2008 Kia Optima - Steering Wheel Vibration at speeds over 50mph since

_______________________ THAT's what I'm talkng about JB! Maybe I'm just not speaking English here. >smh!<

Of course what I'm talking about is normal - on the crowned roads. Perhaps I should be using the word "drift" instead of pull here? I don't really see much difference between them though. A drift is just a lite version of pull, right?

-CC

Reply to
ChrisCoaster
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i asked you whether it "drifts", "pulls" or "whatever" on an uncrowned road. maybe /i/ don't understand english because i still can't see that you responded to that.

Reply to
jim beam

___________________ Can you prove that? I just stated above that all it takes is for left to right caster and or camber to be different by 1/4 degree and the car will start to drift to whatever side you want it to. Also, I did state that every car I drove after that '81 Buick drifted or pulled(as in the case of the '05 malibu) to the left. If I have to exert the steering wheel to the right constantly, then the car must be "trending" toward the left.

As far as "pull" or "drift" are concerned, my present 2008 Kia DRIFTs ever so slowly to the right when I let go of the steering wheel. IOW, it performs as I expect any car driven in the United States to.

-CC

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

_________________ If you are viewing this via Google Newsgroups then you are probably waiting an eternity for my replies as I am for yours. :D

-CC

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

no, only cars with defective alignments, defective tires, high side winds or those being driven on extreme cambers drift. all correctly aligned vehicles with good tires, without environmental influence, drive in a dead straight line.

if you were told otherwise, it's because you're the kind of person the average shop has no time for and they just want to get rid of you.

Reply to
jim beam

no chris, what you're experiencing is perfectly normal for people like you. now see my other reply and get out of my shop.

Reply to
jim beam

____________________ Nobody told me anything. It's my own experience that guides me. Empirical observation - if that still counts for something. Unfortunately the only "environmental" factor you can neither eliminate nor ignore is the road surface itself. And vehicle mfgs are compensating - slightly - for road crown, and failing miserably at it. I don't believe that every new car I've driven is defective, or it's tires, or setup, etc.

Another factor we both missed out on here is transport. New vehicles are usually strapped to at least one transporter between the factory and the ship(if overseas) and between the delivery point to the dealer where the customer takes possession. I've heard horror stories of cars being strapped down so tight to the truck bed that the tie rod ends are potentially bent and the camber f__ked.

I'm a schooled man, JB, self-schooled in common sense. And as far as for my own compensating for road crown, I'm not talking a whole lot here, just about 1/2" to 1" to the left, depending on what street it is. If I'm holding the wheel so the logo on it is tilted 45 or 90 degrees then maybe that car should be on a rack instead of on the road. That's not my case. Does that clear things up a little?

-CC

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

manufacturers do not "compensate" for road crown. their cars get shipped all over the country, including states with freeways and flat roads. and because it's retarded.

yes, some vehicles can be damaged in transport, or the dealer's lot by kiddies hot-rodding. but that only explains a few.

however, after dags, it does appear that some dealers re-align cars as part of "dealer prep". indeed, looking back on it, i've experienced this back on some new cars i've test driven. i didn't realize it at the time - i just thought they'd been damaged in transport. all i can tell you is that this must be some kind of practice left over from the days of bias ply tires, solid axles and pre-dating freeways - they should NOT be doing it. unless you have race mods, alignment should be set at or close to factory, and in the straight-ahead position.

i suggest you take the vehicle to a shop that has a good quality modern alignment rig and tell them you want the vehicle set without this "feature". i forget the names, but i think hunter make machines that are pretty much impossible for technicians to screw up. if you go to a big chain like sears, i think you have the twin advantages of both the modern machine and a fear of lawsuits so they won't set to anything other than factory unless you instruct them otherwise and sign a waiver.

Reply to
jim beam

__________________________ I have told you in a thousand ways the vehicle drives fine but you still seem to think something's wrong with it. I can live with a right rear that's a 1/2degree outside the spec window for negative camber. Most BMWs I'm followng down the street look to have at least

-2 to -3deg negative camber in their rear ends, so I'm not too worried about it. If you want to keep your head in the sand about factory compensation for road crown, who am I to stop you? At least you're comfortable in there. :) You still haven't provided proof that they don't, and I've provided proof that they at least *might*, based on what I've driven and how I have to steer to compensate.

If I want to someday I will spend another $1000-1500 diagnosing and repairing that right rear, but so far it's had no negative impact on the Kia's handling.

