Tire or Wheel Imbalance

[harryg]

At 950 miles I took my 2003 Cobra in to resolve a vibration problem -- the steering wheel had a rotational shimmy between 50-65 mph. The dealership balanced all four tires. The right front tire now has a 70+ grams of weight on the outside of the wheel! I am concerned that the problem is the tire or the wheel. Is this amount of exterior weight unusual? Is it safe? What if I'm doing 100mph+ and it comes off. Should I insist on a new wheel/tire? The dealership tied up my car for 2 days to balance the tires, and they laughed in my face when I requested the SVT Premium Service wash.

[Elapidae]

HarryG,

It's not uncommon for a tire and a wheel to be out of balance. That's, of course, why they balance them in the first place. A huge weight would bother me too. Many times if the wheel and the tire are out of balance and by some misfortune they line up the light/heavy sides of each, it compounds the problem. I'd ask them to simply remove the weights (mark the weight location with a grease pencil or something), turn the tire 180 degrees on the wheel and re-balance. I'll bet that results in a much smaller weight. If not, check and see if the large weight winds up in the same place or if it is now 180 degrees from the original location. If it is in the same place, ask Ford for a new wheel. If it is 180 degrees from the original weight location, ask Ford for a new tire.

IMO a huge weight is unsafe on the wheel of a sports car capable of the speeds that these are. :huh:

As for the Premium Service. You might want to call SVT and see if they have any input. I'd be interested to see what they say. Let us know how it comes out. :tmb:

[Will's97 & 03]

I had the vib at 80. I rebalanced my wheels to find out the both of the passenger side wheels were way out of balance. The drivers side were perfit. This took care of my vib problem.:wtf:

[Dana]

To anyone that has rebalance their wheels, did you try the stick on weights that mount on the inside fo the wheel? Any luck with these.
One of the mags suggested using these and sealing the edges with silicone to prevent the adhesive from loosening.

Thanks,
Dana

[Will's97 & 03]

The stick on weights work great, they don't fall off. One of the reasons I balanced my wheels and found the problem was to eliminate the clipons on the outside.