Front wheel wobble after install new tires
04-09-2012, 03:16 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: iowa
Posts: 15
Front wheel wobble after install new tires
Well i am about to my wits end. Purchased new tires for a 07 Mustang gt with 12,000 miles i purchased just recentily. Vehicle appears and checks out to be in mint condition. Tires that were on the vehicle were Goodyear Eagles f1 summer tire that had weather check cracks in the tread grooves and were 6 years old. When driving the car with these tires on had no vibration or shimmy on front end of car. Purchased new General g max 255/45/18 tires and they road force balanced by a dealer .After driving the car it showed front end steering wobble from about 45 to 62 mph . Had tires rebalanced and front end aligned which showed nothing out of wack. Tires were returned to Discount Tire direct thinking it was defective tires after checking that the SVT9.5 rims were not out of round or bent. Got Yokahama yk580 replacements same size at no additional cost from Tire Direct very good customer service i might add from this company. Installed tires still have a slight wobble on front tires from speeds around 45 to 60 mph when first driving vehicle for 10 miles until warmed up and then no wobble on front end or steering wheel. Wobble is not present all the tire depending on road that i am on. Guys have told me that these ultra performance tires do that and it is normal until warmed up a little. I am fed up with this situation and dont know how to find out why the tires and wheels have this problem It doesnt sound normal to me. I had tires and wheels re checked for balance 3 times and rotated front to back and still have steering wheel wobble at above speeds . What could be the problem i am thinking now after listening to several tire installers that maybe the guy using the Hunter road force 9700 balance machine doesnt know how to operate it correctly and several have said these type of wheels are hard to really balance because you cant put outside wheel weights on the rims and have to use stick on weights inside rim and regular weights on inside of rim and you cant get a good balance and eliminate the problem. I dont know who to believe at this point and was wanting some info from some one on this forum that can tell me the truth and how to solve my issue. I stll have a hard time believing this problem is normal with the wheels and tires i have on the vehicle. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ?? THANKS
Last edited by BAS; 04-09-2012 at 03:23 AM. Reason: spelling
04-09-2012, 02:45 PM
#2
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: iowa
Posts: 15
since i rarely get replies to my questions i will go ahead and post how my tire balance issue was resolved today at the Ford dealership. After going thru pure crap for the last 3 weeks from Big O tires and other tire places i finally went to my Ford dealership and found the best most qualified tire installer that knows to run the Hunter Road Force balancer system and after he was done the car drives like a new car . No vibration and no wobble in the wheels and tires. He said who ever did the balancing didnt have the weights set correctly and every tire was out of balance. All rims were straight except one bent slightly .Drove the car at 45 thru 85 mph with cold 35PSI settings and no problem . I am one happy camper finally. It pays to have a qualified person do your balancing. 
04-10-2012, 07:01 AM
#5
Retired Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 9,235
I was ribbing you a bit 
I saw your thread yesterday morning and read it. At the time, I had no immediate help to offer, so I "marinated" on your question. By the time I opened it back up in the afternoon, you had resolved it. Since you seem to make posts to which people don't often respond, figured I would have a little LOL on ya
It is good that you came back with the resolution, as the issue of improper balancing comes up occasionally. The HRF balancer seems to be the go-to machine, for several who have had problems as you described. Has never happened to me, but woundering if it is related to a specific type of wheel or something. Maybe one that has an unusual mounting face or more than one set of lug-holes.
Jazzer
I saw your thread yesterday morning and read it. At the time, I had no immediate help to offer, so I "marinated" on your question. By the time I opened it back up in the afternoon, you had resolved it. Since you seem to make posts to which people don't often respond, figured I would have a little LOL on ya
It is good that you came back with the resolution, as the issue of improper balancing comes up occasionally. The HRF balancer seems to be the go-to machine, for several who have had problems as you described. Has never happened to me, but woundering if it is related to a specific type of wheel or something. Maybe one that has an unusual mounting face or more than one set of lug-holes.
Jazzer
04-10-2012, 01:47 PM
#7
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: iowa
Posts: 15
You said it all equipment is no good without a skilled operator running it. The Hunter Roadforce balancer has been out in service for many years. I have only one time i had a balance problem and that was on a new Dodge truck. I have the SVT Ford wheels which are all Alum. and have no lip on the outside edge to put weights on. You have to use stick on weights plus inside weights that mount on inside lip of the rim . The previous 2 tire techs were not certified on the Hunter system and screwed the balance up big time. I have driven the Mustang 50 miles today on various roads and it drives like a dream. I have 255/45 /18 size tires on it all the way around Yokohama brand ultra performance all season tires. I have enjoyed driving the Mustang again. This is my 5th Mustang starting back in 67 and several 05 and 07 models. This is my first experience with this size of oversized tires and so at 60 years old i am still learning . Thanks for the input guys. 
04-27-2012, 02:09 AM
#10
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: iowa
Posts: 15
Actually we found another problem that is quite frequent with alum. wheels . My tire tech found corrision and rust on the mounting hub of the wheel that faces the rotor and corrison on the back side of the rotor . He removed the rotor on both front left and front right and found lots of rust on the the back side of the rotors . This happens when a vehicle such as mine had set outside for 3 months in the Iowa winter and collided the rust and was not allowing the rotor and wheel hub to fit flush .Every time they removed the wheels for balance check it was knocking rust particles loose making the matter worse. He cleaned all the surfaces and removed all the rust and crap and now the tires are staying good with no shimmy on the front end. He also advised to run around 32 psi on the tires . I have around 300 miles on the tires now and they are staying good . Keeping my fingers crossed . Hope this info helps someone who is having this issue.
