Vibration through Steering wheel at 50-60 mph

67tiger

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I have had my front wheels balanced several times and continue to have vibration input to the steering wheel at around 50-60 mph. The usual suspect for this type of problem is wheel balance given my efforts there can you suggest any other possible sources of this issue. FYI: Completely rebuilt front end, all components correctly torqued. I do see where a previous owner tac welded the studs on the hubs not sure this would contribute to the shake...If you have any ideas please share. Best, Don
 

ToyTrainGuy

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I have had my front wheels balanced several times and continue to have vibration input to the steering wheel at around 50-60 mph. The usual suspect for this type of problem is wheel balance given my efforts there can you suggest any other possible sources of this issue. FYI: Completely rebuilt front end, all components correctly torqued. I do see where a previous owner tac welded the studs on the hubs not sure this would contribute to the shake...If you have any ideas please share. Best, Don

Find a shop that will true the tires & balance the wheels on the car! I did & my original LAT wheels are running smooth now....
 

Tiger tamer

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How old are the tyres ?.If they are getting old it may be best to remove them from the rims and check the inside of them out.
 

floyd landis

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I had the same issue and it went away when I took a couple pounds out of the front tires. I run them now at 28 psi without the vibration.
 

67tiger

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How old are the tyres ?.If they are getting old it may be best to remove them from the rims and check the inside of them out.

Oh my gosh they're 40 year old BF Goodrich Radial T/A's, I don't drive the car a ton so wear on the tires is minimal but they are probably beyond there safe and useful life. Maybe time for wheels and tires.
 

michael-king

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You should not be driving on tyres more than 5 years old in theory ... But 40!!!! You are lucky at 60mph they did not blow out..... Those sort of things are for static show! They wont wear as the rubber will have age hardened. Between the risk of blow out and lack of general grip due to hard rubber you are lucky to still be posting to the forum!

Get new tyres, not only safer but I bet you find the car suddenly brakes, rides, tracks and turns in much better
 

spmdr

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Been there...

It sounds like the same symptoms I had.

My fix, back in the ....well, last century...and then some...

Was the Steering RACK!

The rack SEEMED OK but was in fact way out of spec on internal clearances.

This, of course, was AFTER going round and round with wheel balance,

....AND brake checks ....and everything else I could think of.

So, unless you have personally had the rack apart to verify the clearances,

my $.02 is on the rack.

DW
 

Jeff F

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Since you don't drive the car much, they are probably flat-spotted from sitting. Older construction tires are more prone to this, but modern tires do it too. Usually it takes a decent stint of highway driving to get the belts evened out and back to round.
 

Warren

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3,872
Shelf life

I have nearly always had out of date tires. My first Tiger had 20 year old tires on it and drove like it was on a Beriut road.
Some fella bought the tires and wheels as a package and the next set went on and it felt like LA roads not a lot better :D but on the smooth parts nice. Current car has great looking plus 10 year old Pirelli P700 tires on all 4 corners and while they look great they were terrible at the last autocross.

I was at a No. Cal seminar and they said track tires have a 5 year run by date, and it was a funny poke at a Southern member selling a 10 year old set of race tires on Craigslist. My only available support of my fellow member was to say he did not want to pay 10 bucks each recycling fee to throw them away:rolleyes:

I first learned that all tires even vintage bike tires end up or should be "for display only." I had a set of Pre war Goodyear tires and they were so hard they had to be cut from rims.

Good .2 cents from all..
 

67tiger

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I hope that's not the case as I recently had Tiger Tom go through the unit and of course the last thing I want to do is revisit this. Thanks for your input.
 

Tiger tamer

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318
A not so nice reminder about using old tyres.

CLASSIC car fan Keith Lester died after his treasured MGB flipped onto its roof when one its 25-year-old tyres burst on a motorway.

The popular mechanic, known as Bob, was on the M56 near Hale when the blow-out sent his car spinning across the road and onto its roof on a grass verge. A friend who was in the passenger seat survived, but Bob, who lived in Windermere Road, Heaviley, Stockport, died moments after the crash.

The pair had been going to a car rally at Oulton Park in Cheshire when the accident happened on June 10 last year.

Police said the car's tyres had been made in 1980. The inquest heard he bought them at a classic car show in Tatton in May 2005.

Passenger Ann Brehaut said she had felt a `wobble' as they were driving, but Bob said they could drive through it.

She said the vibration had stopped as he predicted, but as they neared Junction Six, she felt the tyre blow.

"He held onto the steering wheel with his right hand, put his left across me and told me to hold on," she said.

In a statement read to the court she added: "The next thing I remember was opening my eyes, being upside down in the car. I put my hand onto Robin's and I could feel a pulse in his wrist, shortly after I felt it pass away, so I knew he had gone."

Motorists who saw the accident said the 57-year-old's driving had been normal before the crash.

The inquest heard the divorced dad-of-two had a garage in Maitland Street, Stockport, and was a fan of all things mechanical.

He loved the 28-year-old MG he had bought from a doctor ten years earlier.

Deputy coroner Graham Jackson said manufacturers recommend tyres over five years old should not be used because they start to deteriorate.

"This was a tragic case which shows that none of us know the moment we will be taken," said Mr Jackson. "Fortunately, Ms Brehaut survived and no other vehicles were involved."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.
 
B

big_mike_85614

Guest
Date on US tires

In the US there is a string of letters beginning with DOT on the tire sidewall. At the end of the string is 4 numbers like 0911. That is the manufacture date, week and year. So in this case the 9th week of 2011.

From TireRack:
The British Rubber Manufacturers Association (BRMA) recommended practice, issued June, 2001, states, "BRMA members strongly recommend that unused tyres should not be put into service if they are over six years old and that all tyres should be replaced ten years from the date of their manufacture."
 

Doug C

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543
Thanks for sharing as this is a great reminder that things like tires may look good but in fact could be a ticking time bomb. I just wonder how many of us have tires "older" than 10 years on our hobby cars.
 

0neoffive

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Age & Beauty

Well, my 40 year old Tiger Paws still hole air and have mostly unused tread. But then, it only rolls around the yard now & then. Someday, before the grandkids go bald, I guess we'll need to put fresh sneakers on for a trip to the ice cream stand . . . . . .
 
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