take the car back and they tell me it's because my tires are worn and I ask them WTF does tires have to do with popping, creaking, clunking, and other noises when hitting bumps, making turns, or stepping on the brakes?