I want the FN overlanding wheels they are 8.5" wide. But I did not want to spend any more money till the wandering problem is worked out.
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Steering Wobble While Returning To Centre/Straight
- Thread starter TRDORmike
- Start date
I want the FN overlanding wheels they are 8.5" wide. But I did not want to spend any more money till the wandering problem is worked out.
Argyle Edison
Member
I completely understand that. I wanted to use these stock wheels for winter.
So I have two option, thinner tires or wider wheels. If I can find used wheels locally I will do that, but I'm not buying new wheels that will get destroyed in the winter here.
TRDORmike
New member
Thanks for all the replies so far everyone.
To the guys that are having the wobble/shake just in general while driving straight here is my one piece of advise...
We all know the front ends are very sensitive to any imbalance AND putting on larger tires may magnify this issue. By no means am I am an expert but I work at a local off-brand high end dealership and know a thing or 2 about mechanics.
I tried an old trick on my last alignment that has seemed to settle the wobble/shake when driving straight for the most part so far.
There is play in the front end/wheels left to right on our trucks. Maybe even a bit more than I had initially thought. I believe one part that attributes to this shake is the toe angel of the alignment. The larger tires also magnify this due to play in the tires and play in the steering.
The trick that helped me was to first set toe left and right to zero. Then apply a good amount of force to the drivers side tire with my hands turning left and then turning right. I am doing this while steering wheel is locked into straight position. When doing this initially I got my drivers side wheel was about +15 degrees to the one side and -15 the other side which was about perfect. When going to my passenger side even though the toe was at 0 I pushed one side and got -30 and pushed the other side to +5.
So what happens is the front end binds up slightly when sitting static on the alignment rack. You turn the wheel left and right upon setting up to eliminate this however that only does so much. So basically when driving under load there is a good chance my drivers wheel was going straight and passenger wheel toed inward to much and causing extra force to that side thus getting a shake/wobble/imbalance.
I adjusted the passenger side toe until I was able to get it to match the driver side roughly -15 and +15 pushing left and right with the same amount of force. This has seemed to cure my straight line wobble/shake. Still not perfect and I can feel it come back slightly here and there however this has minimized it greatly and truck tracks straighter and drives smoother than before.
I do believe that a proper alignment done in this manner should at least help the situation for everyone else as it has definitely helped me.
However I am still trying to figure out this wobble when returning to straight... Still have gotten nowhere with this issue.
Thank you,
To the guys that are having the wobble/shake just in general while driving straight here is my one piece of advise...
We all know the front ends are very sensitive to any imbalance AND putting on larger tires may magnify this issue. By no means am I am an expert but I work at a local off-brand high end dealership and know a thing or 2 about mechanics.
I tried an old trick on my last alignment that has seemed to settle the wobble/shake when driving straight for the most part so far.
There is play in the front end/wheels left to right on our trucks. Maybe even a bit more than I had initially thought. I believe one part that attributes to this shake is the toe angel of the alignment. The larger tires also magnify this due to play in the tires and play in the steering.
The trick that helped me was to first set toe left and right to zero. Then apply a good amount of force to the drivers side tire with my hands turning left and then turning right. I am doing this while steering wheel is locked into straight position. When doing this initially I got my drivers side wheel was about +15 degrees to the one side and -15 the other side which was about perfect. When going to my passenger side even though the toe was at 0 I pushed one side and got -30 and pushed the other side to +5.
So what happens is the front end binds up slightly when sitting static on the alignment rack. You turn the wheel left and right upon setting up to eliminate this however that only does so much. So basically when driving under load there is a good chance my drivers wheel was going straight and passenger wheel toed inward to much and causing extra force to that side thus getting a shake/wobble/imbalance.
I adjusted the passenger side toe until I was able to get it to match the driver side roughly -15 and +15 pushing left and right with the same amount of force. This has seemed to cure my straight line wobble/shake. Still not perfect and I can feel it come back slightly here and there however this has minimized it greatly and truck tracks straighter and drives smoother than before.
I do believe that a proper alignment done in this manner should at least help the situation for everyone else as it has definitely helped me.
However I am still trying to figure out this wobble when returning to straight... Still have gotten nowhere with this issue.
Thank you,
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plasticsnaks
New member
Cd4pro, Argyle has a point in that I believe the bfg 275 ko2 reccomended wheel width size is 7-8.5" ....7 being the minimum. My wheels are 8.5" and this width has my wildpeak 265's looking very "flat" on the tread.
