Vibration at 60mph...any ideas?

[Pwise2326]

Alright, so in my neverending quest in keeping this car going, my latest problem is this awful vibration that occurs at or slightly around 60mph. Its like 56 - no vibration, 57-65 vibrates, and 66+ nothing. My first guess is the rear wheel bearings....I just replaced the fronts, got new tires, and had everything aligned and balanced, there is no steering wheel shimmy, but its got that sound. Seems like I'm going to be spending a few cold days in my driveway very soon....

[Reason]

I'm having the same problem, I also got new rims, tires and got them balanced. I think it may be due to the fact that my rotors are warped. It gets worse when i use the brakes. So nex is all new brakes...again :(

[GT Wagon]

You description sounds like you have snow/ice/mud stuck to the wheels. Is it snowing in your neck of the woods ? This happens all the time here in the winter, you drive through deep snow and get some jammed on the backside of the wheel.

When a wheel becomes unbalanced (even when it loses its wheels weights) it will have a vibration that only happens within a given speed range. Go below/above that range and it dissappears. If your steering wheel doesn't shake with the vibration my money is on the rear wheels.

It gets really packed in there after you've done donunts in deep snow or driven over/through a few snowbanks.

[shazapple]

My summer tires (re92s) would virate around 60, but no other time. I suspect it was because they had bad cords. Sometimes the place that puts your tires on just does a bad job of balancing them. It try going back and getting them to redo it, its the cheapest first step

I thought my rotors were warped, but it turned out that the slider on the caliper was seized. It was causing a lot of the shake in the steering wheel, and probably all of the shake when braking. My rotors still could have been warped though, im not sure.

[Huffer]

if you can drive into and out of vibration ie. make it happen on demand, then it's wheel balance.

Also, ensure the tires you have are not wearing oddly, or are worn in patches.

It's also possible if you've mounted used tires to wheels that the roundness of the tire doesn't conform to the roundness of the wheel.

If that is the issue, the solution is to rotate the tire on the wheel 180deg.
Or get new tires.

[Pwise2326]

nope, no snow! This is CT were talking about, lol. I'm lucky if we get 3 inches on the ground that will stick. I just got these tires maybe ~1000 miles or so ago. I'll check the balance again next week when I get out of school...I heard Pirelli's have some vibration problems, so I'll get that checked out, maybe get the one replaced, I don't think I've worn down anything that would cause problems with the AWD. I didn't see any uneven or wear patches last time I had it up in the air. Thanks for the feedback, I'll keep you guys updated.

[ooberdoob]

+1 for balance.

[gator gt]

Get them rebalanced and make sure you go to a place that uses Road Force Variation. They tend to charge more, but it may help you.

I use a machine made by Hunter. The 9300 in fact. Its at the dealership my dad works at (Chevy).

Anyway, when you close the hood to the balancer, the tire begins to spin and then you hear a thump. Well, that thump is a drum being forced onto your tire as it spins. It simulates the tire being loaded. It seats the beads, checks for force variations and checks for other things too. THEN it check balance (this is where weights come in).

Now, you can be out of balance (weights) and have force variations. And there are 2 types of variations:
1) correctable
2) uncorrectable

1) it will tell you where on the rim to mark, and where on the tire to mark. Break down the tire/rim assembly; align the marks on the tire and rim. Rebalance and force variation.

2) if its uncorrectable, it'll say its the rim or the tire. It'll ask you to do a rim runout. That is just a way of measuring the dimensions and 'trueness' of the rim to see if its out of round. If its the tire, take it back to the vendor. But at that point, you're hose because of the AWD and having a differently worn tire. Blech.

Force Variation is read in pounds. My dad's rule of thumb is if it is 11 or under, ignore it, you'll be fine. Between 11 and 17, think about it. Over 17, you're breaking down that assembly and aligning the computers marks and retrying it.

When I mounted the Dunlop Graspics recently, I had 1 that came in at 18. EEK. I broke it down, spun them and rebalanced. It came in at 4. Yeah, 4!! SWEET. The rest were 4, 7, 5. Super!!!! Those are great numbers.

I've brought the GT up to 85mph with the Dunlop snows....not issues with vibrations. These tires are sweet. Now if we could just get some snow....


There can be occasions where you are out of balance and it'll only show at a certain speed (acts like a frequency for the tire). Things tend to shake more at their respective harmonic frequency. I have felt slightly more noticible vibrations at 60mph in the GT. I think it was when I had the 16" 18 spoke rims on. I don't think the 01 RS or 05 LGT rims have it. Just what I've noticed.

Hope this helps you out Ryan.

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