This depends on the amount of imbalance. An imbalance of .25 ounces, owners cannot detect below 60 MPH. A tire/wheel combo that is out of balance by .75 ounces can be detected by some people at 45 MPH.
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The statement that balance correction only affects 50 MPH or greater is incorrect. “Almost all ppl…” are wrong.
I believe this was mentioned earlier but a hit to the tire can damage it internally. This may not be visible to the naked eye.
I’m still a bit disturbed about the alignment being used to quite likely “correct” a bent suspension or steering component.
It would be interesting to spend a few minutes underneath with a tape measure…
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I’m going to address the “can’t feel balance until 50 mph or more”.
That’s sort of true. Vehicle suspensions have a resonant frequency that generally occurs in the 50 to 70 mph range. That’s because the suspension acts like a spring-mass-damper system. That doesn’t mean something can’t be felt outside that range - what it means is that it will be more intense in that range.
HOWEVER, that only applies to the vertical direction. If there is a lateral problem, then the spring-mass-damper rule doesn’t apply.
In this case - given that the vibration is being felt at other speeds and not just in the steering wheel - it’s possible that the vibration is being caused by something other than the tire/wheel. So I recommend getting the tire/wheel balanced on a Hunter GSP9700 RoadForce machine. That machine is a good diagnostic unit and would go a long way towards eliminating (or confirming) that the tire/wheel is the source of the vibration.
But as a first step, I’d recommend rotating the tires front to rear. If the vibration moves, then it’s likely a tire/wheel. If it doesn’t, then it’s likely something else.
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This seems to be a problem that could be easily solved.
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This car has very low profile tires, always a maintenance issue. That may well be why your older car had less problems in this area.
Personally, I think very low profile tires are a lose-lose proposition and would never get a car with them.
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I believe the tires were already rotated and the wheel checked. The vibration went to the rear now. So the OP has been to about 4 different shops and all say something different. One saying the weight was knocked off but I don’t believe those wheels use the weights on the outside. So at any rate, if there was no vibration before hitting the curb, and there is now, I am still of the opinion that there is some internal tire damage and I’d just replace the tire. But the tire needs to be matched with the other new tires so get an exact match from the dealer and be done with it. What can it cost? $300 on a new car? If the vibration is still there I guess, maybe the wheel but I doubt it. It’s a new car so why mess around?
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I would at this point also be curious as to whether road force balancing was used. If not, that could explain it. Road force balancing is often needed to eliminate vibrations on modern large wheel/low-profile tire combos.
In my opinion, a road force balancing machine is not going to overcome damage caused by that curb strike
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Hey all
I just want to clarify the vibration i’m now feeling could very easily be psychological. It’s not as obvious as the steering wheel problem was, which was now resolved by rebalancing. Could be the wheel/tire is totally fine.
However now i’m having a new problem (YAAAY). Since the balance adjustment and wheel rotation, i’m noticing the car is pulling R. This is the side that had the impact. It’s not common, it seems to only happen on R side turns, never on L side turns or driving straight. I drove the car over 150 miles after the impact and not once did it pull, the turns were perfect. The pulling started after the 2nd mechanic and tire rotation + rebalancing. As stated it only happens sometimes on a R side turn. I find this odd, since if the tire/wheel was damaged, i would assume the pulling would have happened with it in the front. Nope, its happening after the rotation to the back.
I checked the tire pressures and the rotated tires to the back had a lower pressure like 32-33 and the fronts (previously the rear) were like 35. So i inflated the rear tires. After that, i drove some more, and the pull got better but its still slightly there. Its not a huge problem if you drive 30 minutes it might kinda happen once or twice. But its annoying, its a new car.
Ugh. Any thoughts on this tire pull? I called the mechanic back, he said come in monday to check pressure. He’s going to think i’m a complete neurotic haha.
Did you check the placard on your car that has what the tire pressure should be or just what you thought it should be.
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Did you get the car realigned after the 2nd mechanic rotated the tires and re-balanced the damaged one?
Pulling can be caused by tire problems beyond differences in inflation, alignment problems, or especially when noticed during turning, suspension system or axle problems. Re the damaged wheel, it might be a good idea to purchase a replacement now, b/c it might not be possible to find one that matches the other 3 wheels in the future. You know they are likely still available now b/c they are on your new car. Worse case, you’ll have a spare wheel to use if another one gets damaged beyond repair.
Sorry i’m ignorant about this but where can i find that info? I used automatic machine and had them all set to 33.
There’s usually a label you can see when you open the driver’s door, on the door pillar somewhere, that says what the tire pressures should be. On my Corolla it is inside the glove compartment, but new cars usually on the door pillar.
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I only notice the pull during turns. And it never happened until serviced 2nd mechanic with rebalance and rotation. I doubt its suspension related because i would have noticed that before the tire rotation right? However, if the tire / wheel is damaged, wouldnt the pull be before the rotation? Affected tire is now on the back, not the front.
From what i am reading if the wheel or tire is damaged, rotation to back will help. In this case i drove 150 miles never noticedany pull , it started 100% after rotating suspicious tire to back.
The second mechanic checked alignment, which i had redone when i went to dealer, and he confirmed it is fine.
From what i am reading it is not necessary to realign for a tire rotation, only that it is checked at that time as part of maintenance (tire rotation + alignment part of tire maintenance)
Agree, that makes a suspension related problem an unlikely cause. I’d expect a tire/wheel related problem to show up more if it is on the front than the back.
That is not entirely correct
For instance, Costco sells lots of tires, and will apparently even rotate them
But they certainly don’t do any alignment checks, nor are they even set up to do so
Yea exactly my point, tire rotation and alignment are not required, its only that for car maintenance, they are usually done together. But they dont have to be; its not like if you rotate the tires you MUST then align.
The car shouldn’t “pull”. Save all receipts. An good alignment on a modern machine, recently calibrated, after rotating front tires to rear should “dial in” the proper alignment and eliminate any and all “pull”. If it can’t then something is bent is needs to be replaced.
You need to get this right.
CSA
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