opinions wanted on vibration in steering wheel

[nicmcs4]

2 & a half months ago i changed my springs (a change of lowering springs, shocks were already koni adj's) and had the car's alignment done,
prior to changing my springs i had a slight vibration coming up tru the steering. at the time it wasn't very noticable.
but recently within the last month the vibration has become increasingly noticable
the vibration comes up tru the steering wheel when doing 50-60 mph on a reasonable smooth road but if im at 65- 70 on all roads then i can feel it.

i was wondering if anyone has any opinions on what could be causing this
here are my 3 ideas
1 bad alignment job
2 worn track rod ends
3 worn lower arm joints

any ideas appreciated

 

[rb69]

I used to get vibration in the steering wheel at the same speed when I first got mine. The front tyres were different and worn so i replaced them and the problem went away. hope that helps!

 

[nicmcs4]

the tires that i have on it are only on it since the summer and their the same all round the car (pirelli P5000's)
i don't know man but's starting to bug me

 

[Toby@ToyTuning.com]

Have your wheels been balanced/weighted? If not you will get excessive vibration. A split ball joint would would cause huge vibration up to 60mph and would quieten down after this.

I would expect the wheels are out of balance unless you have had them done..

T

 

[Beaker]

As Toby says, Wheels need balancing. Change your wheels round so the fronts are on the back and see if it makes a difference. If it does, problem solved.

 

[ChrisGT]

My wheel shakes at idle. Would dodgy engine mounts have anything to do with this although it only happens at speed?

 

[Toby@ToyTuning.com]

Quite possible mate, it won't be the wheels as there not moving so could well be the mounts. Test them for movement and report back

T

 

[nicmcs4]

i had the wheels ballanced a month ago but i will swap them around the car

also would worn track rod end or any worn bushings cause this?

 

[nicmcs4]

my reason for asking about the track rods being worn is that before i had the alignment and tracking done the car was veerig to one side and then it was ok after the alignment for about a week and now its veering off to the left again.

 

[Toby@ToyTuning.com]

Have you knocked the wheel at any point? Swap the wheels around and report back just so we can remove that as one of the possible causes. Sure we can narrow it down together

T

 

[Mart]

Sounds like it might be a tracking prob to me dude...

 

[potge]

Apart from all the things mentioned you might have warped discs, you might also have too rusty hub and/or discs bells and something pretty childish but happens often a loosen wheel nut.

 

[Adam_Glanza]

tracking wont cause vibration threw the steering wheel mate its a completely different process.

definetly first start is to balance the wheels as toby has stated and go from there.

it might pull due to different tread levels, 1 being good tread and 1 being low.

tyre pressures also if 1 is low and 1 is proper pressure then it would cause rolling resistance, could have a sticking brake caliper also causing resistance?

lots of factors unfortunately mate.

the wheels is definetly the place to look tho wheel balance or maybe a buckled wheel

 

[scottydouk]

sounds like wheel balancing is required to me, poss some suspension part worn with play. get wheels balanced, must be cheapest option first.

 

[Starletto]

hey mate, there is a chance that it might be your front wheels

have them checked at your local tire store and also have them check the balance also.

as you might know some wheels are only capable of certain speed and if your tires are pumped way too full then in summer time it could cause it to change shape.

if you do find the problem, let us know .. thanks

 

[white-ep82]

this happened on my mums 206, speed bumps had made her tyres more of an oval shape, so they needed to be replaced.

 

[nicmcs4]

ok thanx lads im going to get the wheels balanced now and will check the pressure first

starletto i understand this but it has never happened to me before and i hav the wheels 2 and a half years

ok first check balancing and ill get back to u guys

 

[Monkfish]

Check the tyres are mounted on the wheel correctly. There will be a red and yellow dot on the sidewall. The yellow dot the the 'weight mark' and marks the tyre at it's heaviest radial point. The red dot is a 'height mark' which indicates the tyres high point. Ideally, the yellow dot should be opposite the valve to reduce the amount of weights needed to balance the wheel.

My Ex put 17's on her Bini and over 70 it wobbled like a bastard. We took it to get the wheel balanced and it was out, so they put more weights on (There were already a lot on there). It was still doing it so we took it somewhere else and they said whoever put the tyre on was a tit. The yellow dot was near the valve, meaning all of the weight was at one side of the wheel and putting a load of weights on the other side to counter it just fucked it all up.

He span the tyre round so that the yellow dot was opposite the valve, re-balanced it (Only needing a few weights this time) and everything was perfect after that.

I reckon that is what your problem is.

 

[nicmcs4]

rite well to report back i swappd the wheels around on the car like toby said and it almost completely removed the problem, im gonna balance em tomorow, but rite now its a whole lot better
and yes my thread levels were a little different so that could have affected the tracking abit