Wheels out of balance, or are they?

[Newkie]

Before I take it in to the local tire dealer to have my tires re-balanced, I thought I would throw this question out there.
My tires on my 73 MGB with rostyles have about 500 miles on them since I purchased them 4 yrs ago. They were installed at a tire store, so could it be that they developed a flat spot on the tires based on how little I drive it and how much it just sits, or could they actually be out of balance now. It seems to shake the steering wheel at about 50 mph. I figured I would check this out before I start working on and replacing parts of the front end. Again, 50 mph. Drives fine up until that speed.

Thanks in advance

Art

 

[davester]

If you went to a regular chain-style tire store they balanced your rostyles using the center holes to center the wheels. Unfortunately, the center holes are NOT CENTERED. Find yourself a tire store that can balance the wheels based on the bolt circle. You'll find that your tires will balance quite nicely that way.

 

[Newkie]

Is that common? I see most just put it in that upright balance machine and turn the bad boy on. I have no idea if thats the center hole balancer or if they actaully use a lug pattern to do wheels? I dont think so. I dont want to look all over creation to find the store that uses the bolt patter?

Thanks

Art

 

[tony barnhill]

I always have mine balanced using the center holes to hold the wheels to the machine & haven't had problems with that way.

Does it smooth out above 50mph?

 

[Newkie]

I always have mine balanced using the center holes to hold the wheels to the machine & haven't had problems with that way.

Does it smooth out above 50mph?

No it doesnt. It Gets worse.

Like I said earlier, it starts around 50 mph, and by the time I reach 70 mph, its really vibrating. I rotated the tires to see if it was one of the front. It may have smoothed out a tad, but its so little, I cant be sure.

Art

 

[Bob Claffie]

You could substitute the spare into the system and possibly determine which one or two are the "bad" ones. Could be a bad tire right from the get-go. Bob

 

[Sebring222]

If you haven't inspected your wheel bearings in awhile, it might be a good idea to think about doing it now.

 

[Newkie]

If you haven't inspected your wheel bearings in awhile, it might be a good idea to think about doing it now.

Yeah, I havent done it since owning the car (4 yrs) Like I said, I dont drive it much, and I dont get it on the freeway much when I do drive. But when I do, it bothers me to no end.
I will check those too. Thanks

Art

 

[tony barnhill]

Ype, check all the items that affect the stub axle/hub to ensure they're in good shape...then, you might find a company that 'cuts' the wheels - shaving just the high spots off - & then look to have them rebalanced.

You might also want to take the tires off your wheels to see if 1 or more wheels are bent.

 

[davester]

I always have mine balanced using the center holes to hold the wheels to the machine & haven't had problems with that way.

I think you've either gotten lucky or you have gotten used to the vibration. I have definitely had vibration problems in the past that were solved by seeking out someone who could balance using the bolt circle. That hole in the middle of the rostyles is roughly on center, but that's more of an accident than anything and quite a few of them are way off center. On my GT, 3 of the 5 rostyles seem to have the holes very close to center. The other two are way off and there's no way on earth they can balance using a centering mount. Find somebody with a lug adapter for their machine. If you can't find one, they can probably adapt an old MGB hub..

 

[vagt6]

My experience with wheel shimmys: I inspected the front suspension on my MKIII Midget after experiencing a bad shimmy/shaking at speeds above about 55 MPH. The shakes were bad enough to make the front end of the car wobble noticably (kinda scary). Not good. I assume the rear was shaking also, but I didn't notice it because I was so focused on the front shaking.

Jacked up the front end, front suspension looked good: rubber bushes in pretty good shape with little, if any, play in the front wheels, shocks, kingpin, etc. I will have to replace those rubber bushes before too long, but they're good for now.

So, off to the tire balancer at Merchant's Tire. I told them that the clearances for the front brake calipers were very close and if poss to use thinner wheel weights on inside surface of the front wheels (if needed - there were existing old weights there).

The wheels were WAY out of balance! Paid Merchant's about $40 to spin balance all four wheels, shimmy GONE. Car runs smoothly as a BMW now (well, almost :lol, got her up to about 80 MPH on Interstate, smooth as corn silk. Nice.

Nice to have a problem solved easily/inexpensively, ain't it?

 

[tony barnhill]

I agree that MGB wheels are not center-centrific but my tires don't wear out unusdually, there's no vibration (& trust me, I'm attuned to the smallest thing while driving).....

Looks like balancing Mark's tires the way I described (the most common way) solved his problems!

 

[MGB922]

If the tires where sitting for a long time they may have flat stops. If the belts where damaged from sitting, there isn't much if anything you can do but change them and you'll never get the wheels balanced especially rostyle wheels. A quick way to see is get the car up on a lift or jacks so that the wheel spin freely. Looking from the front of the tire spin them and look at run-out (side movement). Looking from the side look for a out of round condition. If there is a significant amount see what a tire dealer can do for you. If there is only a little a good shop might be able to fix it. Here is a link that talks about the newest balance machines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB8EaVaxr0U&NR=1

 

[Hedgehog]

If balancing doesn't solve the issue, you most likely have some 'cord' seperation in the tire. That was the issue we had with our TD. Vibration would start at about 55 and no amount of tire balancing would get rid of it. We ended up buying 2 new tires and the problem went away. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mark Jones]

I agree with David H. Broken belts will make the ride and handling exactly the way you describe. A good tire technician will be able to look at the tire and be able to tell if it has broken belts.

 

[tony barnhill]

I've seen tires shaved to make them perfectly round before balancing.

 

[DrEntropy]

If it has a broken belt, it'll soon be MORE apparent. :shocked:


You can FEEL a belt separation with your hand. Run your hand around the circumference of the tire, palm down on the tread. If it has a high spot or is uneven anyplace, it's separated and needs to be replaced.

 

[Newkie]

I havent felt any kind of belt seperation by hand or sight, and the tires dont have but a 1000 or so miles on them. I dont drive the car alot, and it just doesnt seem like modern tires would have those problems described? I could be wrong. I havent checked the bearings, but my father seems to think that wouldnt be the problem from what I have described, and he knows cars as much as anyone I have ever known. I will check into it more this coming spring as I have put the car away for the winter.

Thanks

Art

 

[jeffbarrett]

I have the same vibration issue. Just educated myself on "hub centric" vs "lug centric" balancing. Had no idea. The tire shop I got the tires from didn't either and said there was no way to balance a wheel any other way but the center hub. I found 1 local shop that says they can do lug centric. Will keep you posted.

 

[Basil]

I have the same vibration issue. Just educated myself on "hub centric" vs "lug centric" balancing. Had no idea. The tire shop I got the tires from didn't either and said there was no way to balance a wheel any other way but the center hub. I found 1 local shop that says they can do lug centric. Will keep you posted.

Jeff, welcome to the forum! Since this is a very old thread, you might want to start a new thread outlining your issue. Just a suggestion.

Basil