Wheel vibration...

[BeanoBen]

I hope you can help.

I have a Chimaera that is suffering from vibration through the steering wheel at speed. It only becomes really evident at 80 Mph plus.

I have had the front wheels rebalanced to no avail, the tracking also appears to be spot on.

I can't find any obvious faults with Ball joints or Wheel bearings.

The only thing that appears slightly worn are the brake disks, as they are nearing the end of their life and have quite considerable rust build up within the vents, is this a possibility, if so anyone know what disks are used on a 500?

Any other suggestions for things to check, would be greatfuly received.

Thanks

[Martin_S]

I'd double check the wheel balancing.

I've had the same thing, on more than one occasion, only to find that the spotty teenage chavs that your average fast fit centre employs don't how to do their job.

If the discs are badly worn, it is possible that the whole disc/hub/wheel assembly is out of balance. Some places do on-car wheel balancing, which can balance the whole lot together, but to be honest you'd be as well to just replace the discs as a starting point, anyway.

Might also be worth checking the run-out of the discs using a dial gauge, and check to ensure that the slide pins on the calipers haven't seized and that the calipers are sliding freely. Warped discs can cause vibration by knocking against the pads/calipers, but to be honest I'd have thought you would have noticed the feedback through the brake pedal.

If the vibration only starts to exhibit itself at a definite speed, it really does sound like a balance problem, though.

[GreenV8S]

Could be a flat spotted tyre or buckled rim?

[pullingpower]

My 2p worth. Quikfit can only test the wheels upto 70mph max on their balancing machine. In general, they will only balance the front wheels unless you specially request they do all 4. I had mine done recently due to similar complaint.

[GTvr]

Had the same problem after having two new front tyres - took it back to the suppliers and had all four wheels rebalanced - both front and rear were way out.

[rooster]

I had the same problem recently and had the tracking checked, it was only a smidge out but boy what a diffence it made. car runs perfect now!

[BeanoBen]

rooster said:

I had the same problem recently and had the tracking checked, it was only a smidge out but boy what a diffence it made. car runs perfect now!

Would tracking make such a difference?

I did wonder about this but the guy at the Tyre place said he didn't think the problem was tracking, looking at the tyre wear it does seem to be a tad out as the inner shoulder is feathering a bit, but the car had a full geometry check and realignment at the last service, at a reputable TVR indi'.

Tracking is an easy option as it's only £30.

As most tyre shop muppets don't have the spec for the Chimaera, does anyone know the toe in/out, camber etc for the 500?

Ta

[M@H]

Front track: 20 mins toe-in
Front Camber: 1/2 degree to 1 deg -ve (ideal = 3/4 deg)
Rear Track: As for front.
Rear Camber: As for front.

Cheers
Matt

[Ribol]

Never seen a car shake as a result of wheel alighnment. It could well cause a tyre to wear incorrectly but then the balancing would pick that up.
If this were a garage situation they would try another set of wheels on the car just to eliminate any problems with the originals.
Have you considered prop/driveshaft problems?

[M@H]

Loose wheel nut(s)..? We've had this before on here.

[BeanoBen]

Ribol said:

Never seen a car shake as a result of wheel alighnment. It could well cause a tyre to wear incorrectly but then the balancing would pick that up. If this were a garage situation they would try another set of wheels on the car just to eliminate any problems with the originals. Have you considered prop/driveshaft problems?

I've experienced drive train vibration before, and it tends to come up through the seat and gear lever rather than through the steering wheel, I'm sure this isn't drive train related.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

[2Munkys]

Beano

Have you had a look at the run-out of the tyre itself?

Had this very problem on the Beemer. My wheel rim was undamaged and showed no discernible swash and the tyre beading was true around the rims. Wheel bearings fine, brakes fine. Tyre rebalanced and the same; tyre off, back on, rebalanced and the same. Had a rethink: raised the front end and span the wheel and the tyre ran eccentrically (not down to a flat spot or uneven wear). This was causing the vibration that no end of balancing would cure. Apparently this problem isn't so uncommon, particularly on certain brands of tyre; Yea, surprised me too! Swapped front with rear but you don't have this luxury.

If you've power steering, you need to get it remedied soonest though as your rack seals will be shot in no time!

[tvrbob]

pullingpower said:

Quikfit can only test the wheels upto 70mph max on their balancing machine.

No offence but surely these machines check for variation in the weight of the wheel across the axel. The vibration we feel in the car is a resonance with the suspension not the wheel. Springs always have a resonance frequency, the vibration we feel happens when the speed of rotation of the wheel is in phase with the resonance of the spring. Put the same wheel on a different car and it would vibrate at a different road speed. The differing weight that the lead weights balance out is there no matter how fast the wheel rotates. Perhaps a tyre monkey said this, physics tells me it can't be true.

[everitj]

I had a bad vibration after the car was left standing for a long period. Put a run out on the tyre and found that it had flat spotted. Has got better with use ( very violent at first ) but recon will need some new boots on the front to sort it out fully..

[paul garabette]

Buckled wheel maybe. Jack it up and spin the wheels and you may be able to see if a wheel is slightly buckled.

Otherwise, worn wishbone bushes can cause vibration.

[pete1]

I used to have access to a workshop with a balancer and tyre machine,

Sometimes when you fit a tyre and have it balanced to perfection, you take it out on the road and the tyre "settles" then when you put it back on the machine you need to rebalance it.

I found the best way was to take all of the air out of the tyre with the wheel off the car and re-fill it once or twice then take it back to the balancer, Kwik fit would never bother to do this, although they all know how to. so

Get it rebalanced again, most places do it the second time for free. :-)