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YACT: Good vibrations

Mermaidman

Mermaidman

Diamond Member
Actually, bad vibes. At highway speeds, car developed vibration and tire noise has increased. My guesses:

Wheels not balanced (why?)
Tires over inflated
Wheel(s) is misaligned
Problem with suspension? (Struts?)

Possibly helpful info:
1) Car does not veer to one side or other, so overall alignment is OK
2) Right rear of car may by slightly lower than left rear
3) Tires don't show unusual wear pattern--yet.
4) Wife's friend borrowed car for a few days.

I'm going to the mech on Monday, but perhaps the ATOT experts can help?
 
how old is the car?

could be tie rod, or tire might be ready to go. Balance on the tires is done by gluing weights on the rim, so it is possible the weights came off.
Other than that wait for roger to chime in.
 
It makes it extremely difficult to help people with their vehicle problems when they do not state the , YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL.
 
Vibration and tire noise are generally caused by worn tires, tires will wear unevenly and will show very specific wear patterns from specific suspension problems.

Before we get in any further into this subject, rotate the tires from front to back, then report back in this thread after a high speed run.
 
Ha ha

I rotated the tires. Good thing I now have two jacks to ease the job. On the highway, vibrations greatly minimized, but tire noise still high. I think the noise is a case of over-inflation combined with naturally noisy tread design. I have the successor to the Dunlop D60A2--don't know what the tire is called now. I'll recheck the PSI tomorrow and see if I should take out a pound or so. (Couple of weeks ago, I did inflate the tires to the upper end of the spectrum to improve fuel mileage 😱 ) THanks for the input, Roger, though I wish you'd never post that pic of yourself 😛

BTW, will post pics of my wife's new ride soon.

edit: Tires are Dunlop SPA2

edit: This is interesting, I went to TireRack to read recent reviews of this tire. Guess what--Several people mentioned uneven tire wear and balance problems. :| I don't remember reading about that when I bought them in SPring, 2003. Tire Rack.com
 
not to thread highjack, but at around 60-65mph on the freeway, I also feel a very slight vibration in the steering wheel. I had the tires rebalanced at costco, but it still does it. Maybe I will take it there again and get em rebalanced. They said the right front tire was off by 10 oz when they rebalanced it. I should note that these tires have about 4500miles on em, Bridgestone RE950, 205/55/16, and were rotated once already; I noticed the vibration when they rotated it and that when I had em rebalance em.

Roger, is it possible that worn front upper strut mounts can cause the vibration up front felt through the sterring wheel? It even does this slight vibration when going on a completely smooth and level freeway, most noticeable around 60-65mph. I replaced all the control arms and shocks and tie-rod ends about 7k mi ago, so I don't suspect the suspension components except possibly for the strut mounts.

1998 Audi A6 2.8 30v FWD, with about 98,600mi. Granted, I should have replaced the upper strut mounts when I had it apart, but they didn't look bad when i had it apart.

thanks in advance.
 
10 oz, :Q

I have never balanced a tire that needs more than 3 oz of weight without repositioning the tire on the rim. I would say you have a bad tire or a bent rim.
 
THanks for the input, Roger, though I wish you'd never post that pic of yourself
Click to expand...

I got news for you, that was not me, that was my next door neighbor 🙂

Roger, is it possible that worn front upper strut mounts can cause the vibration up front felt through the sterring wheel? It even does this slight vibration when going on a completely smooth and level freeway, most noticeable around 60-65mph. I replaced all the control arms and shocks and tie-rod ends about 7k mi ago, so I don't suspect the suspension components except possibly for the strut mounts.
Click to expand...

Jack up the vehicle and rotate each front tire by hand, if you see any run out (tire wobble) or any broken belts (Bubble(s) in sidewall of tire) then this is most likely the cause, otherwise I would suspect the strut mount(s).
 
Originally posted by: Quixfire
10 oz, :Q

I have never balanced a tire that needs more than 3 oz of weight without repositioning the tire on the rim. I would say you have a bad tire or a bent rim.
Click to expand...

thats what the person at costco said, however, i think he was just pulling a number outta his head because i asked him when i picked the car up. there doesn't seem to be nearly that much weight on the rim, either by stick ons or the inside rim (i don't like th wieght on the outside, esp on a alloy wheel).

thanks quix and roger. Ill have to check out the runout later when i get a chance. hopefully its not a bent rim...
 
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