Need advice on fighting the dreaded steering wheel vibration

[AeroF16]

I have been fighting a vibration in my steering wheel for a few months now. The car was aligned by Dodge in May and they completed a full inspection on it, with nothing to note.

I installed Michelin PS4s tires and had a decently bad vibration from 70-80 mph. I took them back to Discount Tire and asked them to turn off the smart weight function on the Hunter machine when they road forced them (after reading through all the threads on here and the other forum about balancing tires for these cars). I reinstalled the tires and the vibration is better, but still there. Seemed to move up to the 75-80 mph range this time. So I take them back, the manager re calibrates the machine and does everything he can, says the tires and wheels look great and are balanced to a true zero. I put the wheels back on my car and the intensity of the vibration has not changed, though now it is most pronounced in the 80-85 mph.

The only other thing I have done to the car in the same time frame as the tires was replaced the front rotors. Not sure how those could factor into the vibration. OEM rotors and I made sure the matting surface between the hub and rotors was nice and clean prior to install.

I don't have the time to get the car up in the air for the next couple of weeks to check out the front end, so I figured I ask here to get some opinions or see if anyone has had similar issues.

 

[Hellcatcfp]

My Charger had exactly the same vibration at 80mph. Got new PS4s as well, did a Hunter Elite Force balance, vibration completely gone. Last oil change in June, dealer rotated and now same vibration at 80 mph. Not sure if uneven tire wear is causing this? I got mine to completely go away so I know its possible. Did you have vibration with stock tires? Or just with PS4s?

 

[AeroF16]

My Charger had exactly the same vibration at 80mph. Got new PS4s as well, did a Hunter Elite Force balance, vibration completely gone. Last oil change in June, dealer rotated and now same vibration at 80 mph. Not sure if uneven tire wear is causing this? I got mine to completely go away so I know its possible. Did you have vibration with stock tires? Or just with PS4s?

I did not have this issue with my other set of tires that I recall, but I replaced them with the PS4s pretty soon after purchasing the car. I've also had this exact set of wheels/tires on my old Challenger Scat Pack with the same problem.

I guess I just need to go throw this thing on a lift tomorrow and take a look but it's difficult for me to think it's not the tires. Luckily we have an auto hobby shop here on base where you can rent a stall with a lift, so I'll just sneak away from work for a bit tomorrow to take a quick look at it.

 

[Jimmy N.]

Tightening down the lug nuts the wrong way (as tire stores tend to do) can warp things.

 

[AeroF16]

Tightening down the lug nuts the wrong way (as tire stores tend to do) can warp things.

I don't take my car in to the store, I just drop of the wheels and tires. I have a spare set of Slingshots with Pirelli All-seasons on them, so I just swap them out. The problem is, I know I have a balance issue with those tires that I just haven't addressed yet because I don't use them very often.

So I'm the one torquing them down, using a good slow torque and proper cross pattern technique.

 

[vortecd]

Just from what I'm reading looks to be an issue with the PS4 tires

 

[Jimmy N.]

Okay, scratch the tire store tightening theory then.

But do you remove the tires from the car after it has been sitting in the garage for a while?
If so you could have minor flat spotting still by the time they go on the balancer.

I try to leave even new tires inflated for a couple of days before I balance them, hoping that whatever imperfections from storage or whatever will work themselves out while laying on the garage floor.

 

[Hellcatcfp]

Just from what I'm reading looks to be an issue with the PS4 tires

I agree...sounds like tire issue. PS4s helped mine go away...they are nice. Need to see why my vibration came back...maybe a weight fell off?

 

[AeroF16]

Okay, scratch the tire store tightening theory then.

But do you remove the tires from the car after it has been sitting in the garage for a while?
If so you could have minor flat spotting still by the time they go on the balancer.

I try to leave even new tires inflated for a couple of days before I balance them, hoping that whatever imperfections from storage or whatever will work themselves out while laying on the garage floor.

My Slingshots are the spares that usually sit on the garage floor, stacked in the corner. The PS4s are daily driven. When I have time to drop them off at Discount Tire, I'll swap them out for my Slingshots and go drop the PS4s off for the day. Then I usually pick them up in the afternoon and put them back on the car, anxious to see if the balance issue was fixed or not.

