Ugh. Car shaking. AGAIN.

[ChrisBlair]

Does anyone else have wheel balance issues?

I have been doing snow tire to summer tire swaps on my '12 Camaro 1SS since I bought it. Now I have winter tires and summer tires, each mounted on wheels for the winter or for the summer.

Right out of the gate I had alignment issues, at 49 miles. Took the dealer four tries to get it right. The car drove like a dream after that.

Winter comes, snow tires, installed on stock wheels at a tire specialist.I had to have them mounted and then balanced twice because the car was shaking at highway speeds.

That spring, back on with the stock tires. Car shakes at highway speeds and steering wheel twitches left and right. Dealerhsip also put a front tire on a rear wheel and vice versa. Last time I ever set foot in that dealership.

Winter comes. Different dealer has to put on my snow tires. They need to be balanced and then again, re-balanced.

Last spring. Took three times to balance my summer tires until the car didn't shake. This winter, snow tires. The car didn't shake but steering wheel twitched at 60 mph only.

Today. New wheels and my summer tires, the wheels are new American Racing Boulevard. Car. Shakes. Like a backyard space shuttle this thing shakes above 40mph. Distinct up and down shake as well as side to side. Steering wheel twitches above 50 mph. "Service TPMS" warning light flashes and then stays on. Took it back. One of the wheel hub adapters isn't fitting quite right, it's too tight. They mess with it. Clear the TPMS error.

Now it's OK but nothing like a new car until you hit 50 mph and then there's a shimmy and a slight twitch in the wheel. It has to go back again. All four tires are the original stock brand and size.

This is multiple dealers and tire shops, and even two different sets of wheels, and it's unbelievably difficult to get my mind around how this can be such a problem. I have driven shitboxes and new cars, junkers and cars I've restored and I have never been through this.

Does anyone else have wheel balancing issues with their Camaro?

As a tip, Birchwood Casey's 'Super Black' flat black paint marker is a good match for the black paint on these wheels. I had a spot where the wheels rubbed the shipping box which I just fixed, can't tell it was ever worn down.

[JimE]

wow...just wow.

If it's factory wheels, I'd say it's just the person doing the balancing.

As you mention after market wheels and some sort of adapter, that could also throw a wrench in the works.

But it's hard to comprehend this happening twice a year, every year. I can't remember the last time I had to have a new set of tires rebalanced, much less the ordeal you are going through.

[Tony's10]

OK, seriously, if you take a set of tires AND rims off that are balanced, put them away for the season, then take them back out of storage a few months later and have them installed on your car and it shimmy's and shakes like you describe, over and over again. It's not the rims and tires. It's another issue. If right out of the gate you had alignment issues and this has been an ongoing thing, you can probably go the Lemon Law route and get some resolution. This is the worst case I've ever heard of, so I'm led to believe it has nothing to do with balancing but something is/has been wrong with your suspension.

Perhaps when your car was shipped, it was damaged and the dealership never noticed or was unaware. The cars are secured pretty good on the transport trucks and when loaded or unloaded, can get damaged.

I can't offer you any help unfortunately because the scenario you described with multiple balance's and good/store then bad only leaves me with the conclusion something is wrong other than the wheels and tires.

just my $.02 worth.

-Tony

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by Tony's10

OK, seriously, if you take a set of tires AND rims off that are balanced, put them away for the season, then take them back out of storage a few months later and have them installed on your car and it shimmy's and shakes like you describe, over and over again. It's not the rims and tires. It's another issue. If right out of the gate you had alignment issues and this has been an ongoing thing, you can probably go the Lemon Law route and get some resolution. This is the worst case I've ever heard of, so I'm led to believe it has nothing to do with balancing but something is/has been wrong with your suspension.

Perhaps when your car was shipped, it was damaged and the dealership never noticed or was unaware. The cars are secured pretty good on the transport trucks and when loaded or unloaded, can get damaged.

I can't offer you any help unfortunately because the scenario you described with multiple balance's and good/store then bad only leaves me with the conclusion something is wrong other than the wheels and tires.

just my $.02 worth.

-Tony

Hi Tony. Your first sentence: "if you take a set of tires AND rims off that are balanced, put them away for the season, then take them back out of storage a few months later and have them installed on your car and it shimmy's and shakes like you describe, over and over again. It's not the rims and tires"

I didn't say that's what's happening. I can't describe it more distinctly than I already have. Please read my description again.

I also clearly stated that this problem has ultimately been resolved each time I have encountered it, by having the balance re-done.

