R32 Gtr Tyres

[JonesyGTR]

Hi guys,

I got new tyres this morning, all the same dimensions around, so no ATTESA issues.

4 wheel computer alignment. All 4 wheels balanced.

Here is the problem:

Steering wheel seems to sit slightly down on the right side (ie. right side down), not by much, but enough to notice. Above about 80-85 the steering shakes noticeably too. Worse than when I had shitty tyres on front!

I will be taking it back, but after some pointers/ideas. I have 5mm spaces on the wheels. 235/45/17 all around. I took it to a well known tyre place in Melbourne that deals with heaps of imports and high end cars, never heard a bad thing about them. When i noticed this i dropped into a Bob Jane (not where i got the original job done) and asked them to check it over. They said all looked ok, no obvious stuff-ups. Balanced ok and tyres fitted correctly.

Please help with any advice/ideas you have!

Cheers,

Dan

Edited March 5, 2007 by JonesyGTR

[JonesyGTR]

Any help guys? Suggestions?

Thanks

Dan

[ferni]

Steering wheel not centered when driving straight is usually the alignment place adjusted your toe settings without centering your steering wheel...

The shaking of the steering wheel when going above 80 sounds like a bad balance - maybe some weights came off?

You could also try removing the spacers to make sure they aren't causing any issue, a lot of balancing/alignment places don't like them, because they can cause issues like your seeing

Otherwise, take it back i guess? Get them to take it for a drive and show them the issue...

[JonesyGTR]

Thanks ferni,

Would taking the spacers off cause any other issues? They were on the car when I got it, so not entirely sure as to the reason they are on.

Cheers,

Dan

[blind_elk]

Most modern wheels centre on the hub itself, not on the studs. The probability is that the spacers are preventing the wheel centring properly. This is where the "imbalance" above 80-85 k is probably coming from.

And make sure they centre the steering wheel and align to that.

[JonesyGTR]

They are 5mm spacers, would removing them be my best/only option? What else would this effect, if anything?

Cheers,

Dan

[JonesyGTR]

Anyone? Any further help would be appreciated guys....

Cheers,

Dan

[BHDave]

Most modern wheels centre on the hub itself, not on the studs. The probability is that the spacers are preventing the wheel centring properly. This is where the "imbalance" above 80-85 k is probably coming from.

In that case all you need to do is jack the car up and back off all the wheel nuts and retighten progressively in a star pattern to center it properly. Done and done.

Shit, if i can fit non hubcentric wheels without steering shudder issues, anyone can. The wheel nuts are conical for a reason people, it's so they match the cone shaped indent in the wheel and center themselves.

Start semi related rant:

Just on a side note; has anyone else noticed the number of people jumping on the hubcentric band wagon in the last year or so? About 1 in 4 sets of aftermarket rims i see on skylines and silvias match the nissan hub, no balance issues. The majority of jap bolt on spacers don't have the hub on the outside, mine do and were a press fit. From a purely functional point of view, is any one really dumb enough to believe that if you can slip the wheel over the 10mm long knob on the hub (we're not talking press fit here) that the studs won't be taking the load?

End rant....