That's why I am not using my Slingshots as a baseline, I know they needed balancing prior to storing them and they sit for weeks at a time.

 

[Jimmy N.]

. When I have time to drop them off at Discount Tire, I'll swap them out for my Slingshots and go drop the PS4s off for the day.

Yeah, but if they were warm when you parked, then allowed to cool off before you removed them from the car, they won't be as round as they could be.

It's much like dropping a car off at the tire store, and by the time they get to it the tires have cooled off.
They'll get balanced to the shape they have when put on the balancer, which may not be the same as the shape they have when warm.

 

[Hunter]

Are the wheels OEM?
Aftermarket?
I had similar issue with aftermarket wheels (mine were fairly cheap).
Got new aftermarket (quality) wheels, issue was gone.

 

[AeroF16]

OEM wheels.

 

[ChargerChallenger]

I've been told by other members here once they remove the Dead Bodies from their trunk the problems go away

 

[AeroF16]

I've been told by other members here once they remove the Dead Bodies from their trunk the problems go away

Then what's the point of having a Challenger? Might as well go buy a Mustang.

 

[ChargerChallenger]

Then what's the point of having a Challenger? Might as well go buy a Mustang.

Uhm yeah I like it hmm

 

[Hellcatcfp]

Uhm yeah I like it hmm
View attachment 21397 View attachment 21398

Sure, kick the Charger outside again 😅🤣😂.

 

[AeroF16]

So I decided to spend 30 minutes and move the tires around this afternoon. Discount Tire recommended finding the wheel with the most weight on it and making sure it was on the rear. Only one wheel had obviously more weight on it than the other three (which happened to be on the passenger side front), so I put that on the rear. The other three looked similar as far as how much weight was on them, so I moved the driver front wheel to the rear also.

The vibration in the steering wheel is gone or very minimal, to the point where it's difficult to tell if it's a tire or the road, so I am happy with that. I think I am now noticing a bit rougher ride quality though, not sure if that makes sense by having a bad or unbalanced tire in the rear. Not vibrating, maybe just not as smooth and possibly audible (again, somewhat difficult to tell if it's the tire or road but that's my first impression).

Either way, one of the two tires in the rear is either bad or unbalanced. At this point, I'm not exactly sure what the best fix is between trying to balance them again or just having Discount replace them (which I think they would do without a fight at this point). I don't want to have a single wheel that is difficult to balance and causing issues every time I want the wheels balanced/rotated. If we went the replacement route, I'd want to replace them as a pair.

 

[BULL]

So I decided to spend 30 minutes and move the tires around this afternoon. Discount Tire recommended finding the wheel with the most weight on it and making sure it was on the rear. Only one wheel had obviously more weight on it than the other three (which happened to be on the passenger side front), so I put that on the rear. The other three looked similar as far as how much weight was on them, so I moved the driver front wheel to the rear also.

The vibration in the steering wheel is gone or very minimal, to the point where it's difficult to tell if it's a tire or the road, so I am happy with that. I think I am now noticing a bit rougher ride quality though, not sure if that makes sense by having a bad or unbalanced tire in the rear. Not vibrating, maybe just not as smooth and possibly audible (again, somewhat difficult to tell if it's the tire or road but that's my first impression).

Either way, one of the two tires in the rear is either bad or unbalanced. At this point, I'm not exactly sure what the best fix is between trying to balance them again or just having Discount replace them (which I think they would do without a fight at this point). I don't want to have a single wheel that is difficult to balance and causing issues every time I want the wheels balanced/rotated. If we went the replacement route, I'd want to replace them as a pair.

Do more burnouts...

 

[Stormtrooper1320]

I've been told by other members here once they remove the Dead Bodies from their trunk the problems go away

Especially if they are still flopping around in the trunk making noise......just sayin....

 

[ChargerChallenger]

Especially if they still flopping around in the trunk making noise......just sayin....

View attachment 21463

Yeah right usually the smell overtakes the steering wheel aggravations.