Road Force Balance Question

Hello all.

So for those that haven't been following my threads, I have been having steering wheel vibrations and wobble, and alignment problems with my new T4R.

I recently took it in to Toyota, they had my vehicle for 4 days to figure out alignment and balancing.

They got it done after the 4th day. Alignment seems fixed, wobble seems gone for the most part, but I still have vibration in the steering wheel. Feels like im holding an eletric toothbrush.

They did a RFB on all 4 tires and the lowest they were able to get my tires was 15. The others are 17, 22, and 24. They put the two lowest ones in the front.

They told me they tried to get them lower but they couldn't. Said the tires are brand new and sometimes it takes a few months of driving for them to wear in before they can balance them properly and hopefully bring the numbers down.

Does this make sense? Tires are brand new P rated, Cooper AT3 4S, stock size.

I just can't see how they weren't able to lower these down more. At least two of the rims, have two rows of balancing weights on them.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

Maybe take it to a tire shop for a second opinion?

 

Do a couple burnouts to get the back closer to the front. Repeat until no vibration.

 

Will a 4Runner do a burnout? I think mine will in sand.

 

WTF is all I gota say

 

I would, but none of the ones I called have the adapter needed to balance lug centric rims.

 

Yeah its insane

 

I’d take it back to where you bought your tires and have them swap them for new ones ? I know most cooper tires will flat spot just sitting overnight and smooth out very quickly after driving a few blocks.. maybe it’s the tires are out of round and or junk ? Maybe file a claim with cooper tire ?

 

I may take them back to Discount Tire and see what they say. I can see one tire being bad, but all 4? I'm thinking the dealership doesn't know how to balance.

At first they told me they got them all under 10, then they tell me their machine wasn't calibrated and actually they're all over 15. I mean wtf!?

 

I'm leaning toward dealership not knowing wtf they doing. I mean who the hell puts two rows of weights without questioning whats going on.

 

OP, are you getting answers? Progress?

 

When I first got my truck, I got some new Michelin's and I gave the tire shop 3 attempts at getting them balanced. I felt vibes in the steering wheel after all three attempts. They just couldn't get it dialed in. And they had all the right equipment.

On the third attempt, they used a wire grinding wheel to get the adhesive from the previously installed weights off one of the wheels. Blew through the paint down to bare alloy. On about a 1x5" section of the inner rim. I was pissed. Brand new truck.

Took it to the dealer for the forth attempt, and they nailed it. First try. Go figure. Also had the tire shop buy me a new rim. No excuse for that kind of shortcut.

 

Well, I am on balance number 4 now. Balanced by the original Discount Tire where I purchased them, balanced by the dealership, balanced by another Discount Tire, balanced again at yet another Discount Tire. Still have the wobble. So bad that if I let go of the steering wheel, you can visually see the steering wheel wobble back and fourth.

I have an appointment with a local mom and pop shop on Friday. Apparently they come highly recommend by a 4runner's group local to Vegas. I will see what they say.

At this point I am thinking it may be the tires. I am still within the 30 days to swap them, so I may just do that.

Question is, what tires should I go with? What have tires have been known to balance easier?

I am thinking of trying the Falken Wildpeaks next. Wanted to go the KO2 route, but heard they have issues balancing properly also.

Let me know what you guys think.

 

If it were me, i would go back to the shop that you purchased them from and have them put a different set of tires on and see what happens. My guess is that the tires are out of round or defective. Just my take on it though.

 

I read that the Falkens were also tough to balance, but I've never owned a set. Hopefully someone who has can chime in.

I've had really good luck with my Firestone Destination A/Ts.

I would take SlvrSlugs suggestion and have the shop put on a different set of tires to see if it improves.

 

I run the firestone destinations on my Tacoma and they have been good but they are not an aggressive looking tire.

 

I was going to go that route, but went with the Coopers instead because I have a connection at Discount Tire and got these really cheap. Out the door I paid $630.

I went to Firestone and they quoted me $915 for the Destination A/Ts. Unfortunately Discount Tire doesn't stock those either.

I will go Friday to this mom and pop shop and see what they say. If they can't fix it, then I am going back to Discount Tire and getting new tires. Problem is I don't know what other tires to go with.

 

I have not had them, but many people compare the Nitto Terra Grapplers with the Coopers you have. Toyota even stocks them on the PRO. I'm not sure how the new Terra Grappler 2 compare to the original Terra Grapplers. I hope you can get this figured out.

 

Thanks, me too. I love this vehicle and can't wait to move on to getting mods done, but I need this fixed first.

Hopefully this guy on Friday will be able to tell me what's going on. He is also going to check my alignment for me since the dealership was missing with it when I took it in.

 

I've probably had 8 sets of Michelin Defenders and no problems at all.

From what I read that they're molded in one piece as opposed to some tires being molded in multiple pieces and stuck together. Or something like that. Don't know the whole truth there. But the one-piece is supposed result in a more balanced tire.

 

Good luck. I understand your frustration.

After having vibration problems with the stock Dunlop AT20 tires for almost a year, the Toyota dealer recommend the tires to be replaced since the 4 balance jobs they did were not helping.

Goodyear agreed with the Toyota dealer so they are covering the replacement costs. They said I can pick any Dunlop or Goodyear tire so I picked the Goodyear Ultra Terrains. I have to go to America's Tire to get them because the Ultra Terrains are only carried by America's / Discount Tire. There are no reviews yet on the America/Discount Tire's website. But there is a lot of feedback on the Tacomaworld forums and no complained about vibration or balancing problems. Everyone says how nice and smooth they ride. I will find out and let you know after getting them installed this weekend. This might be the tire to solve both of our problems.

 

Yes please let me know how that goes.

I actually had problems with my stock Bridgestones also, but with those the wobble went away after they got warm. The coopers wobble the entire time between 50-65 no matter how long I've been driving.

 

My wobble with the stock Dunlops pretty much goes away after they got warm too. But it still bugged me.

I thought you Coopers did not wobble but had some buzzing vibration? Did the wobble come back?

 

Yup, wobble came back with a vengeance. Worse than before.

Been balanced 4 times now. The entire vehicle has vibration now also. I am thinking either bad tires or just all 4 balances have been really bad.

The guy I'm going to on Friday comes highly recommended. We'll see.

 

Was Friday not the big day? Any updates on this?

 

Good morning.

So because my tires had such a hard time balancing from the beginning, and I had 30 days to switch them out, I ended up going to Discount Tire and switched them out for the Nitto Terra Grappler G2s.

So far so good. I have a slight wobble but way better than before. Unfortunately the discount tire I went to didn't have a road force machine, so I am thinking of going to another location to get them road forced and see if I can get the wobble gone completely.

The coopers I had were nothing but trouble trying to get them balanced. Some of the rims had two rows of weights on them.

The Nittos balanced great, needing very little weight.

 

Well, in all my years, I have never had a balancing/tire issue as bad as you have had.

I'm glad to hear that maybe your issues are finally solved. How is the road noise with those tires?

 

Yup me neither. I've owned many vehicles and this is the first time I've had this problem.

The tires are pretty loud, significantly louder than the Coopers. It doesn't bother me though as I always have my radio up lol

However, they ride really nice for an AT. I am impressed.

 

Sounds like a good start BCM!

Did you go back for another alignment yet?

 

Yup I'm going today after work!