Road force balancing
#1
Road force balancing
My 2015 Fit EX 6 speed has a slight steering wheel vibration at around 75 mph. It is not so bad but I know it's not normal. Anybody here experienced this and have tried to have your wheel and tire road force balanced?. I currently have 25k + miles on my Odometer. My Fit had a wheel balance and alignment last december after I installed a set of winter tires. I have a new job and my commute is 50 miles each way. it's annoying when it starts to vibrate aside from the fact that it could lead to other problems.
Last edited by oiric2006@gmail.com; 02-14-2018 at 07:07 AM.
#2
If wheels are balanced and rims not dented, also look at your suspension components like shocks. They can wear out or fail. How often do you rotate tires? Have you tried to rotate to see if the vibration goes away? I do every 5K and ignore the MM on that one. MM would say every 10k, and I think that's too many miles personally.
How's your alignment as well? You mentioned last year it was checked but a lot can happen in a year. I get two alignment checks a year (lifetime alignment at firestone so it's free at this point). I have to cross over at minimum 4 rail road crossings a day for my round trip work commute so I figure it's good preventive maintenance. 85 round trip commute so I'm at 53k miles on my 2015
How's your alignment as well? You mentioned last year it was checked but a lot can happen in a year. I get two alignment checks a year (lifetime alignment at firestone so it's free at this point). I have to cross over at minimum 4 rail road crossings a day for my round trip work commute so I figure it's good preventive maintenance. 85 round trip commute so I'm at 53k miles on my 2015
#3
Get your car into the shop & have the tires rebalanced. You will have odd wear on the tires if you don't. Plus that vibration is going through your whole front end & that isn't good. I'd guess a normal high speed balance would do the trick unless something else is causing your vibration. Bent wheel, or broken tire belt. I doubt it is your alignment, but you never know.
I have only used road force balancing a couple of times. My Miata is very sensitive to balance & using road force is the only way to get a good enough balance job. If you go that route make sure whoever does it knows how to do it. Not all of the guys at the shop are expert at that. Find the one who is & use him.
I have only used road force balancing a couple of times. My Miata is very sensitive to balance & using road force is the only way to get a good enough balance job. If you go that route make sure whoever does it knows how to do it. Not all of the guys at the shop are expert at that. Find the one who is & use him.
#4
I had it done (road force balancing) all 4 wheel and tires. The shop's name is TM&T at Long Island City, NY. I googled it and they had the best reviews. I called up first and explained the problem, the guy who answered the phone was very accomodating. I got there and was quoted $35/tire. They did it in less than an hour. I was even able to see how they did it. The guy who did the balancing said my wheels and tires are okay but he said the balance was way off. They charged me $100 plus tax. I was surprised but didn't complain =). I was only able to drive up to to 65 mph on my way home and no vibration. I didn't want to risk getting a ticket. I'll update on Sunday when I go on duty. Thanks for your feedbacks.
#6
Bought some news tire form Tire Rack in South Bend. Headed west and noticed a slight balance problem that you described. 7200 miles later, I got back froom Alaska and near SBN so I took it in with my minor complaint. After about 30 minutes the service manager came to me and said the tire balance was fine but 2 of the 4 tires were not running true. Meaning the tire at contact the road the tire tread it was moving left and right beyond specs. Plain as mud right?
Anyway he said he would order 2 more tires. I said I do not want to come back again. He said delivery would take about 15 minutes. His order had to go to the warehouse which is in the same huge building. 30 minutes later I was out the door with 2 new free tires. I have never had another problem with those since then.
My point is things other that balance can affect what you are feeling. Out of round tires or runout (left and right) can do the same thing.
Anyway he said he would order 2 more tires. I said I do not want to come back again. He said delivery would take about 15 minutes. His order had to go to the warehouse which is in the same huge building. 30 minutes later I was out the door with 2 new free tires. I have never had another problem with those since then.
My point is things other that balance can affect what you are feeling. Out of round tires or runout (left and right) can do the same thing.
#7
I bought my snow tires/wheels from Tirerack and they were supposedly “road force balanced.” The car shook so badly that I had to have all four tires rebalanced by a local shop to make it driveable. I’ll never buy from Tirerack again.
#8
I bought my 4 winter tires (michelin x ice) from tire rack also. I used the oem wheel and had it aligned and balance at a local shop. It was fine for a while then the car started having the steering wheel vibration. I searched online and couple of reasons could be the roundness of the tire or a bent wheel. That's why those where the first questions I asked after they did the road force balancing. Hopefully no more vibrations after 75 mph this coming Sunday when I go on duty. I know that ignoring the vibrations is not safe and could lead to bigger problems.
#9
As stated, make sure that the guy doing the balance uses the road force machine correctly. Often they just do it quickly. BUT, the machine will measure both rim and tire run-out. The tire mounter should adjust the orientation of the wheels to tires to compensate each other.
Last year, I had to return the front tires on my sports car after RF balancing. Turns out the Tire Monkey/installer hadn't bothered trying to correct run-out. I got a vibration over 100 MPH at the racetrack....
Last year, I had to return the front tires on my sports car after RF balancing. Turns out the Tire Monkey/installer hadn't bothered trying to correct run-out. I got a vibration over 100 MPH at the racetrack....
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