Balancing issues with Nitto Ridge Grappler 265/70/17 SL? Could be tire pressure related?

So I bought my 2022 4Runner with these nitto tires on them and since day 1 I have had issues with the steering wheel shimmy and a bouncing sensation from the rear. I took it to discount tire a few times and they were unable to balance the tires. I finally took it to a Toyota dealership and had them balance the wheels and the confirmed my steering wheel shimmy at 62mph. The tires were balanced at 36 psi.

I then did a chalk test to figure out what pressure I should run my tires at and came up with 30 psi as the correct pressure based on the chalk test. Over the last few months the shimmy in my steering wheel returned slightly and the bouncing in the rear has showed up around 40-50 mph. Just out of curiosity, I inflated my tires back to 36psi and noticed a great reduction into he steering wheel shimmy and the bouncing sensation I get. Almost to the point where I would say it’s gone. Does that make any sense?

This has been so frustrating that I’ve been debating if I would be better off trying to balance these again or just roll the dice on a set of Toyo AT3s and see if I get lucky. I say Toyo AT3s since they seem to be the lightest and mildest AT tire so I’m hoping that would equate to less balancing problems. My last 4Runner had the stock dunlops on it and didn’t have an issue so I’ve considered getting a set of highway tires but I really want a AT tire.

 

Maybe you got a defective tire(s).

I had a set of Nitto RG’s 285 and now 265’s, both E rated on OEM Pro rims and they both balanced perfectly. Dealership did the mount and balancing.

I run about 36 psi.

 

Thats possible, I really like the Nitto RGs so I may see if I can order another pair and see if I can have them replaced with another brand if they can’t get them balanced. It was just odd to me that changing the psi was enough to reduce some of the balancing issues I’ve had. Makes me curious if this is as good as it’s gonna get or if it’s worth while to keep pursuing a solution.

 

After reading through many threads over time, it seems to me that tire balance issues are not brand specific. Having said that, there may be certain tire brands that are more inherent to balance issues.

The main complaints I have read regarding Nitto RG’s is their lackluster performance in winter driving conditions, rather than balance issues.

I seldom drive in snow and ice so I’m happy with the RG’s. Since they are a hybrid tread design, my experience is that they are very smooth and quite on pavement.

 

Mine doesn't do that.

 

A smart ass response isn't needed. Not everyone has an issue with the steering wheel shaking.

 

What tires are you running? I’d like to know in case I do decide to try a different brand in the future.

 

Just curious, why so low in the rear?

 

It's either a balancing issue or a bad tire(s).

Here's your best shot at getting a shimmy free ride.

https://www.4runners.com/threads/the-official-guide-to-balancing-your-tires.28872/

Most America's Tires have a Hunter's Machine. Make sure the one you go to does. Give them a print-out of the step-by-step procedure I have in the thread above. It's possible their tech was just doing a standard balance and thought it was good enough.

 

Who's the smartass? Have you not read the thousands of people with an issue and the fix that eliminates the problem permanently? Right, its not a problem.... for everyone.

To the OP, also, it sounds if the front end shimmy and the rear end bounce are unrelated. How many miles on the rig? Does it have a lift? What model? I'd lean more toward a suspension issue?

 

It’s a 2022 TRD Off-road with 3200 miles on it. Everything is completely stock with the exception of the nitto ridge grapplers in 265/70/17 standard load that were on it when it was on display at the dealer I bought it from. When I originally went to discount tire to get them balanced the first two times they said it balanced within spec but I still had the shimmy. I then went to a Toyota dealership and they said they felt the shimmy and had to balance it twice to get rid of it. I don’t know for sure but I have a feeling they took the tires that balanced the best and put them in the front and then put the ones that they struggled with in the back.

