Expectations for 20s on low-profile tires

[PRD2BDF]

This is my first time owning a set of wheels that exceeds 17 inches and I wanted to know what to expect in terms of vibrations and so on.

 

I took the car to IPS to get it rebalanced after Discount Tire kept making it worse. After leaving IPS, it was reduced a lot but still vibrates a bit above 65 MPH. I asked Erik (nice guy btw) and he said that is to be expected and they balanced the tires as true as it gets.

 

The other obvious thing is to be aware of large divots and craters in the road.

[Mr. Jones]

The problem is with cheap wheels, and cheap tires.

If you had a set of 20" HRE's with a set of Michelin PSS's you wouldn't be posting.

 

Did they come with centering rings?

Might get a new set, if those are shitty, the wheel will never sit right and you'll always have vibrations.

 

 

For reference, many, many, cars today come with 20's from the factory, and none of them have issues with excessive vibration.

[PRD2BDF]

I have Michelin Pilot Sports btw. Not cheap by any means.

[Mr. Jones]

I have Michelin Pilot Sports btw. Not cheap by any means.

 

Go grab a set of 20" HRE's to go with them, and your problems with disappear.

 

PSS's are awesome tires, good job on that front.

 

In all seriousness, double check the centering rings, or hub adapters, whatever you are using.

[PRD2BDF]

I have the hubcentric rings. They're made of plastic. I looked at them previously and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, how do I ensure they're good? Order another set of rings?

[Mr. Jones]

I have the hubcentric rings. They're made of plastic. I looked at them previously and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, how do I ensure they're good? Order another set of rings?

 

Might try a set of mettle ones?

 

http://www.justforwheels.com/index.jsp?cat=hubcentric&sub=how&track=GHR

[PRD2BDF]

Might try a set of mettle ones?

 

http://www.justforwheels.com/index.jsp?cat=hubcentric&sub=how&track=GHR

 

Mettle?

 

The link you provided gives me plastic ones.

[TTQ B4U]

Ironically Lancaster was just on the news featuring their shitty pot hole ridden roads and no money to fix them. I laughed when the guy they interviewed said he could drive his Camaro it was so bad.

[Cordell]

Lots of things can cause vibrations, sounds like you bought quality rubber and I commend you for that it's half the battle, but what type of rims are on the car now? (sorry if I missed it) Proper fitment makes a big difference, ensuring that the wheels are seated flat against the rotor (you'd be surprised how often this is overlooked), proper lug nuts, proper adptors (ie hub rings), properly torqued. When you took it to IPS did they use a road force balancer? Remember that these machines are measuring the tire/wheel assembly, and are capable of calculating rim runout also. You can learn a lot from one of these machines, however sometimes you just can't get past the quality of the rim. I'd be curious to know the road force readings, and how much weight had to be added to each wheel.

[Tripleskate]

I have the hubcentric rings. They're made of plastic. I looked at them previously and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, how do I ensure they're good? Order another set of rings?

As long as they are not cracked, broken, or incorrectly centered, they are doing their job. I have run cheap plastic centering rings from Discount Tire for years now with no issues.

Perhaps you just got a set of junk wheels. Who did you buy them from, they may have an exchange policy if the wheels cause vibration or are not true.

This is on the Maxima, right? I was going to guess that maybe you had some damaged suspension bits, but that's a pretty new car so that is unlikely.

[Duff1647545513]

Mine always did it too between 65-70. So I just went faster than 70 and problem solved. Go to discount tire co and get the insurance on the tires. They'll replace them if you ever get a flat, no questions asked. Best $80 I ever spent.

[verse]

Don't buy 20's with low profile tires?

?

?

Profit?

[PRD2BDF]

I do not know what ips uses. The wheels are Verde Parallax that was custom made for the car. I do not think my suspension is damaged because Erik said in our convo that they inspected the suspension while they were at it.

 

Oh and Erik said that they had to add 1.5-2 to each wheel from what I understand

[Not Brian]

Were there any vibrations before the wheels? Maybe your wheel bearings or ball joints are going out? You can usually test those by lifting the car and seeing if you're able to wiggle the wheel vertically.. which I'm sure anybody installing/messing with them would have done already.

[PRD2BDF]

There was a slight vibration prior the new wheels/tires but the tires were shit and I curbed the wheels a few times.

[SHIEF]

Believe it or not you could have a bad tire. Even if it's brand new. It happens more than you'd think.

[PRD2BDF]

Then how do I diagnose that?

[Tripleskate]

Then how do I diagnose that?

Kind of basic, but pull the wheels off the car and take pictures proving that they are not bent or messed up in any way, write to whoever you bought the tires from or Michelin and explain that you have tried many methods to alleviate the vibrations but nothing is solving it, and that the tires could be at fault.

[TTQ B4U]

Believe it or not you could have a bad tire. Even if it's brand new. It happens more than you'd think.

 

^^ this. Have had it happen with Goodyear Tires but never Michelins.

 

Then how do I diagnose that?

 

Move wheels around and see if the vibration follows. Up front you'll notice it in the steering wheel. Back you'll feel it in the seat/cup holder.....glass of water will show it. Look at the back of your passenger headrest too. If it's bad it will vibrate.

[SHIEF]

Then how do I diagnose that?

 

Like Tim said move the rim/tire to a different side or front to back (assuming you know which tire is vibrating). Alot of times you can spin the tire on the car with a spin machine, but not all shops still have these. Thats an easy way of checking, if the tech knows what to look for. Tire balancer won't spin the tire fast enough to be able to tell where the new tire is messed up at. What brand of tire is it?

[PRD2BDF]

It's Michelin pilot sport a/s plus. I can feel it the most in the pedals

[SHIEF]

I have seen bad new Michelins, but it's rare being they are a top of the line tire.

[Furloaf]

Could also check the manufacture date on the tires. Being 20s they may have been sitting in stock for a while.

[TTQ B4U]

It's Michelin pilot sport a/s plus. I can feel it the most in the pedals

 

If you are on the highway and it's vibrating does it only do it under load? Pop the car in neutral and see if it stops.

[TTQ B4U]

Like Tim said move the rim/tire to a different side or front to back (assuming you know which tire is vibrating). Alot of times you can spin the tire on the car with a spin machine, but not all shops still have these. Thats an easy way of checking, if the tech knows what to look for. Tire balancer won't spin the tire fast enough to be able to tell where the new tire is messed up at. What brand of tire is it?

 

Not to bounce you around to various shops but I will share that the older fellow, Jack, at Wheel Medic is the ONLY one out of like 4 places that found not only a bad Goodyear tire, but a slight bend on one wheel of my MS3. This was a couple of years ago. He's an old timer that knows his stuff. Hope he's still there. He did what SHEIF said above. Fixed the wheel, replaced the tire and it was gone.