Mysterious front end shake at speed

[WardL]

I just viewed the info on SCOF and see where they have weights split on both edges of the inside wheel and that SPFs are super-sensitive to out of balance wheels. Unfortunately, my weights are all on the inside edge of the wheel. The other issue is there seems to be a lot of weights on the wheels 12 on one and 24 on the other. I don't know how much the weights are each. They are small, maybe 1/4 oz? If so, that's 3 oz and 8 oz on the tother. A lot of weight. My best solution may be to put the front tires on the back and do one of them videos where the back tires smoke a lot!

I need to find a shop to to balance on the vehicle or maybe take the front tires back for better balancing.

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by WardL

I just viewed the info on SCOF and see where they have weights split on both edges of the inside wheel and that SPFs are super-sensitive to out of balance wheels. Unfortunately, my weights are all on the inside edge of the wheel. The other issue is there seems to be a lot of weights on the wheels 12 on one and 24 on the other. I don't know how much the weights are each. They are small, maybe 1/4 oz? If so, that's 3 oz and 8 oz on the tother. A lot of weight. My best solution may be to put the front tires on the back and do one of them videos where the back tires smoke a lot!

I need to find a shop to to balance on the vehicle or maybe take the front tires back for better balancing.

Does the shop know what they're doing?
I've yet to balance a wheel that needs more than 2 weights.

Be careful playing with rack pad preload.

[maxum_101]

ok heres my situation, i got my spf with the original 15" rims and tire not a shake at all smooth as glass. i bought 17" rims and got the shake/ shimmy at about 60mph, had one front rim not 100% true had that repaired and also road force balanced all 4 tires, approx 95% of the shake went away. passengers dont feel it but i can , maybe its just me..haha anyways for me it was the 17" rims and tries that caused the problem. cause when i had the 15 there was no issues at all. u have anyone close by you with a spf that is willing to swap rims just to see if he gets the shake on his car. and also to see if your shake goes away with his rims on your car.
also for ****s and giggles, jack the front of your car up, wheels off ground and spin your rim... look to see if its true, no wobble side to side or up and down, not like a loose rim, but like a bent rim.

[john chesnut]

A bad or sticking brake caliper can cause a shake that you won't believe. After making sure that the wheels are running true and the balancing was done correctly I would check the calipers. I have been chasing a bad vibration on my wife's car. It was very bad with in a specific speed range. Checked everything, tires, wheels, ball joints, steering. Was a sticking caliper. Drives like new now. Good luck.

[craigayl]

Originally Posted by Nantucket427;11****3

Cobra Valley's R/T Super High Performance Ball Joints
They make all the difference in the world. I got new tires, balanced them three time but the ball joints were the problem

Ditto

My car, 1265, had no shake for the first 5 or so years. For the last 4 or 5 years I have chased the wheel shake continually. It happed between 55 and 70 and seemed to come and go. I changed to the R/T Ball joints and the shake is gone! There are many advantages to these ball joints, like a lighter feel to the steering and elimination of bump steer, but my major complaint was wheel shake and the new ball joints did the trick.

You must be sure the tire balance is good and the wheels are true, but if you did not have a shake and then it developed, it could very well be the ball joints.

Looking back at my own car history, the shake was the worse after the car sat for a while. I too blamed that on tire flat spots, but we all know that is not common with radial tires. I went through three sets of tires and countless alignments and balancing. In the end nothing change the condition. After removing my old ball joints I found I could not articulate them by hand. They were so tight you had to beat on them in a vice to move them. My conclusion was that they freeze up when sitting and as they try to articulate, rather than moving smoothly, they jump from position to position. In contrast, the new ball joints articulate as smooth as silk by hand and like I said, the shake is gone.

Try what you think is best, but when all else fails, try the ball joints. This has been a success story for many SPF owners.

Craig

[WardL]

I called around and couldn't find a shop to balance tires on the car. Had fronts re-balanced at the same shop. They said one was out of round and they would get a quote on warranty from Michelin. The sucker still shakes and I'm interested to see what a new tire will cost. A new 275/40-17 Pilot Sport is $295 with a 20k mile warranty. I have 5k miles on the original. Sure as **** I can see spending $300 on a tire and still rocking and rolling. I came home from the Historics race at 60-65 and with everyone passing me I must have had 10 "thumbs up" waves as they went by.