Before trying to fix your issue with wider wheels, keep in mind some points that' that have been brought up in similar threads....all things considered (you probably know this), your larger AT tires may seem to "track" (follow grooves) more than the stock highway Bridgestones. More important is that your bfg's are E rated tires and are a lot heavier (by 15 lbs each) than stock. Making your alignment being "tweaked or dialed in" to your liking even more important. There are alignment techs/shops that will go with you and test the vehicle after they adjust the alignment....then go adjust it again if you're not satisfied with how it drives. Guess I was lucky to find an alignment shop that'd offer this and also had dealt with Toyota IFS and aftermarket UCA's. I specifically asked them to get my caster 4+ and camber 0 and tow in factory spec. I got these numbers from many different alignment/lift threads on this forum and tacomaworld.....worked out perfect and drives great.
......you said you had alignment issues when you first purchased new. Wondering if the dealership techs have your alignment issue figured out??? I've read some about the steering rack issues as well.....hope this isn't the problem for you guys.
Man, I hope you and others can get this fixed cuz the lifted/larger tires T4r can have a very good highway ride for being a very "off road capable" vehicle.
TEujunga
New member
Good lord... so much voodoo and misinformation perpetuated on these tire/steering wobble threads...
There are many, many, MANY people running 275/70-17s or even 285/70-17s on stock 7.5" Trail rims with no problems at all, so obviously the "wrong" tire size for a given wheel width can't be solely responsible for a wobble issue.
Larger, heavier tires will tend to magnify any issues contributing to a wobble problem -- imbalance, uneven tire wear, steering rack wear, suspension wear, improper alignment -- no matter what width wheels you run them on.
There are many, many, MANY people running 275/70-17s or even 285/70-17s on stock 7.5" Trail rims with no problems at all, so obviously the "wrong" tire size for a given wheel width can't be solely responsible for a wobble issue.
Larger, heavier tires will tend to magnify any issues contributing to a wobble problem -- imbalance, uneven tire wear, steering rack wear, suspension wear, improper alignment -- no matter what width wheels you run them on.
TRDORmike
New member
Actually, look at BFGs website about the 275 K02s. They state specifically that they are only suited for wheels between 7-8.5. In the case of the 4Runner with either stock or aftermarket wheels you are correct. However this is not correct in general.
I do agree however in the case of the others on this post that the size is not the factor here. There are a few main items that need to come into play for our *almost brand new 4runners*. i.e., competent tech, Haweka adapter, proper alignment. Those three are the key factors to our oversensitive front ends in my opinion.
nglayton
Senior Member
Did the T4R's in question has this issue from the factory?
or am I confused that these issues only started occurring after various gear was added or swapped out on them?
TRDORmike
New member
So just to expand on this slightly.
This has bugged my so much that I have learned my works Hunter Road Force Elite Balancer what seems head to toe.
Anyways, I road force balanced all my tires myself until they were the best they could be. I got the road force variations for the tires to 25, 19, 16 and 16.
Initially put LF 16, RF 19, RR 25 and LR 16. I put the one 16 on the LR corner as it took more weights than the 19 wheel. However I was still getting a slight shimmy. I then swapped my RF and LR wheels so the current and new set up is 16 LF 16 RF 19 LR and 25 RR. This has seemed for roughly the last 50kms to almost entirely eliminate my vibration while straight and while turning/returned to center.
My conclusion to this is if you are experiencing a shimmy/vibration have your wheels road force balanced and put the lowest variation pair on the front. The amount of weights do not make a difference as that is only to balance the tire. The weights themselves cannot make/change a tire from its round shape however. You can balance a square but at the end of the day its still a square. The Roadforce reading gives you a rating to how ROUND the wheels are which truely matters for our trucks as they are very sensitive.
Hope this at least helps someone having this issue.
This has bugged my so much that I have learned my works Hunter Road Force Elite Balancer what seems head to toe.
Anyways, I road force balanced all my tires myself until they were the best they could be. I got the road force variations for the tires to 25, 19, 16 and 16.
Initially put LF 16, RF 19, RR 25 and LR 16. I put the one 16 on the LR corner as it took more weights than the 19 wheel. However I was still getting a slight shimmy. I then swapped my RF and LR wheels so the current and new set up is 16 LF 16 RF 19 LR and 25 RR. This has seemed for roughly the last 50kms to almost entirely eliminate my vibration while straight and while turning/returned to center.
