Road Force Balance Question

Good deal! Let us know how it goes.

 

So he's done with my balance and these are the final numbers. These seem really good to me for an AT tire. What you guys think?

I'm waiting on alignment now. I'll post those specs when done.

 

My before and after alignment.

Truck feels very good now!

Have a trip to California this weekend and I'll really be able to get a feel for it. So far so good! Think my ordeal is finally over.

 

Congrats!

That was a long haul, but I think you'll really enjoy the ride now that you've got things sorted out.

Time for a suspension upgrade

 

LOL.. That's next for sure.

 

Adding a lift/suspension might require more courage than I have (after finally getting the wobble figured out).

 

I understand where you're coming from, but the wobble came from the tires. No need to worry about a quality suspension upgrade after the problem has been addressed.

 

Old thread but figured I would add since I had similar issue fully resolved recently. Steering wheel wobbles at about 55-62 mph. My Tacoma was similar but less severe shake than 4R.
Short answer: it is tire balance and wheel alignment. If 2 trips to same tire shop don't fix it, go somewhere else.
The KO2s on my 4R have had some wobble in steering from the beginning. Stock had no issue. Balancing would help usually. An alignment helped a little. If you are confident in your alignment, keep pressing tire guys to balance them better. I tolerated wobble as best i could. When it got too much, new balance lessened it. Discount Tire did all my balancing on 4R. (initial mount plus total of 3 rebalances). For the 3rd rebalance attempt, I tried a different location figuring it would be different techs. Went when they weren't busy and explained the disappointing history. Guy got balance good enough that there is no steering wobble at any speed now. And only took him about 30 minutes. Perfect.

 

I had a similar issue to the point I almost got rid of my 4Runner. Went through... 4 sets of tires, 3 different sets of rims, and probably about 12+ balances at multiple different shops including 2 dealers and multiple Discount Tires. No-matter how I explained the issue to the shop guys, they would just hand the keys off to a low grade tech and I would typically get the car back with a worse wobble than it went in. In one instance, I got 4 new tires put on at discount tire (at least they were doing it free of charge) and the wobble was terrible, so I brought it to the dealer. Dealer charged me for a new balance, but it was even worse afterward. So I bring it to a third independent shop and they tell me one of the tires was road force balancing at over 120# - bad tire. WTF! Two shops send me out the door with a tire that visibly isn't even round. Anyway, back to discount tire and they have some fancy new balancing machines and suddenly the problem is finally sorted out. No more wobble. Fucking saga though.

 

I feel your pain man, and it sucks you had to go through all that. The point is, it was the balance, and that is what it is 99% of the time, so stick to your guns guys because most of the boys do not know how to balance tires.

 

Hey folks. I’m new here searching for answers. I’ve been bounced around and still have a wobble. I have 275’s on procomp. I went from BFG to coopers. Who can get this shit straight?

 

Hi guys, new member here. I have the exact same tires as OP (Cooper ATW3's) and same wobble. I'm 265's on Method Roosts. I too have been back and forth with Discount Tire a few times. It'll get better after a balance, but then it gets worse. Lots of weights too. Wobbles around 60-62 mph now. Headed back to Discount in the morning. Very annoying. I'm thinking about new tires too but not sure what to get.

 

Go to a different DT location if you have that option. Be sure to tell them it has never been right from multiple trips to other location and you want someone that knows what they are doing to try it this time.

 

Good thread...

 

I know this is an old thread, but I’m going through the same ordeal and have a related question- how are the DT guys jacking up the truck for you? At my shop they jacked up the front by the lower control arms and I really wonder if that’s the best idea…

 

There is a jack point under the skid plate on a Pro in the center of the truck. Otherwise, I use the big flat on the frame behind the body mount. I would not choose to use the LCA in the front unless I had to.

 

Yeah, that's how they did mine too. Bent edges of oem skid plate doing it. There is a support at center meant for jack placement or use frame on each side as stated in the manual.

 

I just left DT and now will be going out to see if they bent mine. I had the old wobble at 70 after putting on 275’s BFG KO2’s rated e and the two in the back were 29 and 37 RFB. I went back today and one of the new ones was 50. So they rotated the tire 180 on the rim and it was 27. Now at 80 I start to feel a slight shake but noting I can’t live with since I don’t drive over that. The other new tire was a nine. Just checked, no bent skid plate.

 

If the wobble starts to bug you, try a shop that specializes in off-roading. Discount tire is really good for buying wheels and tires, and they have good customer service. But, in my experience, they weren't able to balance my Toyo AT3's. I had to go back to my off-road shop.

 

Like a dumb ass, I took the nearly perfect-balanced KO2's (2 had zero weight, the other 2 had less than 1 oz each) and swapped them out for new Michelin Defenders at Discount Tire. 2 trips later, each wheel has at least 4-5 oz of weight and there is still a wobble at highway speeds. The lowest wheel had 15 pounds of road force, the highest in the mid-20's. I keep thinking it is a crappy install, but maybe it is the tires? Return them for something else?

 

4-5 oz on each wheel is working backwards. I’d find another shop, have them remove all weights and start over. I’ve had so many sets of defenders (and previous versions of the tire) that I’ve lost count. Fantastic tires. 60k on my current set and still have a lot of life left.

I’ve never had a problem with a single tire. The chances you’ve got 4 bad ones (or even one) is slim.

But T4R’s are notorious for exactly the problem you’re having. Don’t give up. You’ll get there. I posted earlier in this thread. One shop had three attempts at balancing my defenders and couldn’t get it done. Took it to another and they nailed it on first try and it’s been spot on ever since.

PS— the defenders are an awesome tire.

 

Hello, New member dredging up a very old thread. I have a 2016 Trail, purchased it new in mid-2016. I didn't notice the front-end "shimmy" unit about 2 years ago. Since them I've been through some of the exact same attempts to diagnose and fix the problem described here - multiple sets of wheels, even more sets of tires, countless trips to different shops and dealers for tire balancing and alignments. Occasionally it seemed like the front end shake was gone but just when I would forget about it, it would come back. Then about 5 months ago I read about the East Coast Gear Supply needle bearing delete bushing on another 4Runner website. I installed their bushing and it seemed to eliminate the problem for a while, but it wasn't long before I started noticing the front-end shake at about 60 mph again. It wasn't as bad and most of the time it wasn't there at all. Then, this morning I drove about 9 miles to the gym. Most of that was on the freeway at 60-70 mph and it was as smooth as glass. When I left the gym to drive on into work, as soon as I got back up on the freeway and hit about 60 mph, the shake was back and as bad as it ever was - did not feel safe to drive at highway speeds. Once again, when I put it in 4-hi the shake goes away. Since it disappears in 4WD, I know this cannot be wheels or tires. So what in the world is causing the intermittent front-end "shimmy" at highway speeds? Any input is appreciated.