I am not asking you to diagnose my issue. This issue could be caused by bad luck with two sets of wheels, or by bad tires. Even new tires can be bad. I asked (twice in one post) if anybody else had this problem.

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by JimE

wow...just wow.

If it's factory wheels, I'd say it's just the person doing the balancing.

As you mention after market wheels and some sort of adapter, that could also throw a wrench in the works.

But it's hard to comprehend this happening twice a year, every year. I can't remember the last time I had to have a new set of tires rebalanced, much less the ordeal you are going through.

Right? It's been two different sets of wheels, two different sets of tires. My alignment is fantastic though!

The hub ring I mention is SOP for these things. I have no doubt I'll get it resolved (again) but whiskey tango foxtrot. I've owned...13 cars. I've never had balance problems even once before this car.

[Tony's10]

"I have been doing snow tire to summer tire swaps on my '12 Camaro 1SS since I bought it. Now I have winter tires and summer tires, each mounted on wheels for the winter or for the summer."

I was thinking from the statement above that it was two sets of rims and tires. I still maintain that maybe it is something else as the issue of all the balance's you have had. Sorry, I was trying to help diagnose, which you didn't actually ask.

So, to answer you question, no. But I am still offering my ideas based on past experience.

I have never heard of a balance issue like yours before. Are they using strip weights or hammer on style? You may have them put just the rim on the balancing machine and run it up to see if the rim/s are true and the balance of the bare rim. Also, if you have adapters that are not hub-centric, you will have balance issues. The hub-centric adapters keep the wheels centered on the hub, otherwise the lug holes will pull the rim into the position on the hub. My old 71 Mach1 requires Lug-centric balancing due to the old stamped steel wheel design. May be your adapters are the issue.

-T

[ChrisBlair]

. It's exactly as I say: I have been doing tire swaps: the past. Now I am doing wheel AND tire swaps, I have summer wheels and tires and winter wheels and tires now.

Oh, the adhesive strips for sure, no hammer-ons. The very thought of hammer-ons and an alloy wheel...I may faint. They said "well we may have to put some on the front". I said "I may have to leave. Try real hard".

These are pretty good guys and I'm giving them the chance to make it right.

[Avalnch]

I can't believe so many sets of tire/rim combos make your car shake. Might be something other than wheel balance issue?

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by Avalnch

I can't believe so many sets of tire/rim combos make your car shake. Might be something other than wheel balance issue?

...and yet, as I say, balancing the wheels eventually resolves it.

This is not a case of "no matter what I do, it shakes" or "no matter what wheels I use it shakes". We have not identified an element that is a symptom rather then the cause, we merely have additional things introduced to the problem.

On the contrary we have identified circumstance #1 (the old wheels, with snow tires or summer tires) in which the car will shake but wheel balancing is indeed the answer, borne out by successfully stopping the shaking every time. We have also encountered circumstance #2, in which the car currently shakes with the wheels and tires it has now, and we have found no resolution yet.

There's several things that can be at fault, the most obvious being the issue with the hub ring. This gained some validity when the shop re-balanced and the condition improved but was not resolved. A re-balanced did make a change.

But all that has really been identified is simultaneous events. That does not prove any correlation. I have to make one change at a time. But since I know the car did not drive like this when new, and I know that the issue was eventually resolved each other time, I have to believe it is very resolvable this time too.

I just have to put up with it until it's figured out. Hopefully the hub ring does the trick.

[Tony's10]

First pic is of a hubcentric adapter, the second is without. The raised ring MUST be on your adapter or most likely, you will have vibration. The adapter should also snugly fit over tore existing raised hub center area, Also, your wheel bore must match the adapter ring size or you will need adapter rings like this:



If you have all this already, I honestly don't know what else it could be.

-Tony

[ChrisBlair]

Thanks. I have never had aftermarket wheels on anything before.

I cannot see how I have anything like the first two pics. See below:



However the shop and I talked about the adapter rings in the third photo, which came on the wheels. They felt that there was an issue with at least one of them.

[Tony's10]

Chris, if you have those adapter rings, then it should be ok. The ring must fit snugly but still slide over, but close fit, your hub assembly. This ring shouldn't jiggle or have room but to just slide on.

They make dozens of sizes in these rings and you must have the ones that fit a 67.1mm bore. I think the Camaro rim bore is 67 or 67.1 I'll dig it up to verify.

If it has slop, the ring is useless, but if they are the correct size, I'm back to scrathing my head?

-Tony