Steering wheel wobbling w/KO2 tires & TRD Pro rims

Posting the before and after photos. New KO2 tires 265/70/17 and TRD Pro rims on my TRD Sport. My steering wheel wobbles at 60 mph on open highway. Is that normal? Wheels were aligned by Toyota dealership. Also, there is rubbing when I turn my wheels hard to the right when parking (haven’t tried hard turn to the left yet), though Toyota tire tech told me no rubbing would occur. But the steering wheel wobble is main concern. Thoughts? Thank you!

 

Dealership is now acknowledging they didn’t balance the tires correctly

 

Follow these steps for a proper balance:

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

 

Thank you. Toyota dealership put these things on and they need to get it right, in my opinion. I dropped a lot of coin. So I’m going back at the crack of dawn tomorrow so they can fix it.

 

Ask them if they have a Hunters machine.

 

Roger that, will do! Thank you

 

If they don't, I wouldn't expect them to get it dead on.

And if they end up not getting it dead on, ask for your money back.

Then go to a reputable shop that does have a Hunters Road Force Balance machine and follow those steps. That's your best chance at getting rid of the wobble.

Hope that helps.

 

It helps very much, I really appreciate it.

 

And for the rubbing, can you identify where? Is it rubbing in the front of the wheel well on the fender liner/fender flare or the rear of the wheel well where the mudflap is?

 

I think I need someone else to look at the wheel well when I’m backing up and turning the wheel. I’m not sure where it’s rubbing (no mud flaps). I wonder if the balancing will correct that since it doesn’t seem to be happening on the passenger side.

 

My bet is rubbing on this bump on the fender liner. When I push the fender liner forward life is good

Looks like OP does not have mud flaps just like on my Limited. So probably safe from that. But not 100% sure with the offset TRD Pro wheels have. I had lot less trouble sine I used TRD Offroad wheels.

 

As @kmeeg mentions, you're probably rubbing on your fender liner at the front of your wheel well. Balancing won't fix this. This is cause from the lower offset of your Pro wheels.

Look up the fender liner mod and do that. Toyota does this to all Pro's because of the lower offset of the Pro wheels. It's incredibly easy and you'll be happy you did it.

 

Forgive me for being dense. But can you tell me more about this fender liner? I’m not comprehending what you’re suggesting, although I appreciate the suggestion very much. Is there a link to one online?

 

I'm not sure if there are any good videos, but worst case see my video from the time line 2:25 mark'ish.

https://youtu.be/BvV0GGCaVM4

 

thanks! Brand…?

 

No brand involved here. Fender liner mean that black plastic thing around the wheel well.

Also don't pay attention to lift on this video. Its my old lift and its not important to your case.

 

Okay, I see now. How did you move the liner back a full inch?

 

Dealership did

dealership did the Hunters Road Force Balance — and I still have a shimmy at 60 mph. Will have to find a good ship in Northern Virginia to correct it.

 

Did you get the run out numbers from them? If so, what were they?

 

unfortunately I forgot to ask for that. Since I’ve got to go to a body man to deal with the fender liner being pushed back to deal with the rubbing on the driver’s side, I’ll just find a competent shop to deal with the balancing issue. Hopefully the same guy can do both in a couple of weeks.

 

If they did a proper balance using the adapter plates and you still have a shimmy, the run out numbers are the last thing to check. You want them below 20. If there is a tire above 20, that's probably the culprit behind your shimmy.

 

Roger that — thanks!

 

No input on your problem, just wanted to say those wheels look fantastic on the sport! I hope you get the issue resolved.

Mine does it to, depending on temperature. 30 degrees out, smooth as glass. 50 degrees out, shimmy like crazy.

It's nuts how sensitive these are to tire size and wheel balance.

 

Interesting as a co-worker is having the same issue with his 265 70 17 bfg ko2 and 17x7 trd pro wheels(1st model trd wheel) . He's Had it at the same dealer 3 times now.

The runout numbers nimby is talking about are important. If the number is 20 or higher, tell them to reject the tire and send it back in exchange for another.

Like others have said 4runners are known for being hyper sensitive to balancing. I still think its and overall issue with steering wheel dampening/clock spring or "play" in the steering shaft.

 

Am guessing that's why there is no OEM Mud flaps/guard for 2022/2023 TRD SPORT.
Rubbing Issues. The OEM tires are skinny... I guess for a reason. Especially with the X-REAS
The optional 17 Tire Size for TRD sports are - 265/70-17

Am thinking about a 20' tire like BFGOODRICH TRAIL-TERRAIN T/A when my current Geolander G96B is toast.
Mean Skinny and tall

As i mentioned in my earlier post in early 2022. The local tire shop owner refused to install any mean bulky off road tire on my TRD Sports. Says with his experience, its too sensitive and they keep coming back with issues.

 

I have a 2018 Limited and went from the same 20” rims to the ORP wheels.Yours are a different offset but I had a slight rub even with oem size on the drivers side front inner liner section. It appears to be slightly different than the passenger side. A heat gun and something to push the liner in while heating should take care of that in only a few minutes. I have a rubber mallet I used as its round barrel and handle made it easy. Good luck.

 

Yeah, 60mph wobble or steering shimmy is known. Some people even get it on stock wheels/tires.
Took 3 or 4 attempts to balance my 285 KO2s on SCS rims before the shimmy was gone. I totally think it's combo of equipment plus operator doing the balancing to resolve the issue. Manager of shop that fixed mine was a 4runner owner himself and knew about it.
Got 49000 miles on the tires now. No shimmy for at least the last 25000 except last few months the shimmy is sometimes there again. Worn enough that I'll be getting new tires anyway this year.

 

That is interesting — and yesterday it got cold again and there was no shimmy at high speeds!

 

I was able to find a Hunter’s Road Force balancing machine at a craftsman shop near me. They found that it was .75 oz off after two tries by the Toyota dealership.