Wheel Shaking And Tram Lining

[sl33py]

Problems solved. Use this thread as a reference if you have shaky a steering wheel!

Hi. just got my skyline gtst 2 weeks ago. After getting to know the car better now, I've found that my steering wheel wonders a little bit now and then (esp at slow speeds on pokey roads around Canberra). I've also noticed that the steering wheel shakes noticeably when doing about 100kph and or stopping really quickly (ie stomping on the brakes).

I have Ziex 326's on 18" rims. I read in some tyre threads that the Ziex are really bad and could be the cause of my problems. The suspension is completely stock, stock engine (cept the exhaust).

Are the tyres a likely culprit? I thought there had to be something seriously wrong (and there WAS, read on) with the suspension for the steering wheel to shake like that...

Edited April 12, 2008 by sl33py

[madbung]

Check the front bushes, also check wheel balance and alignment if you dunno how then take it to a suspension specialist for a "free check"

Your wandering problem could be a simple case of "bump steer" the wider the tyre the more noticable it'll become, warn bushes will exagerate the problem.

[sl33py]

Hi, the front bushes are brand new, they were replaced as part of the conditions of me buying the car cos the NRMA report said they were shot

Yeah the tramlining isn't tooo bad. It's more the shaking I was worried about, and then the fact that ppl said the 326's are rubbish and maybe i'll spin out when i could have better tyres and more grip.

[blind_elk]

The 326s are an acceptable tyre. Check the wheel balance for the vibration.

[gt-t_r34]

hmm maybe not balenced properly my friend got some 18s on his r33 and and balence the rims and tyres but not with the spacers they had to put on to clear the brakes! And the steering wheel shook something special at 100km/h

[Duncan]

Is the shuddering only when you are braking? If is it is almost certainly warped discs, you need to have them machined or replaced

[morlock]

Also check the power steering for leaks around the hoses. Tighten the hoses and bleed the system.

This was happening to me and was the result of air in the power steering causing the pump to not work properly.

[Trust33]

The ziex arnt a performance tyre.They are a putting arround on tyre.But they wouldnt be the cause of your wheel shake.More like wheel balance/alignment.

[FATGTS-R]

Do you have spacers fitted?

[sl33py]

Haha just saw this again! Old thread, but still have the same problem. Thought I might update it in case one day someone suffers the same problems.

@ above: Nope, I don't have spacers.

Anyway, since posting here, I've had the wheels balanced and aligned about 5 or 6 times at various places. My rears were found to be both pointing to the right, so it was like having the back of a turned forklift on the car. I had a front camber kit (I think) fitted to help cancel some pulling to the left I had, because there was more camber on the RHS, meaning it was like I was on a permanent camber tilted to the left.

But I've still got the steering wheel shakes. At low speeds, It's a mere shiver, which has passed under the eye of many a "tyre guy" either unnoticed or "that's just the road mate". But sometimes (can't recreate the conditions reliably ), the steering wheel just shaking violently left and right, and it doesn't represent how rough the road is at the time. It sometimes does it badly on very flat freeway.

I took it to another place and they found that my car was on its front bumpstops. So I got new shocks, springs and bumpstops all round from SydneyKid's groupbuy (I kind of felt like an upgrade anyway, and didn't want the front and rear geometry messed up). So now it handles pretty darn nice on corners etc with not much roll at all now, but... it STILL shakes.

So we put it up on the rack and had a VERY good look at all the bushes. We found that the front steering rack mount bushes were shot. And also my rear cradles bushes are munted. Mechanic said he'd never seen them in this condition on just a 10yo car, usually on R32's, so he was pretty surprised. He found some more bushes he couldn't say for sure were fine. I've had this wheel shake problem for nigh on one year now, and it's really bugging me now, so I said "if in doubt, swap it out".

I don't have the list on me, so I might mess up some of the terms/names here, but basically we're changing every single bush in the suspension except for the ones at the top on the front (mechanic doesn't know of replacements you can get for them), and the ones which I think hold the rear steering rack where it joins to the wheel. I'm also getting a HICAS locker. Also getting adjustable rear camber rods. That's all ordered (one part apparently is made from scratch and takes 2 weeks) and it should be fitted within 3 weeks.

Mechanic said after this, there really isn't anything else that can be replaced, so I'm REALLY hoping this fixes the shaking. Sure, it handles nice overall at the moment, but when I feel like an old man cos of the shakes after driving, it's not much of a consolation My mechanic said my car is still one of the smoothest he's driven (and he's had lines in HPI, so he's seen a fair few), but when I first bought this car, I could do 180kph and barely even feel any untoward shaking/shivering in the wheel compared to what I do now. I don't mind feeling the road (feedback) through the wheel, but it's gotta represent what's under me at the time, not crazy random shaking!

And I won't even go into how much all this troubleshooting has cost me, cos at this point it's just me VS the car until I get it sorted, I run out of money and go bankrupt, or I run out of patience and drive it off a cliff!

Will update this with developments as they happen. One day I'll get to power upgrades...

[sl33py]

Further Update: Steering wheel still trembling/shaking. Car's currently getting every possible bush in the suspension replaced (ignoring a few which are OK anyway, and replacements couldn't be sourced). Rear cradle bushes were shot. Front steering rackmount bushes were shot. Turns out one of the steering rack tie rods ends was munted, one was average, and the rack itself is bent. Hoping like h3ll this is the last of the problems because a) running out of time and patience, and b) mechanic says there's nothing left to change after this anyway!!!

[Thunderbolt]

I hope the above fixes the problems.

Just got a couple of questions though. The wheels aren't buckled / damaged in any way are they? Are you running spacers?

[sl33py]

Nope, no damage to the wheels. I've had the wheels/tyres of one of the workshop owner's on my car for a few days and the car was doing the same, only less intense because he has larger profile tyres, hence a little more give. And nope, no spacers.

[zebra]

Wheel Bearing? or brake rotors is my guess

[sl33py]

It was the rack. It's all fixed now. After all the replaced parts, if I had to describe the car in one word, it would be: TIGHT. Lovin' it

[silverr34gtt]

When i bought my r34 gtt it had a brand new set of antyre tyres on it. Long story short, they were terrible.

Similar symptoms to what you describe, on the freeway i had a shake in the wheel anywhere over 100kph,

Grip in the wet was terrible and dangerous. ect ect,

I got a set of potenza adrenalin re001's. All the problems dissapeared and the grip levels are amazing in comparison.

[Brood]

It was the rack. It's all fixed now. After all the replaced parts, if I had to describe the car in one word, it would be: TIGHT. Lovin' it

Sl33py, when you say "it was the rack", what exactly did you replace???? the whole rack??

[antsr33]

spot on mate

i have a new set of antyre tyres aswell

they are F***** useless - almost caused me a major accident today

definately getting replacements!!!

[sl33py]

By rack, I mean the front steering rack had a slight bend in it (one of the arms I'm guessing?). It was straightened and also reconditioned and now everything is great.

Edited April 12, 2008 by sl33py

[mattymagoo22]

I can't believe that your mechanic couldn't find a simple problem like a worn tie-rod, especially if its been happening for over a year as they should check for play in the front end and rear when your rego inspection is carried out (NSW anyways) this should easily have been found and the business of changing every thing is poor dianostic work to say the least!

This is the reason you see people on A Current Affair crying about owning a lemon that has had XXX number of parts chnaged XXX times when in fact the company/workshop were just guessing what was wrong, throwing parts at the car without actually finding the cause of the real problem.

I'm glad your car is fixed mate but I'd find a new mechanic and name and shame all the places you got a wheel alignment done as they should also have discovered the problem as well.

Just my opinion.