did road force balance car still vibrates @ 65 +

[m1cha3l]

had all the tires balanced when i was replacing motor / transmission mount. thought that might help it didnt. came here to do some reading cause i remember i did post on here a while back.

did road force balance today got on the highway right after the balancing expecting vibrations to be gone but they are still there .....

what should i do ? car rides just fine at lower speeds well kinda i swear i can feel some odd movement / vibrations momentarily when driving on city streets.

[Gearheaad43]

Have you ever hit a curb ? Check your alignment? Did you ask the techs to check for rim high spots vs. tire high spots and turn the 2 180 degrees?... Are your struts in good shape?

[m1cha3l]

Originally Posted by Gearheaad43

Have you ever hit a curb ? Check your alignment? Did you ask the techs to check for rim high spots vs. tire high spots and turn the 2 180 degrees?... Are your struts in good shape?

never hit a curb , did hit a pothole and bent my front right wheel which i replaced.

alignment was done at the dealership few months back.

dont know about struts. im starting to think this is a suspension issue.

is it me or do sts models ride a bit rough at times ?

this is coming from a ex lowered trans am owner lol rides rough .......

[Gearheaad43]

LMAO.. a EX Trans AM driver.. Ohh MAN!!! you should feel like you are riding on AIR.. If your STS rides rough, it might indeed be a suspension issue.. Did you try pulling the codes to see if you have any?... I would be looking at the struts right now since you mentioned the "ROUGH" ride. I have 65,000 miles on my 97 STS and it still rides great.

[m1cha3l]

Originally Posted by Gearheaad43

LMAO.. a EX Trans AM driver.. Ohh MAN!!! you should feel like you are riding on AIR.. If your STS rides rough, it might indeed be a suspension issue.. Did you try pulling the codes to see if you have any?... I would be looking at the struts right now since you mentioned the "ROUGH" ride. I have 65,000 miles on my 97 STS and it still rides great.

i used to live in illinois now i live in cali and roads here are in much better shape and i still think my caddy rides a bit rough on some surfaces. on perfectly smooth roads or highways it really does feel like its floating but my trans am drove nicely on such roads as well.

havent tried pulling codes might have to go to the dealership and have them do that since i have the warranrty for 1 more year.

64k miles on mine atm

[CadillacSTS2003]

dude
i AM STILL a trans am driver
i got a 97 ETC and ive got a 1983 Trans AM pacecar that im dropping an LT1 into...

[Ranger]

Here's my story FWIW. Maybe it will be of some help.
http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=8595&hl=Ruby's+Vibrator

[Ur7x]

Originally Posted by CadillacETC1997

dude
i AM STILL a trans am driver
i got a 97 ETC and ive got a 1983 Trans AM pacecar that im dropping an LT1 into...

What did the 83 Trans Am pace? The Indy Pace car in 1983 was a Buick Riv.

had all the tires balanced when i was replacing motor / transmission mount. thought that might help it didnt. came here to do some reading cause i remember i did post on here a while back.

did road force balance today got on the highway right after the balancing expecting vibrations to be gone but they are still there .....

You have basically eliminated all of the possibilities..

Some questions:
1) What are your road force numbers? Read them from the report you got with your balance and post them here... They need to be in the single digits or you will feel it. The machine will pass up to 15 pounds of force... You can feel this on these cars.
2) Which mount did you replace? the one in the front middle (down low)? If that mount fails it can cause some vibrations
3) How bad are the vibrations? Like a light rumble in the seat or like you are driving over the warning strip?

[m1cha3l]

Originally Posted by Ur7x

What did the 83 Trans Am pace? The Indy Pace car in 1983 was a Buick Riv.

You have basically eliminated all of the possibilities..

