Elantra steering wheel wobble/vibration

  • Thread starter Thread starter jmh_ottawa
  • Start date Start date
Finally, I brought it to my regular mechanic who, after remounting and
rebalancing them, ran a dial indicator on the edge of the wheels and
discovered that 3 of the 4 were out of round. No salvage yard in my
area had any wheels for car and the dealer wanted an insane figure for
new wheels (I think it was over 120 USD each), so I ended up getting
some American Racing aluminum alloy wheels for $70 each. End of wobble.
Click to expand...

Excellent. It's good to see a conclusive diagnosis to a problem like this,
rather than the approach that seems to go the route of do more alignments,
rotate the tires, do more alignments, do four wheel alignments, do more,
rotate thetires again... ad infitum. So much effort is wasted in these
types of efforts. Four wheel alignments being one of the more abused
things.

Most cars that can benefit at all from a rear wheel alignment can only allow
for a camber adjustment in the rear. Camber is not the culprit in most
vibration related problems, yet too many owners suffer through, or worse...
pay for multiple four wheel alignments in pursuit of problems like this.

Hats off to your mechanic. Go buy that guy a beer.
BTW, the Kumhos are light years better than the Michelin MXV4s that
they replaced.
Click to expand...

Isn't it a shame how many tires are so much better than Michelins, at far
lower price points?
 
I agree mike i've almost fallen into that trap but as you say how many
times can you check the same thing. I know balancing and alignments are
renounded for being "easy money". I'll definetly be getting the rims
checked by someone who can actually measure them correctly.
 
jmh_ottawa said:
roads?

Yes... there is a slight pull to the left but on occasions it is noticably
pulling right. Someone mentioned it could be the strut bearings although
once again quite a bit of work to remove and reinstall everything for a
"maybe"

It's tough to say if cornering triggers the pull to change as it's not
excessive but is noticable.
Click to expand...

If the strut bearings were loose, you'd hear a loud clunking sound on
bumpy roads.
Exactly... once more major things arrise fine but to date the only items i
haven't expected to go would be the transmission speed sensors and a wiper
motor, oh and the purge valve. Not too bad a list compared to some out
there haha..


much better with front/rear pressures of 36/32. The recommended pressure
of 30 psi all around guarantees severe understeer and uneven tread wear
on the front tires. You could try them at 34/30 if you like a softer
ride.

I've had them at 32/32 recently but i will try a slightly higher pressure
to see if that has any effect.
Click to expand...

The key is to run more pressure on the end that supports the most
weight, the front.
sway bar, which really helps to balance the handling.

Something that could be worth doing on a newer car but given it's age it's
a "let's see how long it last" scenerio now.
Click to expand...

It was just a suggestion in case you were interested in improving the
overall handling feel of the car.
 
Mike Marlow said:
Hats off to your mechanic. Go buy that guy a beer.
Click to expand...

You know it. I've used the guy for years and, if I had a functioning
brain, I would have waited until the car was out of the dealer and had
him mount the tires in the first place. The new alloys do look good,
though.
Isn't it a shame how many tires are so much better than Michelins, at far
lower price points?
Click to expand...

It is. I've about had it with the MXV4s on my '03 Sonata. I may try a
set of Kumho KH16s although the reviews on the Yokohama Avid series
look pretty good, too.
 
My girlfriends 95 Elantra 151K miles has a slight vibration too. IT
started when I rotated the tires. Had them rebalanced which helped but
still vibrates some I'm almost sure it is a tire problem. Going to
unrotate them when I have a chance see what happens
 
sqdancerLynn said:
My girlfriends 95 Elantra 151K miles has a slight vibration too. IT
started when I rotated the tires. Had them rebalanced which helped but
still vibrates some I'm almost sure it is a tire problem. Going to
unrotate them when I have a chance see what happens
Click to expand...

I'd check for tread separation. I've had tire guys miss small bulges
before when I've complained of vibration.

Unluckily theres nothing you can do with separation except replace the
tire. If the tire is under warranty it should be pro-rated to the
mileage or treadwear depending on the warranty policy for that tire maker.

JS
 

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