Hoping your news is good news,

-CC

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

you said it handles like a buick - if that's not a problem, you've lost me.

factory doesn't "compensate". "compensation" seems to be some weird aftermarket anachronism from rural communities where they don't have freeways.

look up some factory alignment specs. i've already said you can get this from shop manuals or alldata.

if a car that pulls to one side of its own accord is "no negative impact", then we're wasting each others time.

Reply to
jim beam

________________________ Maybe I should study a foreign language so you'll understand me better. I'll spell it out for you: The Kia and the Buick both exhibit a PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTIC on roads with camber: They drift SLOWLY to the right and a small amount of counter steer must be applied to keep them going straight. That does not describe how EITHER of them handle. Next time I'll write this in Hungarian! _________________________

____________________________ I've read plenty of alignment specs. You obviously don't know what the meaning of RANGE is. There can be up to 1/2 degree variance on alignment specs. 4.5>5.5 degrees positive caster, for example. All the mfg has to do is set the left to 4.8 and the right to 5.2 positive, and there's your compensation. You won't see THAT in the specs - you have to rack up the car to get its exact settings. And "compensate" is not some weird word farmers use; you need to get a clue. ___________________________

__________________ You obiously can't read. I said that it drifts - slightly - to the right on roads with varying degrees of crown. In a parking lot it goes straight! __________________

Heaven help us . . .

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

___________________ I never disagreed that some drift was normal on a cambered road - in fact, I found myself trying fruitlessly to convince YOU of that, and that I was GLAD that's all my Kia is exhibiting now. >smh repeatedly<

And I never said any attempt "should" be made, by the orig. mfg or a shop, to compensate for crown. I just suggested that it might be going on, and might explain the reason for the definite PULL my '03 Impala and '05 Malibu exhibited right out of the dealership.

You and I are definitely speaking different Englishes on here. LMAO. Un... real..

-CC

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

______________________________

**Was out on highway yesterday - Vibration still present, but less than before last week's work**

Steering knuckle, tie-rod end, bearing and bushings all replaced at Front Left corner and alignment performed. Steering and tracking are as I expect. But still this vibration!

What's next to check? Tire is not the same tire that was at that corner since it was replaced after early 2010 curb incident I mentioned, and front-to-backs rotation performed.

-ChrisCoaster

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

Are you positive the wheel is not bent? Maybe replace it with the small spare long enough to try.

Reply to
Paul in Houston TX

______________ Rime was shot - replaced 2010 after curb hit.

Here's the funny thing though - I noticed high-speed vibration only / after/ last December's alignment. Car rolled much better after that alignment, but it must have exposed a flaw somewhere. As I said, the repairs to correct the bent spindle straightened out the steering wheel and eliminated any pull, but the vibration is still there - only less than before last weeks work.

-CC

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

Jack up LF of vehicle. Chock RR tire both front and back put jack stand under LF frame apply emergency brake now...

without getting under vehicle in any way:

grab LF tire and on horizontal plane, try to push/pull it. Any play in wheel?

grab LF tire on top and bottom, try to push/pull it. Any play in wheel?

There should be NO play at all in either horizontal or vertical direction. If there is, take back to shop where they "repaired" vehicle the first time and tell them to Finish the Job.

Possible source of problem is beyond me as I am not familiar with your particular vehicle. What is wrong? I don't know. could be a number of things.

Lg

Reply to
Nicholas

Did they also replace the half shaft on that side? If the spindle was bent even slightly it could have damaged the outboard bearing enough to cause problems. I would also double check the rim. If the hit was enough to bend the spindle it would have bent the rim as well.

Reply to
Steve W.

_________________ Steve, Steve, you've gotta go back and READ up everything about this issue. After the curb impact of early 2010 the rim and tire were both REPLACED. Since then the car has had two alignments, separated by replacement of a lot of parts including the ones you mentioned.

-CC

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

I had a car that had new Goodrich tires on it. The car vibrated. Three of the four tires had something wrong with them. Nothing visible. I had Goodrich replace them. Then, the two back ones that they replaced vibrated. They were not made right I guess. They then replaced them and everyone was happy. No vibration. They must have been bad tires from a bad mfg series.

Reply to
Paul in Houston TX

One tire and rim was replaced. Was that the only one damaged? Who did the tire balancing? Have you had the tires (all four of them hopefully) rebalanced since then?

Driving with the alignment problem may well have screwed one or more of the tires up. You don't know until you have it spun up on the balancer.

If the alignment shop is any good, they should have checked things pretty thoroughly after finding the alignment was that far off, but maybe they didn't.

If you swap tires front to back does the problem change? If so, that's a sign it's in the tires.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

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