Tires Balanced but still shakes, & shimmys - Road Force Balancing?

GREYLEGEND · 05-27-03, 06:56 PM

OK, I've been thru this before but I am learning more now.

Did you buy new tires or got them balanced and went out and then they started to shimmy at 60+ mph? Did you take it back to get it balanced and it was still the same again? Did you give up and say, Sheesh it's an old car.

When I first got my Legend in 92, I got new tires for it and went thru Pirellis and BF Goodrich before I went back to the OEM Michelin MXV4s. The Pirellis were only good for 3 mos then they started to shake, went thru two sets of those actually, then I went to BFG Comp TA/HR4s, good for 6 months, frustrated the shop manager recommended I pay some more and go back to the Michelin MXV4s - made in Japan BTW. Totally different car - went to 75-80 mph like nothing - smooth as glass.

So I leave my sis with my car to use while I am away for a couple years. She has to replace a couple tires and goes back for the MXV4+. Those are mounted on the rear cause the shop says Michelin says so. OK, so I get back and decide the tires have to be rotated now. The steering is shaking again - like a bad dream.
I go back to the shop, they say one tire is defective and I pay to get it fixed, they said it was worn 1/32" but I doubt it since it was always on the back.
Go back out to drive and still shakin at 60+mph.

I started to checking around and have been told that I need to get it "Road Force Balanced" because the tire is slightly imperfect and it "thumps" when it rolls. Some cars are more sensitive to this. Standard balance machines cannot detect this.

I wanna know if in fact Legends are more sensitive to balance and tires and maybe a few of you actually still have this problem.

Did any of you get your wheels and tires road forced balanced and did it solve the shakes?

LBA · 05-27-03, 11:39 PM

Legends are more sensitive to balance than average, but from the extreme amount of times you have experienced this problem I would seriously look at, in order:
- The rims: are they bent/out of round?
- The suspension: are the shocks or springs f**dup?
- Alignment (related to above): Is it wandering out of alignment, causing premature tire failure?
- The cv joints, inner: are the axles causing some of the vibration
- The brakes: they got the shakes? Caliper problem?

Good luck.

GREYLEGEND · 05-27-03, 11:57 PM

I thought about this before

Rims - if they were bad then the previous set of Michelins would have been shaking too. No? They were not; plus the shop wanted to blame the wheels first too.

New struts all around last year.

Alignment checked at time of struts. Car runs real true. no wander at all.

Axles - if they were axles then vibration levels would vary between on throttle and off throttle. When at high speed and you put car in neutral, shake is still there. No signs of grease leakage at boots.

Brakes, I just did them and checked. Replaced one caliper that was seizing a bit. I thought that was the problem at first.

I just think that maybe I'm a bit anal about smoothness or Michelins made in Japan were of higher uniformity. Personally this is my hunch. New ones are made in USA.

To think of it, I have had other cars in the last few years (91 Accord, 97 Bonneville, 2000 Maxima ) only the Maxima was as smooth as the Legend with regards to wheel balance. legend is a much better cruiser though not as quick.

I am told that road force balance is done at the factory for luxury cars because that is the only way to get a smooth ride and drive.

LBA · 05-28-03, 01:56 AM

Since you've gone down most of the list already, the only thing I can say is double check the rims - it may be that some are out of round and tires are forming wobbles and shakes to them after a while. Also, as a last resort, the wheel bearings/hubs? Is the problem an engine or trans mount (not likely as it is not just intermittent but gets worse with tire wear). While it is not totally unusual for there to be manufacturing defects in some tires, it just doesn't seem like the frequency with which you have been experiencing the problem matches that chance.

Otherwise, it seems everything I can think of has been covered. Best, L.

johnny3 · 05-28-03, 07:54 AM

I ran into that once & it was the inner CV joint. Find a friend with an Accord or Legend that runs smooth, put his fronts on yours & try it. Usually when a car is hard to balance it's the shocks (front), but sounds like you covered that base.

