WHY oh why - just when i thought it was sorted - wheel wobble and pulling to the left

[Pabs]

ARGH!!!!!!! A*se!!!!!!! B*lls......

I thought it was cured. I really did. But alas that is not the case.

I had 2 brand spanking new GSD3's fitted to my front wheels yesterday. All balanced and fitted.

Driving today has shown the d*mn problem again - I have some severe pulling to the left, AND a really nasty wheel wobble.

For those of you that immediately say re-balance the wheels - please read the following:

1. This happened to me before - and has been a problem for me for ages. It was cured (not sure how) but changing to brand new tyres has bought the problem straight back.

2. The wheel wobble occurs only between 60-80mph. But it isn't constant. It is VERY bad when accelerating or slowing down. At a constant speed, or cruising, it is not noticable.

3. I have had new suspension (Koni FSD's) and this problem occured on both the new and old suspension.


Now I can only think of possible bent driveshaft, or perhaps worn bushes (but which ones???) However, why only with new tyres does this problem re-appear?????


Anyone with any ideas whatsoever, please PLEASE help. I'm absolutely gutted it has come back - just as my car was performing and behaving sooo well.

 

[jedi knight]

camber problem not that i know that much about cars,


http://www.familycar.com/Alignment.htm

 

[Ste]

Wierd. Personally, I'd swop the fronts with the rears to check for any coincidental balancing problems before looking into it further. You never know it could be a balancing problem, although it does seem unlikely as this has occured before.

Was the tracking checked when you had the new tyres put on?

 

[DPJ]

Who balanced your wheels Paul?

Have you also checked your tyre pressures since they were fitted?

 

[Pabs]

well I'd really hope it wasn't balancing or tyre pressure - trust me - the pulling to the left is quit strong IMO, and i don't think that pressure could affect it that much... but I could be wrong.

When i had this problem before, I had the full 4 wheel laser alignment/check carried out, and nothing was really bad (rear left wheel was slightly odd) and as mentioned - the problem disappeared after a change of suspension to the Koni FSD's. Here's a bit of a time-line:

1. Problem appeared
2. Tracking checked.
3. Changed suspension to FK Highsport coilivers.
4. Tracking checked
5. New tyres on std wheels.
5. Changed suspension to Koni FSD's.
5. Changed wheels to RS6 replicas ( + new tyres)
6. 4 wheel alignment/check
7. Tracking checked
8. Subframe dropped and realigned
9. Problem disappeared.
10. New tyres - problem back again.

 

[Pabs]

Thinking about it - at accl. or decel. there is MORE or LESS weight on the front suspension (rather than a general average weight that would be at a constant speed.)
When going uphill/downhill, this will accentuate the weight change... so perhaps pushing the bushes or some other component to it's max or min......

When the car goes in for its 90k service (in a month or so) I'll be getting it checked again, get wheels swapped around again etc, but I've done all this before and it didn't help - I'm just expecting the same results again

 

[Pabs]

Who balanced your wheels Paul?

Have you also checked your tyre pressures since they were fitted?

Oh, and the wheels were balanced by Barmer Tyres in Southampton - when they were fitted - they are usually very good at this and have done several of our cars etc before. No complaints there, but doesn't mean that they haven't made a mistake on mine.... I will try and get the wheel balancing checked by JKM or Denmead tyres when I'm next in that area.

 

[RikH]

have you tried anyone elses wheels pabs?
i guess it could be a driveshaft problem or worn bushes as you say

its difficult to say as i assume the WHOLE wheel is wobbling, do the hubs look ok?
wheel bearing also?

 

[Pabs]

it's really annoying - i just can't see why a change of tyres would cause this problem to return......

Not tried anyone else's wheels TBH - but I expect I'll be de-modding my car soon anyway, so probably be selling all my parts, such as wheels etc.

 

[RobM]

I'm clutching at straws here, but I wonder if removing the wheels and refitting has anything to do with it? Perhaps the wheels aren't 100% flush to the hubs? I'd personally try switching the front and back wheels over and see how it feels.

 

[jedi knight]

Not tried anyone else's wheels TBH - but I expect I'll be de-modding my car soon anyway, so probably be selling all my parts, such as wheels etc.

Very interested in the boost gauge matey

 

[Lee M]

I know you have probably been thorugh this, but I had a similar thing when i changed from perelli to GSD's. I thought it was the tyres but apparantly it was the balancing.
You can have your wheels balanced in two ways according to my local tyre centre, (1) Statically (Left & Right) and (2) Dynamically (Up, Down, Left & Right).

If they are only balanced as '1' then you may be getting some vibration from this. I think most cars would require no. '2'.

Cheers

Lee

 

[DPJ]

Oh, and the wheels were balanced by Barmer Tyres in Southampton - when they were fitted - they are usually very good at this and have done several of our cars etc before. No complaints there, but doesn't mean that they haven't made a mistake on mine.... I will try and get the wheel balancing checked by JKM or Denmead tyres when I'm next in that area.

Yes, I would get someone else to check the balancing asap.

 

[Pabs]

ok peeps - thanks for the info.
I'll see what i can do next weekend.

I just want the problem gone - permanently. If i can find the problem then I can pay and get it sorted - but i don't want to continually throw money at it and get no results.

 

[m0rk]

it's really annoying - i just can't see why a change of tyres would cause this problem to return.....

what about if they're not seated correctly?

but were 'by accident' when the problem went away?

 

[Pabs]

you mean that the tyres are not fitted correctly?
Seeing as I've had 3 pairs of tyres on this car that have had the problem at some point - I struggle to believe that 3 different fitters are all unable to fit tyres correctly??? Does that make sense?

I'll definately try and get the wheels balanced/checked again.... but can't until next weekend at the earliest.

 

[Nathanio]

What about the hubs or wheel bearings?

 

[m0rk]

wheels.....

like if there's some reason that one isn't sitting adjacent to the wheel bearing.. I can't think it'd be wheel bearings (the rumbling will have driven you mad by now)

 

[Pabs]

right - so by removing and refitting the wheels you think the problem may disappear.... It's possible I suppose..

I don't really know how to check the hubs though..

I don't know about wheel balancing either - all i know is they stick the wheels on a "rod spinny thing" (lol) which they then spin fast, and it then tells them where to put the weights on (and how much)... I assume this is a normal balancing machine and it's the only one I've ever seen used.

 

[Nathanio]

Might mean a trip to JKM mate tbh. I would take a get a number 2 wheel check to see