Steering wheel vibrations

[aphio43]

I replaced my old Michelins with a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE950 225/60R16 97H on my 98 Mark VIII LSC about a month ago and since then I've had a steady vibration in the steering wheel at speeds > 55 mph. I've taken the tires for rebalancing three times and had the alignment checked and the retailer insists there is nothing wrong with the tires. I spoke to my service adviser at the dealership and he mentioned that the tires may not be as round as they could possibly be but the retailer says that if the tires weren't round this would be something that would come out in the balancing process. He blames the air ride system / suspension but I run the system checks from the display panel and traction and air ride both say ok. No system lights come on when I drive and I don't know whose word to trust in this matter. Is there any type of self diagnostic test I can run from the panel that can check my air ride system, traction control and or ABS. I'm clutching at straws here and would welcome any suggestions. Is there someone in South Florida who operates /owns a business which tackles these issues.
Hey no jokes about driving < 55.

Thanks!

[ekooke]

If you suspect out-of-round tires, take it to a Firestone dealer, assuming they still do the "truing" of the tires on a cutting machine. However, I've found that my car likes Michelin Symmetry tires. At least, it didn't like General or Cooper brand tires. The Generals made it pull to the right, and the Coopers just made it wander left OR right.

[nazareth]

aphio;
Did you find a solution to your front end shake?
I have the same dilemma when changing over from Michelin Symmetry`s to Coopers.Double checked balancing, am going to get another alignment, all else is tight in the front end? Even replaced one of the front tires thinking that was the problem? No Luck?
Puzzling?
Nazareth

[pro-five-oh]

Not a chance in hell the air ride system is at fault. If a mechanic can't find anything wrong in the front suspension (I can bet they won't) then the tires are bad. Conctact your nearest Firestone/Bridgstone sales office if the dealer is giving you crap.

I really don't have anything nice to say about Generals or Coopers. They don't match up to other brands in ride, handling and balance. When it comes to tires, you get what you pay for...unless the tire retails for $140 and Tirerack.com closes them out for $50. I love the Firestone SZ-50s on my car. Ride is better than the stock Eagle GAs (1993 Mark) and handling is amazing.

[ March 30, 2003: Message edited by: pro-five-oh ]

[ March 30, 2003: Message edited by: pro-five-oh ]

[aphio43]

Nazareth,

I did not have a chance to take any further action in this matter though I suspect the Tires Plus dealer is working hard to get me off his tail somehow. Pro-five-oh's idea sounds very good and I might be going to the Firestone dealer and asking him for help. My service advisor at the dealership did say that the Marks particularly the Mark VIII are very sensitive to the roundness of the tire and maybe that is the problem that both of us have. I will keep you updates once I hit upon a solution.

Thanks!

[pro-five-oh]

quote:Originally posted by aphio43:
Pro-five-oh's idea sounds very good and I might be going to the Firestone dealer and asking him for help.

The dealer may not help. If they pass the blame to someone else, call the regional sales office and raise a little hell.

Also, rotate the tires to see if that helps.

[ April 01, 2003: Message edited by: pro-five-oh ]

[Rockyii911]

i have the same problem.......
98 lsc 60,000 blk on blk...............

i just bought brand new toyo proxies v rated tires, had balanced, 3 different times
when i get to around 55-65 mph i get a litle wheel shake.........i'm starting to lean toward the lsc stock rims..........
the mechanic puts tire on bal. machine
bal tires, i drive down street come back put tires back on bal machine there out of bal.........when the mechanic locks down the rim on the machine he has to make sure that when the tires spins the rim is spinning perfect not jumping a little........i have tried everything u can imageine with no luck.........
i also have a 94 with same tires different rim, and that car drives perfect at any speed, so i don't think its the tires....
if u notice on the 98 lsc stock rims ,the center hub hole starts deteriorating after a while causing the center to become out of round so everytime you put it on the balance machine it will give you a different bal weight...........or so as the mechanic saids.......
any ideas........

i'm listening

thnaks Rocky
i'm at wits end , the next thing i'm gonna try is getting to new stocks rims for the front and if that doesn't work,

[aphio43]

I took my Mark VIII to another store Fri morning where they balanced all four tires and the vibration has disappeared for now. The other store manager kept telling me that all my tires were balanced but ten days later the new guy tells me none of the tires were balanced properly. I am ticked off and will visit the old store for some type of compensation for all the pain and misery he put me thru.

I also spoke to the setvice manager at the new store and he did mention that if u dont use good quality weights they do tend to fall off soon and create balancing issues down the road. Ive only driven the car for 5 days after the re-balancing but will keep you all updated with any new developments.

Rocky,

Why dont you ask the tire dealer to put some Michelin touring tires for a week on your car and see how they look.The problem may lie in that particular set. They should have some type of 30 day ride guarantee. They should also try road force balance with a Hunter GSP9700 www.gsp9700.com (http://www.gsp9700.com) - Best of luck and keep us posted.