Tire Imbalance

[SilverGhost]

Has anybody else had trouble getting their tires/wheels properly balanced?

The Michelin Cross Terrains I traded for have been balanced twice, and they still vibrate at highway speeds. Not badly, but considering their price, I don't consider any vibration acceptable.

I've used this same tire shop for years, and they have always done excellent work. I don't recall noticing the the OEM General takeoffs vibrating at all.

[RacerZX]

If it's balanced properly, then all that's left to suspect is a defect in the internal tire construction or a bent rim.

Can you move that wheel front to rear or rear to front and see if the steering wheel shakes only when it's on the front?

[blink32]

Had my BFG AT's done at a local Sears with no issues. I second Carl's info. The wife had some tires that got loopy. I took the car in for an alignment and it turned out to be the tires causing the vehicle to pull to one side. I had never heard of that before. Put the fronts in the rear and the issue went away.

[SilverGhost]

<b>racer</b> - I also suspected a bad tire, so switching the fronts to the rear was to be my next step.

<b>blink</b> - I have heard that referred to as radial tire pull, but I was never sure what caused it, or whether is was actually an issue unique to radials.

I only notice the vibration at 75-80 mph, which I seldom reach in daily driving. I may take a short road trip this weekend and try to get a better feel for it.

[Gray]

Has anybody else had trouble getting their tires/wheels properly balanced?

The Michelin Cross Terrains I traded for have been balanced twice, and they still vibrate at highway speeds. Not badly, but considering their price, I don't consider any vibration acceptable.

I've used this same tire shop for years, and they have always done excellent work. I don't recall noticing the the OEM General takeoffs vibrating at all.

Interesting that some Michelin tires still give this problem. Quite a few years ago truck drivers wouldn't buy them in certain sizes for that very same reason.

I've had good luck with the OE Generals as well, both for lack of vibration and good wear, wish I could get another set.

.

[SilverGhost]

Interesting that some Michelin tires still give this problem. Quite a few years ago truck drivers wouldn't buy them in certain sizes for that very same reason.

I've had good luck with the OE Generals as well, both for lack of vibration and good wear, wish I could get another set..

Were you in the area, I would have sold you mine last year for $300! That's the trade-in allowance Discount Tire gave me on a set of four toward the Mich C/T's.

BTW, I guess I failed to update the post you quoted. After a couple of weeks on the Mich's, I went back to D/T. I know the manager there, and he convinced Michelin to replace all four with a new set with different DOT numbers. They road-force balanced those, and I'm totally pleased with them. That said, they're basically all-season highway tires with the weaker sidewall typical of the breed. In hindsight, I'm not sure I gained much for the $600 difference over the OE Generals.