front suspension fixes and facts
03-22-11, 06:23 PM
#181
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03-22-11, 11:08 PM
#182
They did it with the weird hex adapter thing so yes lug centric.
Are you 100% sure they did lug centric balance? Are you using proper lugs?
I've suffered from the shakes in the past and they were all related to wheels only. With properly balanced wheels I was driving with no shakes even when my caster arms bushings were shot to the point where they were being held together by a miracle and my upper ball joints had tons of play.
I've suffered from the shakes in the past and they were all related to wheels only. With properly balanced wheels I was driving with no shakes even when my caster arms bushings were shot to the point where they were being held together by a miracle and my upper ball joints had tons of play.
03-23-11, 09:46 AM
#184
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Glad this thread is going strong with some good info .
One thing I have learned is that when ever you take a firm stand on something you will always have someone correct you whether true or not.
Alright , so we have some saying it is balancing of the wheels causing or having nothing to do with vibrations.
You can roadforce your wheels all day and it will still vibrate with the worn bushings .
Q. Why is that , how could that be ? It is the best possible balancer that will fix imbalances , right ?!
A. Here is why it can't fix the vibrations with just a balance .
When you have you wheels balanced it is only balanced on one axis , do they take into account your toe or camber degrees when they balanced it ?
Nope , they did not !
So what this means , is that in the real world when you get them balanced , once the wheels get on the car and driven the angles are changed it will not be in spec anymore to the balancer . How bad out of spec is dependent on the bushings in this case .
Remember the worn caster bushing changes the front wheels to positive toe and negative caster . If it didn't unbalance the wheel it would not be wearing the inside of the tires so heavily from scubbing .
Not every wheel is the same and has different balancing properties . This is especially apparent when cars are lowered from negative camber but toe will show its ugly head very strongly when an imbalance problem shows.
One thing i have seen when i was at technician college was a hunter balancer that was dynamic . Meaning it was applied to the cars wheels while still on the car . It would then balance the brakes the hubs and drive shafts. Truthfully that is the best possible balancer money can buy if they still make it anymore as that was a long time ago.
One thing I have learned is that when ever you take a firm stand on something you will always have someone correct you whether true or not.
Alright , so we have some saying it is balancing of the wheels causing or having nothing to do with vibrations.
You can roadforce your wheels all day and it will still vibrate with the worn bushings .
Q. Why is that , how could that be ? It is the best possible balancer that will fix imbalances , right ?!
A. Here is why it can't fix the vibrations with just a balance .
When you have you wheels balanced it is only balanced on one axis , do they take into account your toe or camber degrees when they balanced it ?
Nope , they did not !
So what this means , is that in the real world when you get them balanced , once the wheels get on the car and driven the angles are changed it will not be in spec anymore to the balancer . How bad out of spec is dependent on the bushings in this case .
Remember the worn caster bushing changes the front wheels to positive toe and negative caster . If it didn't unbalance the wheel it would not be wearing the inside of the tires so heavily from scubbing .
Not every wheel is the same and has different balancing properties . This is especially apparent when cars are lowered from negative camber but toe will show its ugly head very strongly when an imbalance problem shows.
One thing i have seen when i was at technician college was a hunter balancer that was dynamic . Meaning it was applied to the cars wheels while still on the car . It would then balance the brakes the hubs and drive shafts. Truthfully that is the best possible balancer money can buy if they still make it anymore as that was a long time ago.
03-23-11, 09:52 AM
#185
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One thing i have seen when i was at technician college was a hunter balancer that was dynamic . Meaning it was applied to the cars wheels while still on the car . It would then balance the brakes the hubs and drive shafts. Truthfully that is the best possible balancer money can buy if they still make it anymore as that was a long time ago.
And you are right about the bushings, you can align your car 10 times, but it doesn't matter if you have bad bushings. That's the problem I found my car has, just haven't gotten around to replacing them because I don't have any money right now.
03-23-11, 03:23 PM
#186
But the bottom line, the shaking must start somewhere and it starts at the wheels.
If the shaking is only present at certain speeds (usually ~60mph) it is most certainly the wheels.
If its at all speeds, it could be that the wheels are off center, bent, or could be that something else is very looses.
Bad bushings and other suspensions components that are loose will of course multiply the shaking and by the time it gets to the steering wheel, it will feel a lot worse.
I was fighting shakes for a long time in the past, and it turned out to be the wheels. On the other hand, I was driving with no shakes at all when both my UCA and caster bushings were completely shot.
If the shaking is only present at certain speeds (usually ~60mph) it is most certainly the wheels.
If its at all speeds, it could be that the wheels are off center, bent, or could be that something else is very looses.
Bad bushings and other suspensions components that are loose will of course multiply the shaking and by the time it gets to the steering wheel, it will feel a lot worse.
I was fighting shakes for a long time in the past, and it turned out to be the wheels. On the other hand, I was driving with no shakes at all when both my UCA and caster bushings were completely shot.
03-23-11, 06:26 PM
#187
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Check out your wheel bearings to see if any are loose. Do this by jacking your wheels off the ground and seeing if it has any movement when you push or pull it. You won't get the normal sounds of a bad wheel bearing, but it can also cause the vibrations you're describing.
03-25-11, 07:27 AM
#193
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You originally just said 3 brand new sets of wheels and tires. Then you said 2 of them were from Lexus. And I'm only trying to help you out here and give you possible causes of your problem, try to not go off about it. I understand it is frustrating because you have thrown all this money at the car, but being frustrated with people trying to help you isn't going to find the problem.
If it isn't the wheels, and it isn't the tires, and it isn't the bearings or a loose steering rack, then the next thing to look at are your wheel studs. Are any of them loose, as in where they go through the hub, not the lug nuts being loose. A loose wheel stud won't hold the wheel tight against the hub, and can cause a vibration, much like loose lug nuts would.
If it isn't the wheels, and it isn't the tires, and it isn't the bearings or a loose steering rack, then the next thing to look at are your wheel studs. Are any of them loose, as in where they go through the hub, not the lug nuts being loose. A loose wheel stud won't hold the wheel tight against the hub, and can cause a vibration, much like loose lug nuts would.
03-25-11, 10:14 AM
#194
Have you ever looked at a Lexus rim? If you flip it around it says toyota on it lol. Same crap. 1 set was an aftermarket Kaotic rim set ($450 a rim so not really cheap stuff) second set is OEM 16gs rims, third set is OEM 3GS rims. Whats not clear about that?
You originally just said 3 brand new sets of wheels and tires. Then you said 2 of them were from Lexus. And I'm only trying to help you out here and give you possible causes of your problem, try to not go off about it. I understand it is frustrating because you have thrown all this money at the car, but being frustrated with people trying to help you isn't going to find the problem.
If it isn't the wheels, and it isn't the tires, and it isn't the bearings or a loose steering rack, then the next thing to look at are your wheel studs. Are any of them loose, as in where they go through the hub, not the lug nuts being loose. A loose wheel stud won't hold the wheel tight against the hub, and can cause a vibration, much like loose lug nuts would.
If it isn't the wheels, and it isn't the tires, and it isn't the bearings or a loose steering rack, then the next thing to look at are your wheel studs. Are any of them loose, as in where they go through the hub, not the lug nuts being loose. A loose wheel stud won't hold the wheel tight against the hub, and can cause a vibration, much like loose lug nuts would.