steering wheel shake Steering wheel shake at 100kph

[sean12343]

Hey I own a skyline R34 2000 sedan and i have recently been having trouble with my steering wheel shaking when I reach 100kph.

The car as had 1 alignment done and been balanced twice...neither fixed the problem

The left tie rod has been replaced also as that was on its last legs but still didn't fix the problem.

i don't believe it is the tyres as it drives pretty straight without dramatic pull to either side of the road and no obvious wear is noticeable but due to me not being a mechanic in any way, I could be wrong. 

any suggestions on how to fix this problem would be highly appreciated as I am puzzled to what the problem could be.

thank you. 

 

[The Bogan]

Wheel bearings?

[Stinky Rooster]

Usually when you feel the shake in the wheel, its an unsprung issue (as in, wheel side of the springs, not car side)

sprung weight issues are usually felt through the floor seat and pedals.

So the first thing you need to do is take the car for a drive on a nice smooth road with the radio off, and pay close attention to what you can actually feel, so you can tell an expert clearly.

In my experience what you describe sounds like a wheel or tyre out of balance, possibly  even a wheel bearing (although you would see this immediately when doing an alignment)

Stick your head into the back of the wheel, and see if you can find any evidence of wheel weights not being where they should be.

[The Bogan]

I would just jack up the car, spin and wobble the wheel. 

All 4 shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.

As for "techs" picking up a issue during a alignment, that's not something I would lay a bet on.

I have lost wheel weights when cleaning the rims, usually because the "techs" just stick it on without any cleaning or prepping the surface.

[niZmO_Man]

Possible causes:
shit tyres
worn dampers
worn bushes (e.g. steering rack mounts)
worn wheel bearings
wheels not balanced properly/bent wheels

[hardsteppa]

2 hours ago, mlr said:

 

I have lost wheel weights when cleaning the rims, usually because the "techs" just stick it on without any cleaning or prepping the surface.

Damn right. New wheels, took it back to shop, got rebalanced. Witnessed new weight on there...had fallen off by time i drove home.

[Missileman]

On 7/18/2018 at 10:30 AM, mlr said:

I have lost wheel weights when cleaning the rims, usually because the "techs" just stick it on without any cleaning or prepping the surface.

I always remove my wheels and clean them the day before my appointment with the tyre shop... they do notice things like that.

 

 

[niZmO_Man]

I paid a tyre shop $200 to adjust the front end of my car to the specs I wanted.

After two hours, the "tech" absolutely fked the front up. I took it home and adjusted it by eye in 10 minutes to bring it to a more driveable state.

Can't pay anyone to do anything any more, unless proven otherwise.

[The Bogan]

3 hours ago, niZmO_Man said:

I paid a tyre shop $200 to adjust the front end of my car to the specs I wanted.

After two hours, the "tech" absolutely fked the front up. I took it home and adjusted it by eye in 10 minutes to bring it to a more driveable state.

Can't pay anyone to do anything any more, unless proven otherwise.

I use JAX at Liverpool, usually $60 for full alignment to my specs.

Only issue I ever had was the steering wheel was off center once, they fixed it straight away. 

With the laser gear it makes doing an alignment (EDIT: should be) idiot proof.

Hell, I've watched the guys do it so many times I reckon I could give it a crack, it ain't rocket science.

[Hank Scorpio]

Did you get the problem sorted?

9 times out of 10 a wheel wobble is wheel and tyre related, some tyre shops will be good and tell you if there is a problem, others won't.

Causes can include (but are not limited to)
- Wheels bent
- Old tyres
- Tyres not round (also see: cheap tyres)
- Tyres unevenly worn

Do you have half decent tyres on the car? How old are your tyres? Have you tried rotating wheels front to back? (if a wheel is slightly bent, it's better to have it on the back).

The other 10% of the time as Ravi said it could be related to other parts of the steering/suspension.

[niZmO_Man]

On 7/20/2018 at 2:11 PM, mlr said:

I use JAX at Liverpool, usually $60 for full alignment to my specs.

Only issue I ever had was the steering wheel was off center once, they fixed it straight away. 

With the laser gear it makes doing an alignment (EDIT: should be) idiot proof.

Hell, I've watched the guys do it so many times I reckon I could give it a crack, it ain't rocket science.

One day I'll wake up early on Saturday and take my car there. I had a mate get alignment on two of his cars there so good reviews there.
I guess I was ill-informed when I handed over my cash. Lesson learnt.

[ausdrift]

Similar thing happened once for me, cause was warped tyre

[r33cruiser]

Similar issue with me. 

Didn't move it for 12 months in the garage- dodgy old front left Tyre.