Aftermarket tire/wheel issue

[Thimetolive]

Hi guys I'm hoping you can provide some insight on a problem I have been having since I installed my aftermarket wheels and tires.

I installed 20" KMC Addicts wrapped in Nitto Terra Grappler 285/50/20 on my 2012 SR5. I am very happy with the look and performance but I have a slight to severe shake in the steering wheel and seats. I have tried everything I can think of...rotated tires, regular balance, hunter force road balance (they were also shipped to me road force balanced but I had them redone as well). Nothing helps. It typically starts out as a severe shake when I start out then decreases to an annoying shimmy after about 10 miles or so.

After every balance I have had the tech said he had no problems getting them balanced. Do I have a bad tire(s)? Wheels? Is this a known issue with the Terra Grapplers? I'm at a loss. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[momo.75]

I wonder if the wheels might be warped. I am not sure if that would show up during balancing or not.

 

[Okki]

Conical or hub centric wheel?
Second opinion from a different tire shop?

The basic description suggests a balancing issue. Does it happen at all speeds? or only within one (or two) speed ranges? Usually balancing issues start showing up at around 50mph.

Any other factors? Are you running spacers? Proper inflation on all tires?

Okki

 

[eddiebx]

Hi guys I'm hoping you can provide some insight on a problem I have been having since I installed my aftermarket wheels and tires.

I installed 20" KMC Addicts wrapped in Nitto Terra Grappler 285/50/20 on my 2012 SR5. I am very happy with the look and performance but I have a slight to severe shake in the steering wheel and seats. I have tried everything I can think of...rotated tires, regular balance, hunter force road balance (they were also shipped to me road force balanced but I had them redone as well). Nothing helps. It typically starts out as a severe shake when I start out then decreases to an annoying shimmy after about 10 miles or so.

After every balance I have had the tech said he had no problems getting them balanced. Do I have a bad tire(s)? Wheels? Is this a known issue with the Terra Grapplers? I'm at a loss. Thanks for any suggestions.

This almost makes it sound like for some odd reason the tire has flat spots and kind of smooths out after it warms up? Out of curiosity, does it only do this violent shaking first thing in the morning? And does it feel less severe if say you parked it only for 30 mins and started driving it again right away?

Another suggestion, which might cost you some $$ is, you could possibly try another tire shop for balancing. Not saying that your tech is bad, but maybe it just might be out of their capabilities, so a fresh pair of eyes certainly would not hurt when tracking down pesky vibrations.

 

[LandCruiser]

It's rare, but some tires are warped from the factory... or they're stored improperly and they warp then. There are many names for it, but the local redneck tire shops call it radial warp. You can try to balance it out, but if you see half of a pound of weights on your wheels, that's probably the culprit.

You may need to demand new tires, I've had this happen sporadically having owned several trucks and SUVs over my life.

The real evidence of this happening is a shudder at certain speeds only, or gets worse at higher speed.

I've yet to warp a wheel so bad it does that.

 

[PopsSmith]

I am thinking that the wheels aren't mounting right due to hub centric/conical issue. Just for a piece of mind, make sure there isn't any play between the wheel and the hub after torquing them down. If their is, it might be something as simple as lug nuts. Just my two cents.

 

[Thimetolive]

Thanks for the input guys.

I am not sure what conical wheels are but after some searching it looks like they are lug centric wheels.

I have had 2 different tire shops do a balance on all 4 wheels. I do not have any spacers or suspension modification. The truck is completely stock other than the tires and wheels.

The vibration starts at 50mph and reduces to a light shake at about 65mph. It is worse in the morning and it does seem like it gets flat spots after sitting for a while. However, it never completely goes away no matter how far I drive.

I have also noticed a slight burning rubber smell from the rear but I assumed this is from the new tires. This also wouldn't explain the shake in the steering wheel.

 

[adam2562]

Thanks for the input guys.

I am not sure what conical wheels are but after some searching it looks like they are lug centric wheels.

I have had 2 different tire shops do a balance on all 4 wheels. I do not have any spacers or suspension modification. The truck is completely stock other than the tires and wheels.

The vibration starts at 50mph and reduces to a light shake at about 65mph. It is worse in the morning and it does seem like it gets flat spots after sitting for a while. However, it never completely goes away no matter how far I drive.

I have also noticed a slight burning rubber smell from the rear but I assumed this is from the new tires. This also wouldn't explain the shake in the steering wheel.

there shouldn't be any burning smell of any kind.. sounds like something is rubbing back there. doubt that will solve your balance issue but it's a start

 

[Canazes9]

There definitely should not be any burning smell! Carefully inspect tires, suspension, vehicle - look for rubbing.

Take the truck back to where it was balanced, explain that you still have vibration issues that seem like balance. Politely request a technician to drive your vehicle, ride with him and get up to bring it up to the correct speed.

Suggest they place the vehicle on a rack and engage the drive train at idle speeds - if a tire is warped/out of round it is pretty easy to see.

David

 

[mapdash]

Hi guys I'm hoping you can provide some insight on a problem I have been having since I installed my aftermarket wheels and tires.

I installed 20" KMC Addicts wrapped in Nitto Terra Grappler 285/50/20 on my 2012 SR5. I am very happy with the look and performance but I have a slight to severe shake in the steering wheel and seats. I have tried everything I can think of...rotated tires, regular balance, hunter force road balance (they were also shipped to me road force balanced but I had them redone as well). Nothing helps. It typically starts out as a severe shake when I start out then decreases to an annoying shimmy after about 10 miles or so.

After every balance I have had the tech said he had no problems getting them balanced. Do I have a bad tire(s)? Wheels? Is this a known issue with the Terra Grapplers? I'm at a loss. Thanks for any suggestions.

