wheel balance problems

Hi all,

Last week I bought a new set of winter tires and put them on a set of alloy wheels, which I use exclusively for winter. I noticed immediately that the steering wheel would shake at highway speed. FYI I don't think the 65mph shimmy is the main cause because I didn't have the problem with my summer tires/wheels. In addition I had a similar problem last winter, and it was "solved" by balancing the wheels. Last year my mechanic already told me that he had trouble balancing the wheels. This time he wasn't able to balance the front set so he balanced the rear set and moved them to the front. Not surprisingly now I'm still feeling the shake, but through the seats instead of the steering wheel.

What are my options? Should I conclude that my winter wheels are no longer usable and must be thrown away?

Thanks. Victor

2000 Blue
Reply to
Victor
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That *is* the 65-mph shimmy. Imbalanced wheels excite a chassis resonance at 60-65 mph, plus a bit on either side depending on how badly they're out of balance. Note that that's an actual 60-65, and on a Miata the indicated speed may be up to 5 mph higher. You cannot eliminate the car's tendency to react to imbalances, but you can have the wheels balanced more carefully.

Try a different tire shop, one with a Hunter GSP9700 balancer. Try this page:

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If one or more of the tires is really not capable of being balanced, the machine will find out.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

Practically every every service place within 10 miles of me seems to have one EXCEPT the Miata dealership. :-(

Reply to
Frank Berger

For the record I had this done with my '04 and it made a huge difference.

Reply to
Carbon

Lanny Chambers wrote in news:lanny- snipped-for-privacy@newsclstr02.news.prodigy.com:

I see Firestone is the closest non-dealer.. would you trust them to do the job? I try to avoid them almost as much as I avoid Dobbs.

-Scott

Reply to
Scott Hughes

HI, Scott. It's the individual technician that makes the difference. I got a great job at a good price from AutoTire in Sunset Hills, (314)

843-4313. They mounted and balanced the Toyos I bought from onlinetires.com. They even accept appointments.
Reply to
Lanny Chambers

Thanks for all the help.

I sent an email to the local rep (I'm from Canada so that search site doesn't work for me) to locate a garage. In the mean time, if somebody can recommend a garage in the Toronto area, that'd be great.

Thanks! Victor

2000 Blue
Reply to
Victor

Because of the Ford Explorer debacle? That's a bad reason to avoid Firestone, IMHO.

Reply to
tooloud

"tooloud" wrote in news:lbH7h.150968$aJ.122606 @attbi_s21:

Um, no. I'm didn't say I avoided Firestone tires.. the discussion was about service shops. I avoid having my car(s) serviced at Firestone because I don't trust the quality of service.

-Scott

Reply to
Scott Hughes

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