Some questions:
1) What are your road force numbers? Read them from the report you got with your balance and post them here... They need to be in the single digits or you will feel it. The machine will pass up to 15 pounds of force... You can feel this on these cars.
2) Which mount did you replace? the one in the front middle (down low)? If that mount fails it can cause some vibrations
3) How bad are the vibrations? Like a light rumble in the seat or like you are driving over the warning strip?

i didnt get a report from the balance i just got a receipt ill call them tomorrow i just watched the guy do all of the tires and he told me they were way off.

id have to look at the receipt but i had my transmission mount replaced back in IL about 4 monts ago and engine mount was replaced a week ago due to car making noise / being able to feel shifting into D out of P or any other gear for that matter when the car was parked when i was backing up etc now that noise is gone.

the moment i got in the car after the balancing was done and drove on the street i could tell the difference BUT on the highway @ 65 and up i still get vibrations in the car through the seat and steering wheel. Steering wheel barely vibrates thats not an issue for me.

Vibrating seat is getting on my nerves lmao its more of a light rumble in the seat like you said.

[Mountie]

Good wheel shops can run your car in drive ( sort of like a dyno), on a scope.

[clarkz71]

Originally Posted by CadillacETC1997

dude
i AM STILL a trans am driver
i got a 97 ETC and ive got a 1983 Trans AM pacecar that im dropping an LT1 into...

And..........??

[clarkz71]

Originally Posted by Ur7x

What did the 83 Trans Am pace? The Indy Pace car in 1983 was a Buick Riv.

Gee, how about the Daytona 500??

http://members.tripod.com/PaceCar_83/

[Ur7x]

Originally Posted by clarkz71

Gee, how about the Daytona 500??

http://members.tripod.com/PaceCar_83/

Cool, very nice and somewhat rare... My question was not meant as a shot, sorry if it came off that way... I'm a bit of an Indy pace car nut, I knew that the firebird was the pacer in 1980 (turbo trans am) and again in 1989 (with the GN motor)... The 89 has become a bit of a cult classic and in 10 years will probably be a Barrett Jackson show stopper.

[Ur7x]

Originally Posted by m1cha3l

i didnt get a report from the balance i just got a receipt ill call them tomorrow i just watched the guy do all of the tires and he told me they were way off.

id have to look at the receipt but i had my transmission mount replaced back in IL about 4 monts ago and engine mount was replaced a week ago due to car making noise / being able to feel shifting into D out of P or any other gear for that matter when the car was parked when i was backing up etc now that noise is gone.

the moment i got in the car after the balancing was done and drove on the street i could tell the difference BUT on the highway @ 65 and up i still get vibrations in the car through the seat and steering wheel. Steering wheel barely vibrates thats not an issue for me.

Vibrating seat is getting on my nerves lmao its more of a light rumble in the seat like you said.

Good, light rumble = Bad tires... Warning strip rumble = something is broken.

Most shops are trained that when they do a road force balance they generate a report for the customer.

A note to ALL if you pay for this service...
ASK FOR THE REPORT. It is IMPORTANT to have.

As I noted before, the machine will pass 15 pounds and less but most of us can easily feel anything over 10 pounds. So if you know that two tires are in the 10-11# range and two are in the 14-15# range you know to put the low two upfront and the bad two out back and you also know that you have some lousey tires and you are probably going to feel it.

The report also gives a before and after reading. On my report one of my tires was over 23# pounds before. While after it was only 9 (the worst of my set) I know that that tire is suspect and if the vibration returns that is the first tire I re-balance and probably replace.

As well the report also tells you how out of round the rims are, elimianting any questions about potholes and curb damage.

I would also recommend that you find a shop that will let you watch the process... It is cool to watch and it gives you a chance to ask questions...

How much rubber left on the tires? I'm betting a new set solves your problem.

[clarkz71]

Originally Posted by Ur7x

Cool, very nice and somewhat rare... My question was not meant as a shot, sorry if it came off that way... I'm a bit of an Indy pace car nut, I knew that the firebird was the pacer in 1980 (turbo trans am) and again in 1989 (with the GN motor)... The 89 has become a bit of a cult classic and in 10 years will probably be a Barrett Jackson show stopper.

I've worked on & driven a 89 T/A pace car. Quite fast.