[Bartruff1]

Ward, I have been trying to solve or ignore this problem for 3 years...I have a note here that T&T Tires in Tacoma can balance the tires on the car...you might google them for some contact info...let me know if you find a cure. I saw a "bunch" of SPF's at the Historics, I assume you didn't get a solution from them ??...The tire experts here in Wenatchee have given up and are suggesting Micky Thompson replacements ....

[WardL]

Thanks for the lead on Tacoma balancing. I suppose if the tire is out of round there is no future in balancing it better. I didn't ask the question at the Historics Race. With all the people there it everyone was busy enjoying the event. I'll get the price on the new tire and plan my next step. The upgraded ball joints sound promising and I'm interested in doing that as well.

[WardL]

Michelin charged me $100 for a new tire which I thought was great. The list is $300. I put it on today and my shimmy is GONE! Oh, after they told me the tire was out of round, someone suggested to spin the tire and look for it. The left tire was perfect, but I could see the right tire was out of round just by rotating it as the Cobra was off the ground. I'm getting the new Shell Valley smooth ball joints to improve the front end. Thanks for the help with this.

[madmaxx]

A road force balance machine has the ability to tell you rim run-out axialy and radially and tire run-out. If these falls with in spec (under .020" gm spec) then the wheel and tire are not the problem. Also only inflate to 20psig!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bartruff1]

Originally Posted by WardL

Michelin charged me $100 for a new tire which I thought was great. The list is $300. I put it on today and my shimmy is GONE! Oh, after they told me the tire was out of round, someone suggested to spin the tire and look for it. The left tire was perfect, but I could see the right tire was out of round just by rotating it as the Cobra was off the ground. I'm getting the new Shell Valley smooth ball joints to improve the front end. Thanks for the help with this.

Did you replace the ball joints ?? If so, did it work ? Which set did you use ? Did you go for the adjustment tool....thanks in advance for any info...

[WardL]

I have the Cobra Valley geometry correction ball joints and the installation socket but have not installed them. I did not get the ultra smooth ball joints. The shimmy went away when I replaced the OOR tire. I will get the new ball joints on within the week.

[jhv48]

I replaced the stock ball joints with the cobra valley mid grade ones.

Front end is now rock solid and as smooth as it should have been from day one.

[mattpatt]

Just to add some more info to this thread: I have SP3033 (about 400 miles on it so far). It had a mild steering wheel shake at ~62 - 67 mph. Based on this thread I had the R/T ball joints installed by Erick Voss. He also did the needed re-alignment and re-balanced the wheels (all 4) on the car and adjusted the rack & pinion clearance. The shake has been reduced noticeably but not completely (seems to be ~63 - 65 mph). On some roads it's gone, on others it's there. Erick noted that the SPF cobras are prone to shake when the bigger wheels, lower profile tires are used with a lighter front weight. In my case I have the 18" wheels, 255/35's on front and have an aluminum small block (probably the worst conditions for having the shake). Erick thought that a less stiff front spring rate might help. For now, I'm playing around a bit with tire pressure just to see.

[Bartruff1]

not perfect but another road force balance...18-20lbs of cold air pressure...and (something new)...about a 1/4 turn of the bolt adjustment of the pinion (?) and it is about 75% gone...now...since the 65mph shimmy is not constant but reacts to the road surface , the next step for me will be the Micky Thompson tires in a few years ...then the ball joints...the steering tightening didn't cost anything so I would look there first...

[jhv48]

Originally Posted by Bartruff1

not perfect but another road force balance...18-20lbs of cold air pressure...and (something new)...about a 1/4 turn of the bolt adjustment of the pinion (?) and it is about 75% gone...now...since the 65mph shimmy is not constant but reacts to the road surface , the next step for me will be the Micky Thompson tires in a few years ...then the ball joints...the steering tightening didn't cost anything so I would look there first...

Your symptoms sound the same as mine. Front end vibrates sometimes, not all the time, and the wheel feels loose when you go over bumps in the road. Not a firm feeling. Real annoying.

I did all the balance and alignment tricks. Changed wheels and tires. Still there. Replaced the stock ball joints, all gone. Ride is now smooth and more solid. Just do it!

You can either live with the annoyance or replace the stock ball joints and be done with it.

[Bartruff1]

It is just that I am so damn poor !!! I won't even replace the tires till they are worn....

[Jerry Clayton]

well by the time you replace the defective ball joints they will have killed off the rest of the parts in the front suspension/steering---

plus the vibration will get worst altho you will become accustommed to it