Wobbobobobobobobbbbbblllle - help...
Discussion
My Exige has developed one hell of a wheel-wobble. It starts around 0.8 leptons and gets worse, all the way to 1.1 leptons at which point I had no wish to travel any faster to see if the wobbling calmed down...
Of course this is an effective way of keeping me within the speed limit. However the heavy wobbling (it's as fast as a vibration, but higher amplitude, around a degree or so of wheel movement each way) is not only uncomfortable to hold onto, but won't do my watch any good (mechanical movement...)
I'm also somewhat concerned that the amplitude of the wobble is enough to loosen the nut holding the steering wheel on (and before anyone has a go and points out that the nut has a locking washer... I swapped the wheel for a snap-off unit, and the locking washer is somewhere under the driver's seat
), not to mention other bits that Lotus screwed together.
Now when I had my winter tyres swapped off and the Yoko stickies put back on, the tyre fitter (who is an enthusiast, very good and knows his stuff) noted that the front left wheel was a bugger to balance, and theorised that the wheel was slightly buckled. He got it balanced in the end, but this was a thousand miles ago or so... This theory is very plausible because I live in Kent, the road surface is utterly abysmal and whilst I weave around all the potholes I can see, the nearside wheels do take a battering from the state of the roads.
But is there anything else, anything 'oh s
t' that I should be worried about?
If not, then I'll keep the wheels for the winter tyres and get a new set for summer and track to put the A048Rs on (this was my plan anyway). However - the second part of the question - what are the recommended wheels for track use but *strong* enough to deal with abysmal road surfaces? I was planning to put some of the Lotus lightweight forged jobbies on, but I'm very leery of paying a fortune for lightweight wheels only for them to go octagonal after a spirited drive on local B-roads...
The 5-spoke wheels from the old 240 Cup car look ace, and I do like them, are these stronger? And are they light enough to improve performance (obviously this is relative to my ability)?
I know it sounds crazy wanting both low weight and high strength, and it sounds mad that an Exige of all cars should be able to bend wheels on the road (I can understand things like the Audi RS cars, whose wheels had to cope with a very heavy car and loads of power). I don't drive into potholes, but I suppose the combination of stiff sidewalls (hello A048Rs) and reasonably stiff suspension can do it? I'd have thought that any sharp impact from a crap road would transmit through the car, since the front end is so light?
Anyway thoughts please - I'll need some new wheels before next trackday, and since I've recently started a new contract I've got some time (wouldn't do to disappear for a weekday trackday in your first month...) but I also understand that getting wheels from Lotus can take some time too (back orders etc.).
Of course this is an effective way of keeping me within the speed limit. However the heavy wobbling (it's as fast as a vibration, but higher amplitude, around a degree or so of wheel movement each way) is not only uncomfortable to hold onto, but won't do my watch any good (mechanical movement...)
I'm also somewhat concerned that the amplitude of the wobble is enough to loosen the nut holding the steering wheel on (and before anyone has a go and points out that the nut has a locking washer... I swapped the wheel for a snap-off unit, and the locking washer is somewhere under the driver's seat
), not to mention other bits that Lotus screwed together.Now when I had my winter tyres swapped off and the Yoko stickies put back on, the tyre fitter (who is an enthusiast, very good and knows his stuff) noted that the front left wheel was a bugger to balance, and theorised that the wheel was slightly buckled. He got it balanced in the end, but this was a thousand miles ago or so... This theory is very plausible because I live in Kent, the road surface is utterly abysmal and whilst I weave around all the potholes I can see, the nearside wheels do take a battering from the state of the roads.
But is there anything else, anything 'oh s
t' that I should be worried about?If not, then I'll keep the wheels for the winter tyres and get a new set for summer and track to put the A048Rs on (this was my plan anyway). However - the second part of the question - what are the recommended wheels for track use but *strong* enough to deal with abysmal road surfaces? I was planning to put some of the Lotus lightweight forged jobbies on, but I'm very leery of paying a fortune for lightweight wheels only for them to go octagonal after a spirited drive on local B-roads...
The 5-spoke wheels from the old 240 Cup car look ace, and I do like them, are these stronger? And are they light enough to improve performance (obviously this is relative to my ability)?
I know it sounds crazy wanting both low weight and high strength, and it sounds mad that an Exige of all cars should be able to bend wheels on the road (I can understand things like the Audi RS cars, whose wheels had to cope with a very heavy car and loads of power). I don't drive into potholes, but I suppose the combination of stiff sidewalls (hello A048Rs) and reasonably stiff suspension can do it? I'd have thought that any sharp impact from a crap road would transmit through the car, since the front end is so light?
Anyway thoughts please - I'll need some new wheels before next trackday, and since I've recently started a new contract I've got some time (wouldn't do to disappear for a weekday trackday in your first month...) but I also understand that getting wheels from Lotus can take some time too (back orders etc.).
Sounds like the wheel is not running true?
Assuming you have checked the wheel bearing, then my next suggestion is pull the tyre off the wheel and see if it is balanced (most tyre places will do this, just put a bare wheel on the tyre balance machine).
assuming that's OK, then re-fit the tyre and balance it.
if this does not sort it, then it has to be the bearing pack...
Assuming you have checked the wheel bearing, then my next suggestion is pull the tyre off the wheel and see if it is balanced (most tyre places will do this, just put a bare wheel on the tyre balance machine).
assuming that's OK, then re-fit the tyre and balance it.
if this does not sort it, then it has to be the bearing pack...
Scuffers said:
Sounds like the wheel is not running true?
Assuming you have checked the wheel bearing, then my next suggestion is pull the tyre off the wheel and see if it is balanced (most tyre places will do this, just put a bare wheel on the tyre balance machine).
assuming that's OK, then re-fit the tyre and balance it.
if this does not sort it, then it has to be the bearing pack...
I'm no expert but this sounds to me like the best course of action by eliminating potential causes one by one.Assuming you have checked the wheel bearing, then my next suggestion is pull the tyre off the wheel and see if it is balanced (most tyre places will do this, just put a bare wheel on the tyre balance machine).
assuming that's OK, then re-fit the tyre and balance it.
if this does not sort it, then it has to be the bearing pack...
Ta chaps. Unless the tyre carcasses change over time I'm inclined to believe it's either a square wheel or one of the balancing weights has come off. It didn't wobble before I swapped tyres over in March.
The car has done 6500 miles so I'd bloody well hope the wheel bearing isn't knackered. In my limited experience though, duff wheel bearings make different noises depending on steering angle - my steering wheel wobbles above 75-ish regardless of angle (though obviously I haven't tried full lock at 90 mph
)
So.... if it's a square wheel, are these repairable (re-roundable?)
Even though I want a second set of wheels so I can put my winter tyres on the heavy OEM wheels and put the A048Rs (and then 888s when they're worn out) on the new wheels, I don't want to have to buy *two* sets of wheels - they're expensive...
The car has done 6500 miles so I'd bloody well hope the wheel bearing isn't knackered. In my limited experience though, duff wheel bearings make different noises depending on steering angle - my steering wheel wobbles above 75-ish regardless of angle (though obviously I haven't tried full lock at 90 mph
)So.... if it's a square wheel, are these repairable (re-roundable?)
Even though I want a second set of wheels so I can put my winter tyres on the heavy OEM wheels and put the A048Rs (and then 888s when they're worn out) on the new wheels, I don't want to have to buy *two* sets of wheels - they're expensive...Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff