Haweka Adapter
- Thread starter sterbenlicht
- Start date
I found my way to the thread because my 2018 4Runner with just over six thousand miles on it has developed steering wheel shimmy at highway speeds.
I put a set of BFG ATAs (OEM size, on the OEM alloy wheels) on it the day after I bought it new. Everything seemed fine until I had the first rotation done less than a week ago. That's when the shimmy appeared. Since then I've been back twice to have the front Wheels rebalanced, but it has not fixed the problem.
I bought the tires and had them put on at Discount Tire. So they of course are supposed to handle the rotation and balance for the life of the tires. The rotation was done at one DT shop, and the two return visits were to a different DT shop.
At this point I don't know if I should keep going back to them, go to a different shop, or go to a Toyota dealer. :shrug:
I put a set of BFG ATAs (OEM size, on the OEM alloy wheels) on it the day after I bought it new. Everything seemed fine until I had the first rotation done less than a week ago. That's when the shimmy appeared. Since then I've been back twice to have the front Wheels rebalanced, but it has not fixed the problem.
I bought the tires and had them put on at Discount Tire. So they of course are supposed to handle the rotation and balance for the life of the tires. The rotation was done at one DT shop, and the two return visits were to a different DT shop.
At this point I don't know if I should keep going back to them, go to a different shop, or go to a Toyota dealer. :shrug:
jkeith.w
Official Vendor
JRZEE2000TR4LTD
Senior Member
There are many rims out there that are lug-centric. The old white chevy truck rims come to mind. Also a lot of aftermarket rims are. Really any rim without a bevel of some sort for the cone to center on. Preferably a bevel on the back side to enable back coning which is preferable to front coning. Without the bevel the "edge" of the rim hub can get caught on the cone. This can damage the cone and put "ridges" in the cone which then might even cause coning problems on hub-centric rims. Techs, look at your cones. If they are beat to shit, you need new ones.
One other piece of advice, after mounting the tire, spin it up and train your eye on the inner rim edge (not the tire) Look at the rim edge with something next to it, like the rim measuring bar or the edge of the balancer itself. Your are looking for lateral runout. This could be from an improperly mounted tire asy or a bent rim. Both will cause bad balances and you will chase weights all over. (which you should never have to do anyway)
Oh and one more thing, if you are putting weights on in the same plane 180 degrees from each other (or even close to that) counterbalancing, than something is wrong and you need to redo something. Sometimes just remounting the tire will fix it. Or a match mount tire to rim might help too.
I used to know more tricks when I trained techs on wheel balancing but it's been over 10 years since I worked for that company and I've forgotten some. Wow, now I'm depressed. Sucks getting old.
One other piece of advice, after mounting the tire, spin it up and train your eye on the inner rim edge (not the tire) Look at the rim edge with something next to it, like the rim measuring bar or the edge of the balancer itself. Your are looking for lateral runout. This could be from an improperly mounted tire asy or a bent rim. Both will cause bad balances and you will chase weights all over. (which you should never have to do anyway)
Oh and one more thing, if you are putting weights on in the same plane 180 degrees from each other (or even close to that) counterbalancing, than something is wrong and you need to redo something. Sometimes just remounting the tire will fix it. Or a match mount tire to rim might help too.
I used to know more tricks when I trained techs on wheel balancing but it's been over 10 years since I worked for that company and I've forgotten some. Wow, now I'm depressed. Sucks getting old.
I would have a road force balance done. As someone else mentioned, you can balance a square wheel, but how is going to ride? Tires belts are built up of multiple layers and have starting and end points that don't always mesh up perfectly and can cause hard spots in the tread. These can't be seen but are felt as cyclic vibrations that can appear at different speeds. This is the type of problem a balance won't detect but a road force will.
I just experienced this issue myself on my car that I just has a new set of Michelin AS3
all season tires installed on. It had a vibration on the highway at 70 mph coming from the rear. The balance was spot on but a road force test showed a 30 lb. bump in the tread. Michelin replaced the tire and that resolved the problem.
Most new car dealers are required to have road force balancers now as it is an important diagnostic tool.
I just experienced this issue myself on my car that I just has a new set of Michelin AS3
all season tires installed on. It had a vibration on the highway at 70 mph coming from the rear. The balance was spot on but a road force test showed a 30 lb. bump in the tread. Michelin replaced the tire and that resolved the problem.
Most new car dealers are required to have road force balancers now as it is an important diagnostic tool.
Follow up: I did go back to that Discount Tire. This time, long story short, the road force test was done on all four tires.
The tire on the right front measured 49 pounds! So that was remounted, and they got it down to 29 pounds. The tech stated to me that 39 pounds is the recommended maximum. But I don't know the source of that recommendation.
That tire and the second-worst tire, which is reading 19 pounds, are now on the rear. So there is definitely no more steering wheel shimmy at highway speed.
But, I have to figure out the long-term solution here. If I put that 29 pound tire back on the front (where it should be right now), I don't know if the shimmy will come back or not. :noidea:
I also wonder why such a gross imbalance was not noticed when the tires were first mounted?
BTW, I'm dealing with all this in the midst of an extended road trip. I'm not due back home in Vegas until the 27th.
The tire on the right front measured 49 pounds! So that was remounted, and they got it down to 29 pounds. The tech stated to me that 39 pounds is the recommended maximum. But I don't know the source of that recommendation.
That tire and the second-worst tire, which is reading 19 pounds, are now on the rear. So there is definitely no more steering wheel shimmy at highway speed.
But, I have to figure out the long-term solution here. If I put that 29 pound tire back on the front (where it should be right now), I don't know if the shimmy will come back or not. :noidea:
I also wonder why such a gross imbalance was not noticed when the tires were first mounted?
BTW, I'm dealing with all this in the midst of an extended road trip. I'm not due back home in Vegas until the 27th.
IBallEngineer
New member
The long term solution is better tires. BFG's suck, I was loyal to them for years until I got a set of Yokohama Geolanders and I've never looked back.
The "gross imbalance" you speak of is really a misshaped tire, not a balance issue. Normal balancers wont detect this.
"I used to know more tricks when I trained techs on wheel balancing but it's been over 10 years since I worked for that company and I've forgotten some. Wow, now I'm depressed. Sucks getting old."
As Jerzee says, it sucks getting old. I'm only 2 years gone from training techs on balancing and I've already forgotten most of what I knew. Still training, just not balancing.
Sure, if you're offering to pay for those to replace my BFG's that only have 6,000 miles on them!
This is the fourth 4x4 I've used the BFGs on. I've never had a problem with one of their tires before. Including any balancing issue. :noidea:Are there any tire shops you would recommend in the Las Vegas metro area, where I can get an independent evaluation?
Coward
New member
This. I know that BFG's are super common so we are more likely to read about complaints about them. All I can say is that I have never had a vibration issue out of Bridgestones or Firestones. Including my MT2s I have now. Even when they are completely worn out.
IBallEngineer
New member
Sure, if you're offering to pay for those to replace my BFG's that only have 6,000 miles on them!
Are there any tire shops you would recommend in the Las Vegas metro area, where I can get an independent evaluation?
2 years ago I had a contact in Vegas, I trained a bunch of Snap on Dealers at the speedway in Feb of 2017. Sadly my contact is gone and I am too!
Ed_C
Senior Member
As a former tech myself, I wonder how many tire shops and dealers truly force-match tires? I remember one of the master techs would always say something like "I've forgotten more shit about fixing cars than everything you know right now" to the younger guys that talked trash LOL
[MENTION=107674]JRZEE2000TR4LTD[/MENTION] is there anyone in NJ you suggest for mounting and balancing?