05-27-03, 06:56 PM	#1 (permalink)
GREYLEGEND InksBeMe Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: TORONTO, CANADA Posts: 2,043 Car 1: 89 Sedan L, 270,000 km iTrader: (0)	Tires Balanced but still shakes, & shimmys - Road Force Balancing? OK, I've been thru this before but I am learning more now. Did you buy new tires or got them balanced and went out and then they started to shimmy at 60+ mph? Did you take it back to get it balanced and it was still the same again? Did you give up and say, Sheesh it's an old car. When I first got my Legend in 92, I got new tires for it and went thru Pirellis and BF Goodrich before I went back to the OEM Michelin MXV4s. The Pirellis were only good for 3 mos then they started to shake, went thru two sets of those actually, then I went to BFG Comp TA/HR4s, good for 6 months, frustrated the shop manager recommended I pay some more and go back to the Michelin MXV4s - made in Japan BTW. Totally different car - went to 75-80 mph like nothing - smooth as glass. So I leave my sis with my car to use while I am away for a couple years. She has to replace a couple tires and goes back for the MXV4+. Those are mounted on the rear cause the shop says Michelin says so. OK, so I get back and decide the tires have to be rotated now. The steering is shaking again - like a bad dream. I go back to the shop, they say one tire is defective and I pay to get it fixed, they said it was worn 1/32" but I doubt it since it was always on the back. Go back out to drive and still shakin at 60+mph. I started to checking around and have been told that I need to get it "Road Force Balanced" because the tire is slightly imperfect and it "thumps" when it rolls. Some cars are more sensitive to this. Standard balance machines cannot detect this. I wanna know if in fact Legends are more sensitive to balance and tires and maybe a few of you actually still have this problem. Did any of you get your wheels and tires road forced balanced and did it solve the shakes?

05-28-03, 07:54 AM	#5 (permalink)
johnny3 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 233 Car 1: 95 SE, 89 Coupe, Lexus 430 Conv. iTrader: (0)	I ran into that once & it was the inner CV joint. Find a friend with an Accord or Legend that runs smooth, put his fronts on yours & try it. Usually when a car is hard to balance it's the shocks (front), but sounds like you covered that base. __________________ White 89 Coupe & White/Silver 95 SE

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05-27-03, 11:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
LBA Remember Join Date: May 2002 Location: WDC Posts: 153 Car 1: 1987 2.5 5-speed sedan iTrader: (0)	Legends are more sensitive to balance than average, but from the extreme amount of times you have experienced this problem I would seriously look at, in order: - The rims: are they bent/out of round? - The suspension: are the shocks or springs f**dup? - Alignment (related to above): Is it wandering out of alignment, causing premature tire failure? - The cv joints, inner: are the axles causing some of the vibration - The brakes: they got the shakes? Caliper problem? Good luck.

05-27-03, 11:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
GREYLEGEND InksBeMe Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: TORONTO, CANADA Posts: 2,043 Car 1: 89 Sedan L, 270,000 km iTrader: (0)	I thought about this before Rims - if they were bad then the previous set of Michelins would have been shaking too. No? They were not; plus the shop wanted to blame the wheels first too. New struts all around last year. Alignment checked at time of struts. Car runs real true. no wander at all. Axles - if they were axles then vibration levels would vary between on throttle and off throttle. When at high speed and you put car in neutral, shake is still there. No signs of grease leakage at boots. Brakes, I just did them and checked. Replaced one caliper that was seizing a bit. I thought that was the problem at first. I just think that maybe I'm a bit anal about smoothness or Michelins made in Japan were of higher uniformity. Personally this is my hunch. New ones are made in USA. To think of it, I have had other cars in the last few years (91 Accord, 97 Bonneville, 2000 Maxima ) only the Maxima was as smooth as the Legend with regards to wheel balance. legend is a much better cruiser though not as quick. I am told that road force balance is done at the factory for luxury cars because that is the only way to get a smooth ride and drive.

05-28-03, 01:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
LBA Remember Join Date: May 2002 Location: WDC Posts: 153 Car 1: 1987 2.5 5-speed sedan iTrader: (0)	Since you've gone down most of the list already, the only thing I can say is double check the rims - it may be that some are out of round and tires are forming wobbles and shakes to them after a while. Also, as a last resort, the wheel bearings/hubs? Is the problem an engine or trans mount (not likely as it is not just intermittent but gets worse with tire wear). While it is not totally unusual for there to be manufacturing defects in some tires, it just doesn't seem like the frequency with which you have been experiencing the problem matches that chance. Otherwise, it seems everything I can think of has been covered. Best, L.

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