[Aron9000]

So I just had some new tires put on my 1991 Brougham, its got the 350 V8 with factory wire wheels, 115k miles. The tires are Kuhmo Solus KR21, OEM size 225/75/R15. I bought these knowing they were one of the few whitewalls offered in my size, and I know three different people running these tires and loving them.

My dad has had these tires on his 2004 2wd Tacoma for 30,000 miles now, and his truck rides smooth as silk, even doing 90mph, and they are still quiet with a lot of tread.

So they are now on my Cadillac, and I still have that hellacous vibration from 65+mph that I had with the old tires. I'm still thinking its a tire issue, because the vibration now feels like its coming more from the whole car and less from the steering wheel(the old tires shook the steering wheel way more violently, but didn't shake the whole car as bad).

Anyways, I'm going back to the shop on Monday, I know the guy here stands behind his work(he did get the alignment dead on, it was way off before). I tried to have the old tires balanced about a year ago by the Cadillac dealership, and they said something about the wheels are almost impossible to balance. The car rode a somewhat better after that, but it wasn't great.

So do you think it is a tire issue, a wheel issue, or maybe a drivetrain issue causing the high speed shimmy?

Also, I think he left the arrangement of the wheels the same. I dropped it off kind of dirty, and he gave it back to me with the front wheels with more brake dust than the rear, which indicates he didn't rotate the wheels.

 

[lochenjons]

take it to your tire shop and have them allign and check everything it could be a problem with the front end.

had a similar problem with my '06 silverado the truck would vibrate at 70mph but the steering wheel wouldnt. trned out the back tires were unbalanced. doesnt sound like your case since you said it was on another vehicle prior to this

 

[Aron9000]

take it to your tire shop and have them allign and check everything it could be a problem with the front end.

had a similar problem with my '06 silverado the truck would vibrate at 70mph but the steering wheel wouldnt. trned out the back tires were unbalanced. doesnt sound like your case since you said it was on another vehicle prior to this

The old tires would shake the car as well as the new ones. Same car, same wheels, different tires.

 

[durrk johnson]

get your wheels balanced.

 

[brougham_geezer]

Take them to a person who knows how to ballance tires correctly. A lot of people do not. These wheels will ballance well! The set I picked up roll beautifully, and they had been neglected on a daily driver their entire life before I found them.

Know any other places that you might trust to try balancing them? Good luck! I know that a vibration can be horribly annoying!

 

[csbuckn]

If the spokes were lose, it would vibrate and that can be pretty dangerous. If spokes are loose, you can usually hear/feel them when you run your fingers along them. I had loose spokes before but it was a severe wobble instead of a vibration. I believe you have to disconnect the tie rod to do an alignment so maybe the tie rods are getting bad, especially if he had to readjust them a couple times.

 

[drmenard]

I have had rear brake drums get rusted and a small piece break off and cause a bad vibration... check them first... then find a shop that balances tires on the car... there is a place near me that does frame work and front ends .. and they will do on the car tire balancing .. they use a strobe light and have to play with it... but when they get right you can go over a 100mph smooth....I can remember having one tire balanced 3 times on a machine and still a vibration.. when I took it to them and they did it on the car, the guy said " look at this, those machines do it all the time." He took off a weight and put back 2 weights .. half the weight a few inches to the left and the other weight a few inches to the right... that tire never gave me a problem after that....

 

[gregcomer]

The simple answer is yes. Wire wheels have a tendency to loose their roundness. i.e. they bend easily. very difficult to get them to balance properly. also, check the front end. loose components will excite a vibration, although not actually cause it.

 

[Aron9000]

Had my tire guy rebalance them. Rides smooth as silk now.:cool2:

 

[Hooligan63]

The old tires would shake the car as well as the new ones. Same car, same wheels, different tires.

There's no such thing as a wheel that can't be balanced unless it's totally dented or cracked or the spokes are bent.Common sense would tell you if Dayton wire wheels or Zenith wires,Tru Spokes,or any other wire wheel can be balanced,so can the stock Cadillac wires.Someone telling you that it's impossible to balance a rim that is in good shape,I.E. no dents,no cracks,and still as round as stock,well,they are either too lazy to just do the job,or they don't what the hell they are doing.

 

[Maverick87]

Another idea, which I found out the hard way on my old work truck:
CHECK YOUR LUGS TO ENSURE THEY'RE TIGHT! Also, it could be possible that those new tires are defective, as was the case on my 5th Ave. Nothing new is EVER guaranteed!

 

[V-Eight]

So I just had some new tires put on my 1991 Brougham, its got the 350 V8 with factory wire wheels, 115k miles. The tires are Kuhmo Solus KR21, OEM size 225/75/R15. I bought these knowing they were one of the few whitewalls offered in my size, and I know three different people running these tires and loving them.

My dad has had these tires on his 2004 2wd Tacoma for 30,000 miles now, and his truck rides smooth as silk, even doing 90mph, and they are still quiet with a lot of tread.

Wait, wait, wait. Your dad runs whitewalls on a Toyota?

 

[Aron9000]

Wait, wait, wait. Your dad runs whitewalls on a Toyota?

You can mount the whitewalls facing the inside of the rim with the blackwalls showing like he did:thepan:

 

[DopeStar 156]

Where'd you get the wheels from? If they were rolled regularly they should balance fine. Sometimes if the car sat on these wheels they lose their roundness from the weight of the car sitting on wres.......

Food for thought.....

 

[brewinator]

Have you had the wheels and tires checked for runout? I have found even new tires aren't always perfect. I would go back to the shop where you bought your tires and ask for to spin them on the balancer and look for tire "hop". If this doesn't show any irregularites check them again when they are mounted on the car.
Good luck,
brewinator