After the dealership balanced the tires (car had about 500 miles on it) they seemed to ride smoothly enough that I felt it was adequate however I noticed they inflated the tires to around 36-38 psi. I did a chalk test shortly after to see what psi the tires should be at and came up with about 30 psi. A few weeks after that I started to notice the shimmy come back at 62 mph and a bouncing sensation from the rear around 40-50 mph. I decided to make this thread because on a whim I decided to inflate my tires back up to 36psi and noticed a great improvement in the shimmy and bounce from the rear. The bounce from the rear is almost gone and the shimmy is hard to distinguish from normal feedback from the road. I’m not sure if there’s something wrong with my tires that causes them to not balance and I’m debating if I should roll the dice on a new set to see if it works out better. I’m also not sure if there’s nothing wrong with them at all and I was simply running the pressure in them too low and this is as good as it’s going to get.

 

Its the bounce that makes no sense. It would show up huge while balancing. I'd discuss with the dealer putting nwo tires on it since no one knows what is causing it but it does improve, temporarily, with a better balance.

Has anyone tried Road Force balancing?

 

As asked above, road force balanced yet? From what I have gathered, the 4Runner is very sensitive when it comes to tires being balanced. I had replaced the OEM tires on my taco with 4Runner pro rims and Goodyear tires, the truck shook like a dog shitting razor blades. Had them balanced again at the mom and pop garage, still crap. The went to chain tire store, explained my issue, they road force balanced, issue gone. Traded in the Tacoma for the 4Runner but kept the wheels, put them on the runner and it’s clearly not right, but never bad enough for me to rebalance again, but when I buy tires for the 4Runner, I will be sure to ask about the balancing process and not accept the tires if they create a shimmy, as my OEM set up doesn’t have it.

 

I’m fairly certain they were road force balanced at the Toyota dealership. They supposedly have hunter equipment. I may try going back to them and requesting specifically that they road balance them and request a print out of what values they were able to achieve for each wheel.

 

I'd ask the shop to check for hot (high) spot on all tires. I had one that would balance perfectly but had a high out of round spot and shake didn't go away until I got that one replaced. Discount Tire kid said he noticed wobble while it was spinning in balancer even though machine had no read out on that since it just finds heavy side and shows you where to put sticky weights.

 

I hate to say it but 4Runners seem to have a steering wheel shimmy from the factory. Toyota says it’s normal and due to harmonics. WTF?!?

My brothers 2019 OR has a shimmy sometimes, sometimes not. My 2020 OR had a shimmy that I chased the entire time I had it. Three sets of wheels and three sets of tires. Stock wheels with stock tires. SCS SR8 with Toyo Open Country ATIII. FN FX Pro wheels with Cooper Discover AT XLT 10 ply - Yukon/Arctic circle road trip setup. Multiple shops tried to balance and road force balance all three setups. Toyota wouldn’t even balance my tires unless the OEM wheels were on the truck. I got so fed up I sold the 4Runner. I now drive a 2019 Limited with my SCS/Toyo setup with no issues so far.

My 2020 OR was lifted on Elka 2.0 with SPC UCA. My 2019 limited is lifted with Dobinsons IMS and SPC UCA.

Edit - If you Google 4Runner steering wheel shimmy you’ll get plenty of hits. Also, some think the shimmy is caused by slightly warped front rotors that cause the shimmy when the warped portion passes between the pads. It’s been suggested to have the front rotors machined to see if the problem stops immediately after they are machined. The reason I mention this is because for some, after driving for 5 or 10 minutes the shimmy goes away - I’ve experienced this. Who knows. It’s a bit of a ghost. Very frustrating. Good luck.

 

Yep, but what is weird is the problem still exists, even with new aftermarket wheels and tires. Ask me how I know. While roadforce helps in many cases, its a different problem, not wheels and tires.

 

If it’s not wheels or tires then maybe rear drive shaft?

 

I put my OEM setup back on, no issue that I can tell. It was there with my swapped setup, again just barely noticeable for now.

 

I definitely don't miss this about the 4R.

 

Does anyone, who has some vibration, went to harborfreight and bought dial gauge with magnet base? Do it. first check wheel rims runout, if more than 0.05 mm - remove wheel and check rotor runout, if more than 0.05 mm - remove rotor and check hub runout. most of the time whole wheel is bent, if not from curb, but from air gun (240 Lbs/Ft torque) used in shop to tighten log nuts. if all above good, than it is tire balance.

 

Like I said above, three sets of wheels and tires on my 2020 OR with no long term luck.