I have the same wheels with different tires in the same size.

I had a steering wheel shake that was felt through the seats at highway speeds. It was a balancing issue that was minimized but not resolved by a hub centric balance done by the toyota dealer with the proper adapter for our hub.

The tires now have about 15k on them and it has almost gone away completely or i my ass has just become numb to it.

PS- one wheel/tire was very off and putting that one in the rear helped greatly.

Oh and check out that burning rubber smell....that not right. You will need to do fender mod with that size tire.

 

[JustinFro]

If you are running 285s on a stock suspension, you are probably rubbing somewhere. 275 has been the general consensus on the widest tire you can run stock.

 

[Thimetolive]

I have the same wheels with different tires in the same size.

I had a steering wheel shake that was felt through the seats at highway speeds. It was a balancing issue that was minimized but not resolved by a hub centric balance done by the toyota dealer with the proper adapter for our hub.

The tires now have about 15k on them and it has almost gone away completely or i my ass has just become numb to it.

PS- one wheel/tire was very off and putting that one in the rear helped greatly.

Oh and check out that burning rubber smell....that not right. You will need to do fender mod with that size tire.

Interesting. I've never heard of a hub centric balance. Can any Toyota dealership do this? Also, where did you get your adapter for our hub?

Thanks!

 

[eddiebx]

Interesting. I've never heard of a hub centric balance. Can any Toyota dealership do this? Also, where did you get your adapter for our hub?

Thanks!

You don't need to personally pick up the hub adapter, just ask the tire guy before balancing if they have the proper adapter for their balancing machine to mate with your wheel. I am assuming most Toyota dealers should be balancing it this way, but I've never gone to a dealership to have this done since I have access to a great small independent shop nearby.

 

[Qjake]

Do you still have the oem wheels and tires? Put them back on and see if the problem persists.

All of the common aftermarket wheels including your KMC's are lug centric. Be sure that you have the correct lug nuts which are conical seat or more commonly refered to as acorn lug nuts. If you have used your oem lug nuts on your aftermarket wheels then this is most certainly your problem as they will not center the wheel on the hub

 

[Thimetolive]

Oh I see what you are saying eddiebx. I would hope that at least one of the shops that balanced them was smart enough to know it needed a hub centric balance...but maybe not.

Qjake, I used the lug nuts that were sent with the wheels. I'm pretty sure they are conical but I will pull one off to be sure. I have wheel locks as well, which may be flat.

 

[mapdash]

Oh I see what you are saying eddiebx. I would hope that at least one of the shops that balanced them was smart enough to know it needed a hub centric balance...but maybe not.

Qjake, I used the lug nuts that were sent with the wheels. I'm pretty sure they are conical but I will pull one off to be sure. I have wheel locks as well, which may be flat.

Dont assume that any of those places had the proper hub adapter. I called around and finally ended up going to a toyota dealer with a road force WITH the right equipment.

It still didnt completely resolve the issue but it was the best so far and they pin pointed the bad wheel/tire with the road force.

 

[Thimetolive]

So after talking to my local Toyota dealership, I don't feel like I am any closer to an answer. They didn't understand what I meant by a hub-centric balance. They couldn't tell me if they bolt the wheels to the balancer or use a cone system. But they did say "We have balanced 22's before so I'm sure we can do yours" :suspicious:

After more research, wouldn't hub centric rings take care of the problem? It would eliminate the gap and force the wheel to be centered.

Thoughts?

 

[mfregeau20]

So after talking to my local Toyota dealership, I don't feel like I am any closer to an answer. They didn't understand what I meant by a hub-centric balance. They couldn't tell me if they bolt the wheels to the balancer or use a cone system. But they did say "We have balanced 22's before so I'm sure we can do yours" :suspicious:

After more research, wouldn't hub centric rings take care of the problem? It would eliminate the gap and force the wheel to be centered.

Thoughts?

I had 18's put on my 13 and they were bought through the dealer which they did not check so I had to go down the America's Tire and have them re-balanced and hub centric rings put in. Fixed my vibration issue. I had been getting vibration in my steering wheel at about 45-50 and up.

Problem solved no thanks to the dealer or the shop they had put on the wheels, never again will I by wheels through the dealer HA my bad.

Still trying to get the dealer to cover my costs, though starting to feel like it is a lost cause at this point. :flipoff:

 

[mapdash]

So after talking to my local Toyota dealership, I don't feel like I am any closer to an answer. They didn't understand what I meant by a hub-centric balance. They couldn't tell me if they bolt the wheels to the balancer or use a cone system. But they did say "We have balanced 22's before so I'm sure we can do yours" :suspicious:

After more research, wouldn't hub centric rings take care of the problem? It would eliminate the gap and force the wheel to be centered.

Thoughts?

I dont know if you have more than one dealer to call but i did when i was dealing with this.

I finally spoke to a dealer and a tech that knew what they were talking about. Most do not.

I remember i even went on the road force balancer site and had the name of the adaptor needed and was asking the dealers if they had the adaptor by name. Finally found one who knew exactly what i was talking about and that was where i ended up going.

Good luck. Finding competent dealers is a challenge.

 

[mapdash]

So after talking to my local Toyota dealership, I don't feel like I am any closer to an answer. They didn't understand what I meant by a hub-centric balance. They couldn't tell me if they bolt the wheels to the balancer or use a cone system. But they did say "We have balanced 22's before so I'm sure we can do yours" :suspicious:

After more research, wouldn't hub centric rings take care of the problem? It would eliminate the gap and force the wheel to be centered.

Thoughts?

Oh and in regards to hub rings. I remember thinking rings was the solution and then when i was looking for a ring there was NO ring that would fit the very small difference (like 1mm).