just recently my car started vibrating at around highway speeds, my radar would be shaking like crazy and i can feel it noticeably through the steering wheel, i have 18s on and i'm wondering if just a balance will do it. also when i brake sometimes it shakes too, are my rotors warped or is it because of the tires...any help is appreciated..thanks

 

Could be a number of problems. Start cheap and work up
Balance (and rotate)
Resurface rotors
Alignment
Suspension (dead strut?)

Check that all bolts/nuts are secure too.

It really could be anything...

Jae

 

oh, and maybe wheel bearing, if you've got tons of miles.

Jae

 

Sounds like a typical wheel balancing problem or bad tires. Try getting your wheels balanced and let us know.

 

my car shakes EXTREMLY bad when i brake, specially at 45+, horrible horrible shaking. last time rotors were resurfaced was about 15k miles ago. what u guys think my problem is?

sorry to steal ur thread but its kinda on the same topic

 

Your rotors are probably warped. Try getting them resurfaced

 

yes i talked to a mechanic today and he suggested the same thing, get a balance first..then rotor resurfacing...then work from there....sorry i forgot to mention it but the right front tire has about 3-4 weights missing which is my guess as to the shaking...damn cheap adhesive they used..not just one but like 4?!?! well i'll be getting a balance done this weekend and i will report back.

thanks for the input btw =)

 

Just curious:
Are you weights placed in the middle of the rim? Or 1 set towards the outside and another set towards the inside?
If you can, clean off the rim where u think the weights will go. Make sure there's no grease or dirt. That might help the sticky weights stay on better.
Jae

 

As I mentioned in another thread, I have a very similar problem to your's at the moment (2K2 SE, 43K mi., Kumho 712s on all 4 wh. 17"rims). It seemed to be worse when breaking so I replaced break pads on all 4 wheels last weekend (one rotor also). I found one break pad with many small fractures - though heat fused together. That break's rotor also had a squirrely wear pattern (too narrow) but wasn't gouged up. Afterwards, the brakes feel better, but it didn't cure the vibration problem - which it wouldn't as the vibe is present while not breaking.

I rotated the tires last week also, and just today noticed a bubble on the LR tire. Before I rotated it was FR position and low on pressure (24 psi). Pressure still good today (32 psi) but vibe still present. Hard to tell if my vibe shifted with the tire rotation - I think it did but it's subtle. I'm off to buy 2 new tires today or next week, thinking of a good winter performance tire. We'll see if that solves the problem.

You could have 2 issues (but not likely, especially on a newer vehicle). Assuming you don't have a siezed brake caliper or really warped rotor, the vibe when not braking is unrelated to brakes. You can easily look at the rotors and generally see if anything is seriously wrong. The vibe while braking COULD be brakes, but could also be some sort of amplification of the other vibration source while you are braking. Hard to tell. My vibration is not linear (that is not the same at all speeds and doesn't worsen with higher speeds, and is sometimes worse when braking). It's also worse when tire is cold (particularly in winter, I first noticed mine on a 0 degree morning this past January). You could do a rough check of your wheel bearings and tie rods, (I did on mine), but doubtful that this is a problem. You never know though. I suspect your vibe could be a wheel bearing or tire, particularly if your steering and suspension are otherwise tight. As someone else mentioned it could be a dead strut. I agree with the advice of starting cheap and working your way to more expensive solutions. Make sure all lug nuts are tight is a starter.

Or you could bring it into a dealership and probably get fleeced.

I'll let you know how my tire change works. I'm leery of only changing 2 tires with a new type tire, but I'm not up for spending $400 on tires this week. And since I'm moving to a real snow belt soon, summer performance radials are idiotic.

 

Haven't seen wheel weights placed in the middle

 

just got my wheels balanced...cost about 30 bucks per tire with lifetime warranty on them...weights are placed on the outer part right behind the spokes...and i must say i felt an immediate difference pulling out of the lot...i only got her up to about 60mph and no vibrations whatsoever...i'll be going up to the NE meet this sat. so i'll let you know if higher speeds show any signs of vibrations...however the vibrations are still there when braking at high speeds..i'll have to talk to my mechanic and have him resurface the rotors...if it still persists after that then i'll have him look at all the bearings and suspension bushings...if the rotors seem to be the culprit then i guess its time for some new rotors i'm thinkin maybe slotted? hehe