My conclusion to this is if you are experiencing a shimmy/vibration have your wheels road force balanced and put the lowest variation pair on the front. The amount of weights do not make a difference as that is only to balance the tire. The weights themselves cannot make/change a tire from its round shape however. You can balance a square but at the end of the day its still a square. The Roadforce reading gives you a rating to how ROUND the wheels are which truely matters for our trucks as they are very sensitive.
Hope this at least helps someone having this issue.
MmmYesQuite
New member
Have this as well - on my second alignment now with a rotation and the wobble has gotten worse...
Straight toe and camber - caster limited to 2.5 and 3 :/
Straight toe and camber - caster limited to 2.5 and 3 :/
BFG KO2s the culprit??
I wonder how much of this has to do with BFG KO2 tires. I've attached an email that went out to BFG dealers, and yes the tires mentioned seem like a small sample, but it does make you wonder about bigger issues besides premature wear that may affect a bigger population of KO2s.
I wonder how much of this has to do with BFG KO2 tires. I've attached an email that went out to BFG dealers, and yes the tires mentioned seem like a small sample, but it does make you wonder about bigger issues besides premature wear that may affect a bigger population of KO2s.
Attachments
jron4
New member
same issue here. stock suspension and "stock" highway tires on factory wheels.
shakes at 60-65. If I hit 70 or stay around 55 it will be ok. I also find that my approach to reaching that speed plays a part in how bad the shake is. The harder I mash the gas peddle the worse and longer the shake is worse but will correct itself after a little driving. I have had the 4runner for a year now and issue has been consistent after numerous balancing attempts.
Installing new wheels and tires this week, hoping something changes for the better. There is a lot of people on here you have the same issue, its seems to be 50/50
shakes at 60-65. If I hit 70 or stay around 55 it will be ok. I also find that my approach to reaching that speed plays a part in how bad the shake is. The harder I mash the gas peddle the worse and longer the shake is worse but will correct itself after a little driving. I have had the 4runner for a year now and issue has been consistent after numerous balancing attempts.
Installing new wheels and tires this week, hoping something changes for the better. There is a lot of people on here you have the same issue, its seems to be 50/50
I also have the centering shimmy
Here's my order of events:
I am now left with only the shimmy while re-centering exactly as OP describes. Maybe a touch of straight line shimmy int he wheel at 55-65-mph, but not much.
2017 TOR premium, tires at 38-psi which matches the stock tires at 32-psi from a load rating perspective.
Here's my order of events:
- Buy 4Runner. I am Happy.
- Drive 4runner for 8400-mi. I am wanting. Buy AT3/W's in stock size & get mounts at random local shop.
- Drives like a dream for 1600-mi. Get 10000-mi service AT DEALER which includes alignment. Dealer for some reason takes it upon themselves to remove and re-balance the tires too... Straight line vibration results.
- Get balance at same local shop that mounted them. No avail. Repeat with no avail.
- Dealer road force balances and says the local shop did it wrong.
I am now left with only the shimmy while re-centering exactly as OP describes. Maybe a touch of straight line shimmy int he wheel at 55-65-mph, but not much.
2017 TOR premium, tires at 38-psi which matches the stock tires at 32-psi from a load rating perspective.
Richard72648
New member
Has anyone checked their caster angle to make sure it’s at the the high end of the positive tolerance range spec? If it’s 0 or too close to 0 the steering won’t want to return to it’s centered position as it should otherwise and you can easily get some wobble after turning at speeds. I’ve seen a drag strip fuel altered that was so far out he got the death wobble. I know you are not experiencing that but it goes to show how important caster is.
Here is a short but good article that talks about caster, toe, camber, scrub radius etc, maybe it will help some.
https://www.moderntiredealer.com/ar...ndling-requires-properly-adjusting-the-angles
Here is a video that vid I spoke about above, wait for it lmao
https://youtu.be/odQG2JxoxJE
Here is a short but good article that talks about caster, toe, camber, scrub radius etc, maybe it will help some.
https://www.moderntiredealer.com/ar...ndling-requires-properly-adjusting-the-angles
Here is a video that vid I spoke about above, wait for it lmao
https://youtu.be/odQG2JxoxJE
