rjk

I brought my 4GS to the dealer today to diagnose a front end vibration at highway speeds. They told me that the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires that I had on the car were known to cause vibration complaints, and that they should be avoided. Has anyone heard this before? How is it possible? I was told that they get worse as they wear, and mine just happened to be worn right down.

They also found that the front driver wheel was missing its stick-on weights, and it required 40 grams to bring it back into balance. I usually get my tire work done at Discount Tire, but the issue of stick-on weights falling off has been happening a few times too often for me. Does anyone know if different retailers use different weights that stay on better?

Last question: There are 2 options for sizes, 225/50R17 (which I have a set of for my winter tires), and 235/45R18 (which is what I have for my summer tires). The 17s make the car ride too low and scrape everywhere - has anyone ever tried using 225/55R17 tires to fix this issue?

bclexus

I've never had a stick-on wheel weight come off. Considering that the weight is put on the wheel where centripetal force helps keep it in-place I think losing a weight would be extremely rare.

gflexus

I've had the PS4's on my '16 GS F sport for a year now and they are great...staggered set up. They are considered the best high performance street tire.....I don't know why they told you they are know to vibrate??? If you were missing a balance weight or worn out, of course, that is why you had vibration. Read the tire reviews, PS4's are the best.

rjk

I thought it was kind of weird when the service writer was saying that specifically the Pilot series of Michelin tires were an issue. In any case, it was in the last 10k miles that I started noticing the vibration.

I read somewhere else that having more than 1.5 oz of wheel weights could cause issues if exceeding 100 MPH. Since they told me that they needed 40 grams (2 oz), I'm thinking I should just get some new wheels that would be better balanced from the factory. I do go above 100 reasonably often, so that might be the reason I keep losing wheel weights.

I've been looking at some Konig Hypergram or Ampliform wheels, they seem decently priced compared to OEM. 18x8.5 with 45 offset should be close enough to OEM I think, and then I could use a 245/45R18 tire.

drgrant

Does Ohio have potholes? If you hit any "at speed" one or more of your wheels are probably bent. Been there done that, got the $2000 t-shirt.

-Mike

rjk

Of course, but I should have mentioned that I already had the wheels checked out by a custom wheel shop, and they didn't find that any were bent. Unfortunately, the salt here causes my chrome 18s to corrode, so I need to replace them anyways because they keep leaking from the bead.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

Complete and utter BS. Find a new dealer

Lou

nitroracer

B.S., indeed.

Most dealers will avoid the 4S like the plague because it exposes other issues that can lead to NVH, as they are hypersensitive to such things. They prefer to sell you on the squishy all-season to mask the underlying issues.

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

NO this is B.S. I bought a set of those Tires before driving 3,000 miles across country 2 years ago, they now have 35 K miles on them & ride fine & quiet. I always buy Michelin's since i sold them in 1986 & never had any issues.

Savjam

I have used Michelin Pilot Sports for years on my BMW and my IS350. Best tires I have ever used. Never experienced any vibration issues on either car. Waiting for the OEMs to wear out so I can put them on my GS.

NickDangr

The original post was a year ago. I'm curious about what happened since then.

websurfer

yeah, also curious on any updates.