[BeastMaster]

Starting at 60mph, I'm getting a vibration through the steering wheel, BUT, it is not always there. I would say that 66% of the time it will be there.it lasts up to about 66-70 mph. The dealer had refurbished my wheels, so I figure maybe they didn't rebalance them correctly. I had no vibration before that.

They have rebalanced them twice now - I still get the vibration, It doesn't matter what gear I am in, if I am accelerating or not or if the clutch is in or not. The tire pressure has been right on (30 psig) and we have tried increasing it a little on the front tires to see if that would help (33psig cold).
It does seem as though it happens more if I come up into the 60-65mph range fast (not racing fast but fast)

If I do have the vibration and i let the speed drop below 60mph and then come back up - the vibration at times is gone. I know it is not the road - I have had it happen and not happen on the same stretch of road.


Does anyone have any ideas - heading to Charleston for Thanksgiving and would really prefer not to have a vibration fort he 500 miles.

:banghead: :banghead:

 

[CTSVONFIRE]

Have them check the road force in your tires. GM says anything under 18 lbs. is acceptable. 15 lbs. or lower would be best. TSB about relplacing the front LCA's. It could also be a transmission shutter. I think I have heard people on here say something about that before. There are just so many things that can cause a vibration. :blasted:

 

[joshdctsv]

There are probably 100 threads in here about vibration, and I'm probably in half

Most recently (after no less than a dozen rebalance attempts) I had a wheel completely replaced. Seems to have helped, but like you, my vibration was never constant or consistant enough to tell for sure if its fixed or not.

road force is the most helpful thing to do, but can be expensive if you arent on the oem tires.

 

[JKG]

I have the same problem. Only started after getting Goodyear GSD3 tires. Have had tires rebalanced several times and seems to be better but not gone. Between the vibration and the wheel hop, this really takes the fun out of the car for me. I had much more fun driving my 1991 mustang, though it was much slower.
Does anyone have this vibration with the original tires, or is it only when we change them that it begins?

 

[BeastMaster]

My vibration is with the original tires.

 

[tedcmiller]

As I have pointed out in other threads, vibration caused by tires can be due to out-of-round tires or tires with variable elasticity around the circumference of the tire. Neither of these conditions can be corrected through balancing. To put it another way, a perfectly balanced tire can still vibrate.

An out-of-round condition can be corrected by shaving the tire tread (with the inevitable loss of tread and tread life) if the condition is not too severe. Some improvement in this problem can sometimes be effected by rotating the tire on the rim. This only helps if both the tire and the rim are out-of-round. Placing the high point of the tire opposite the high point of the rim allows the two out-of-round conditions to cancel out, somewhat.

Excessive variable elasticity can only be corrected by replacing the tire. Because of the loss of tread by shaving, out-of-round tires should also be replaced rather than attempting to correct or compensate for the condition.

 

[BeastMaster]

Let me rephrase my problem. These arre the original tires. They have been rotated and they have never caused a vibration until the last month.

tyhe dealer has rebalanced them twice. i took it back today and they had a tech drive it. they will rebalanace again on monday, but they claim "It is due to the colder weather now". Ther is currently 7000 miles on the tires and there is still plenty of tread.

 

[tedcmiller]

When a problem develops after tires are rotated, it usually means the problem was always there but was not evident because the bad tire was on the back. If the problem did not show up immediately after the rotation then it means the problem has developed since the rotation. You could have a case of slipped belts or separation of the casing. Both of these problems cause a tire to exhibit symptoms similar to an out-of-round tire. If the problem is severe enough it can sometimes be observed visually. If a tire develops either of these problems, it must be replaced. Balancing the tires again is probably not going to help. As I said before, a perfectly balanced tire can still vibrate. Normal balancing spins the unloaded tire and will not show out-of-round or variable elasticity problems. The "road force" balancing mentioned by some other posters usually spins the tire on the vehicle with the tire loaded as if it is in contact with the ground. This kind of test will reveal problems that normal spin balancing off the vehicle will not. Last but not least, as another poster pointed out, the problem could be with the rim. Normal spin balancing compensates for imbalance in both the tire and the rim. It will not, just as with out-of round tires, correct an out-of-round rim.

 

[BeastMaster]

Well, so much for the dealers "Cold weather is the problem" answer. Took the wife to the airport today. Its 70 miles each way, all highway except the first 18 miles. Well she was rock solid (the car) for the 3/4 of the way to the airport, then the vibration started and lasrted until i was just about back home. So there was no vibration while the tires were cold - only once they were warm.

They are suppose to do a road force test tomorrow (Monday). I have little faith in my dealer - or other dealers in the area. The tech that feels it is due ot cold weather just came from another dealer.:banghead: :banghead:

 

[Zeagen]

BeastMaster,

You described exactly the same issue that I'm having with my CTS-V. I've had my problem since I purchased my CTS-V in August with the orginial tires. They've tried to balance my wheels as well with no help at all. After driving the car for some time and having the symptoms of speed at 60+ and being able to slow down for awhile with the problem going away - I'm betting the vibration is due to a bad tire. I've scheduled another service visit for Nov 29th and will ask for a new tires on the front.

 

[BeastMaster]

Vibration Is Gone (For Now).

They checked the road force and the two right tires were "well over 20". My theory is when they refurbished the right wheels, they removed the tires and sent the wheels out. When they remounted the tires - they didn't check it. Car once again FEELS GREAT. Thanks to Pete at Atlantic in Bayshore

 

[Closer_2001]

I have the same problem. Only started after getting Goodyear GSD3 tires. Have had tires rebalanced several times and seems to be better but not gone. Between the vibration and the wheel hop, this really takes the fun out of the car for me. I had much more fun driving my 1991 mustang, though it was much slower.
Does anyone have this vibration with the original tires, or is it only when we change them that it begins?

I have vibration with the OE tires. I noticed it at 10 miles...thought the EMTs were flat spotted. Now at 6k, took it in, dealer told me it was the drive shaft that needed to be "indexed." I was skeptical...picked it, vibrates worse than ever.

 

[Closer_2001]

The "road force" balancing mentioned by some other posters usually spins the tire on the vehicle with the tire loaded as if it is in contact with the ground. .

I used to run the sales dept at an Acura store...McDavid Acura in Plano, TX.

The service dept is top notch (with the exception of the manager). In 03 they purchased a road force balancing machine for sorting out tire abnormalities. They were very proud of the machine and the diagnostic tool it provided.

I wish I could transplant those guys to my current Cadillac dealership.