I just put on my 19” SF Challenge yesterday with Nitto Neo Gens, LOVE how it looks on my PPW (pics will be up on Saturday when I can legally wash my car due to the drought). Car was already lowered 1.2” via Eibach. After the shop put them on and I had the alignment done, I was told the rears were perfectly set, but the fronts would probably need a camber kit (which I will have done this Saturday).

Now, when I drive, the steering wheel shakes from light to hard going from 40 to a higher speed. My question is, is it shaking due to the fronts still needing the camber kit, or did something else occur between putting the new wheels/tires on? Wheels are 9.5 front, 10.5 rear. Tires are 245/35 and 275/35. Test drove and didn’t appear to need any rolling. Any help would be appreciated. If anything, hopefully after Saturday it will go away. Thanks in advance!

 

Sounds like a front wheels isn't balanced correctly.

 

did you install hubcentric rings along with the wheels? if not thats prob what is causing the vibration.

 

+1 on the hub rings.

 

+1...To the OP, camber won't cause your wheels to shake but an improper balance will.

 

damn. well I will be taking it back in today to get re-done. am I by chance doing any damage either to the car, alignment, tires, wheels by driving on this with improper balance? Note: I had to drive it on the highway, where I clocked about 95 at one point. (don't waste your time flaming, I know that was stupid)

 

Yes, so drive really slow. You may also have a bent rim.

 

Short term, you'll be ok. Don't make a habit of driving it until you get the alignment/balance thing straightened out. Improperly balanced tires create "feathering" wear on the threads. This is when the threads are warped to unequal heights. Once theyre warped, there's no fixing them. You'll have to replace the tires if this happens.

 

+1 on the balance issue. take it to someone else to get it re-balanced and installed.

 

Okay, went back to the shop. Shop guy said the balance from the factory was perfect so it was def not that. However, he did say the hub rings were not in the boxes. So after reading the advcie that it might be the rings, the factory has already said they're sending me new ones.

Now, assuming the balance is correct, you guys have said no rings might be causing the vibration (keep in mind it is not consistent vibration, I get it off and on), am I doing much harm with just not having the rings for the next 3-4 days? I'd assume it is much worse with a bad balance than it would be with just no rings...right?

 

Are the hubcentric rings easily bought from say a Tire Kingdom or are the rings specific for the rims bought and would need to get them straight from the dealer I bought it from? They are already sending me them, but won't be here until probably Tuesday, so I figured if Tire Kingdom has them, just get them done immediately.

 

You can drive around for a while with no hub rings and not harm anything.

Unless TK has a large assortment, you'll probably have to wait for the ones to come that fit the wheels.

 

you can run without rings in fact, you just have to take a bit more care when torquing things down. I currently run no rings on the front of my own car (forgot to install them and too lazy to bother now), and have 0 shake

 

Hmm that's strange then. I tend to get the vibration after I have gassed, and then when I let off the gas and take my hands off the steering wheel you can see the steering wheel vibrate as if I'm going over rough road. If you're saying you are driving without rings and have no vibration, and the guy at the performance shop said the balance looked fine (can you actually visually see if a wheel is balanced right??) I am at a loss of what this is from then. I initially thought alignment, but the alignment is not that terrible and was advised to get cambers for the front some time down the road and not immediately.

 

Hub centric Rings and balanced fronts will fix that.

 

Well, as an update, I got the rings put on yesterday (still missing one rear one because they sent one with the wrong size, but I don't think missing one rear is the cause for the vibration still) and I have the same issue. Basically, the steering wheel does not ALWAYS vibrate, it does it more often after I have accelerated and then let off the accelerator. I am able to feel it and at times see it when I let go of the steering wheel. other times, it does not vibrate at all. If I am launching on a highway the steering wheel rattles like heck, then eases off and the rattle goes away.

At this point, should I really chalk it up to the fact that I need to try and get a re-balance on all 4 wheels (or just front 2)? Or is it simply these aftermarket rims and tires are creating this for some odd reason? Any assistance would be appreciated. it is gonna be a pain trying to get this re-balanced because a lot of tire places here cannot even get my lowered car on to their lift!

 

you should put all the rings on before you try and get your wheels rebalanced.

I thought the wheels don't have to be on the car in order for tire shops to balance it for you.

 

Long story short, I ordered them and received them shipped as a wheel and tire combo bolted, balanced, etc.. The first assumption for the vibration was that the hub rings were not put on them. So now that I have 3 of the 4 on (one rear is missing it, for now) I still have the vibration every now and then, and more prominent accelerating on highways...so it is not a consistent vibration.

With that in mind, the next step is me assuming it needs to get re-balanced. And if that still does not get rid of it, I'll assume it's just the wheels and tires that created this vibration...which I will find hard to believe. I thought perhaps a bent wheel...but I would have felt it consistently and not erratically if that was the case.

 

When I ordered aftermarket wheels for my truck, one wheel was slightly bent. I didn't even notice it when I was putting them on, that how slight it was. The only time I felt it was when traveling over 45 mph. I had the balanced re-check and everything, but still felt the vibration. So finally a guy at the shop I was taking it to, notice the slight bend. I sent it back to the place that I ordered it from, they in return sent me a new one and the problem went away.

 

thanks man, I am praying the balance fixes this....