Hi,

I've just had larger 17" wheels and new tires installed on my '96 Max, and the car shakes a bit at low speeds. At higher speeds (> 50 mph) the shakes are reduced. The wheels are after market alloys with 40mm offset. They have 245/45 tires and werebalanced. Also when braking moderately, there is a noticeable howl from the tires.

I expected some differences, like harder riding, when compared to the regular 15" OEM wheels, but was surprised by the additional vibration and noise.

Is this normal when 'upgrading' to larger wheels/tires?

Thanks,
Chris...

 

Seems normal. What type of wheel weights did they use, i.e. sticky weights or old fashioned fastener type weights? Were the wheels used? How about the tires?

Also, when adding 2" of wheel, you notice a lot more things becoming more apparent, i.e. shakes / brake noise / harshness etc.

 

i know ur tires are balanced, but did u get an alignment too?

 

Regarding the alignment, I didn't have that done, yet. Will try to have this done later today.

 

alignment might cause it and also the tires can be chopped which means your shock or the other car's shocks were bad ( if they are used) but except that i cant really think of anything!

 

Thanks all. Did have the alignment checked during my lunch hour, all is well with the alignment. The alignment tech thought maybe the wheel bearings were bad, but after spinning all wheels while the car was off the ground there was no bearing noise. Hence it lead me to think it must be the tires. They are Wanli made. I phoned the tire shop where I purchased them, and they said that the tire noise would go away within the next 2K miles, if not they would replace them free of charge. (I should have gotten that in writing I suspect.) Anyhow, will give it a shot and see what develops over the next few weeks.

 

lol yeah call them back and get the name of who u talked to and get it it writing. also make sure its not out of warranty or over the mileage on their policy of trading in tires or something.

 

nah it's still a contract. thanks B-LAW class.

 

I used to have 20"s on my Max(which was too much for the car) wrapped on Wanli's and lemme tell you that the ish was crazy loud. It was very noticeable at about 20-55 mph(dont know why). Sounded like I had mud boggin tires on, a steady loud hum that drove me nuts! I never had a "shaking" problem though. Hopefully the alignment helps you out with that one... I've dealt with Wanli customer service before and it wasn't the easiest business to deal with, I wish I would've talked to whomever you talked to!

 

You may need hubcentric rings. Going bigger doesnt mean you will have vibrations or the shakes as long as you have a quality rim and tire. Are these rims used or new. Are these tires brand new or a possible retread? Who makes Wanli? I've had plenty of bigger wheels and dont have a problem with shaking with my 18's. You may want to get the rims rebalanced at a different shop.

 

Both wheels and tires are new. Wanli tires are made in China. Suppose sometimes you get what you pay for it. I think that the wheels are fine, but the tires are suspect. The shop mentioned that I'm not the first to report the noise/shake with these tires. But they also said that the noise/shakes will greatly reduce with some miles on them, at least that's what other customers have reported. Or perhaps the other customers got used to the noise and lived with it?!

 

one thing that i know for a fact if you are not sure whether the rims are bad or the tires i know that some places do road force balance and they can tell you which one is bad. i tried that cause i why i get vibration and i figured that it even though the tires were bad the rims were no good either!

 

get different tires man, Bridgestone is nice.

 

I've had vibration issues since 1996 when I upgraded to 17's. I've learned to live with it now....but still sucks. Mine starts at about 65 and quits after 85 or so. I tried 3 different sets of wheels, all with hub centric rings and have had several different sets of tires over the years...I have tried forced balancing, and regular static balancing, and they always zero out on the balancers, alignment is within specs as well.
About a week before I got the 17's Nissan put a new a/t in as the original failed at 20k miles. I'm wondering if they somehow didn't do something correctly

 

The reason is Wanli's. I have em too and there bad. Never again.

 

wanli's are the shieet. and by shieet i mean feaces. yeah they may look hot from the grip patterns and all colorful markings......but.....not good....take em off man.!!!

 

If you do want to change tires and are looking for something inexpensive and quieter, I recommend Nexxen. I have 18's I believe they are the 2000 or 3000 series. They are quiet, reliable, cheap, and I have not had a prblem with any vibration.

 

Anytim eyou upgrade your rims, asuuming the rims weight more, you will increase the side-load on the suspension. While you might not have bad wheel bearings, higher mileage bearings will shift more and cause vibration.

Also, the side load tends to "rattle" the steering, so also older tie rods (inner and outer) will flex more as you drive and cause a vibration. An alignment will not show this because the suspension is not being side-loaded, it is stationary on the rack.

Your noise is most likely from the tires. It may lessen after 2000 miles, but I have learned that loud tires or general tire noise doesnt go away, but does quiet down.

Also, if you suspect your Rims are to blame, you can always have the tires pulled and the rims checked to make sure they are not out of round from the factory--it does happen sometimes.

 

i have 245/40/17. could i go 255?

 

How wide is your wheel, and why go wider?