random steering wheel "shimmy", bothersome Options

[Rayme]

This is getting in my nerve!!!!

On highway speed, around 100 km/h+, I get that steering wheel vibration that mimic a badly balanced wheel. But the thing is I went to various shop and they are balanced perfectly.

And the wierdest thing is that its random, some time the steering will have ZERO vibration, and some other tiem I can feel the the fat(though I'm quite skinny) vibrating on my arms because the steering is so vibration from left to right...

I NEED to pin-point this, there is ABSOLUTELY no relation to road surfaces or left/right turns, that vibration is completely random at highway speed. I'd say 70% of highway travel I have that shimmy in the steering. It come and go with no apparent reason.

I ALSO NEED to pin-point this, my stock rims with winter tires has ZERO vibration in my steering.

So far, my hypothesis are :

-Liquid/water in the rim/tire, I know the guy who installed my tired used some kind of soggy rag to lub up the lips to make the seal. Might have some liquid inside that randomly messes up the balance.

-My aftermaket rims have no hubcentric caps(centering kit), this seem far fetched but maybe the rims randomly goes in the middle of the hub and a lil bit off, that seem unlikely as it would invole the rim to move around with all five bolt being torqued to specs...


I NEED help here , I traveled 900 KM today and I DON'T want to experience that thing again!!!!!!

This post has been edited by Rayme: Jun 23, 2006 - 9:42 PM

[Batman722]

check your tire pressure, make sure both front tires are equal.

[Bitter]

try hubcentric rings if needed. check the tires for any bulges.

[Rayme]

Ok, the reason was that it needed hubrings, it cured EVERYTHING. I didn't know it was that "needed", I had to go out of town to a specialty shop!

I also had my rims dynamicaly balanced, with stick on weight inside the rims instead of only wieghts on the edges of the rim.

I'm so happy, no vibrations at all

[Valo666]

if it comes back too, check your P/S belt. My belt on my first motor was about 2 rot, changed it and bam, no more shimmy.

[Manta5x]

I also had this problem with my stock wheels and tires. It just stopped when I put on new wheels and tires.
I think my stock wheels somehow lost thier balance.

[Rayme]

For anyone that has random "vibration", like one time you have some and a couple seconds later there nothing, the reason is no hubcentric rings.

As hard as it seem to imagine, wheels when only fastened with the lugs and nothing to center them, will move a little over the hub at highway speed. Thus the random vibration..