Wheel balancing?
Discussion
I had a near miss at the weekend, driving around a corner on an NSL lane at about 60mph to be greeted by a queue of stationary traffic waiting for some sort of animals to get off the road.
Thankfully I saw and reacted early enough not to rear end the last car in the queue, but locked up my front tyres for about 2 car lengths before I came to a complete stop. It was a dry road and I later saw that I'd left some skid marks.
Since then I've noticed a vibration through the steering wheel between 80 and 90mph. Any ideas if this is related to the above? The car has now covered 4000 miles and I'm sure I've never felt this vibration before.
Thankfully I saw and reacted early enough not to rear end the last car in the queue, but locked up my front tyres for about 2 car lengths before I came to a complete stop. It was a dry road and I later saw that I'd left some skid marks.
Since then I've noticed a vibration through the steering wheel between 80 and 90mph. Any ideas if this is related to the above? The car has now covered 4000 miles and I'm sure I've never felt this vibration before.
If you skidded for two car lengths on a dry road it's possible that you've flatspotted one or more of your tyres. When I flatspotted my front tyres on an airfield (well, I didn't do it, the instructor was driving! 
) I had severe vibration above 50mph. I got them rebalanced but after 1000 miles or so the vibration came back. Of course it's also possible that you simply shed a weight off your wheel in which case a simple rebalancing will be fine.
So in summary, yes rebalancing your wheels will fix the problem in the short term, but if you have flatspotted your tyres badly, you'll need replacements. Look on the bright side, you avoided a crash!
) I had severe vibration above 50mph. I got them rebalanced but after 1000 miles or so the vibration came back. Of course it's also possible that you simply shed a weight off your wheel in which case a simple rebalancing will be fine. So in summary, yes rebalancing your wheels will fix the problem in the short term, but if you have flatspotted your tyres badly, you'll need replacements. Look on the bright side, you avoided a crash!
I think you will find that flatspotting tyres on a road car is a bit of a myth. Two car length skid is not going to make a blind bit of difference.
You are probably just being hyper-sensitive of any vibration following the incident. Can you actually see an area on your tyre where it is no longer round?
It doesn't sound like the vibration is that bad, however balancing is not that expensive if you go at a quiet time and pay cash.
You are probably just being hyper-sensitive of any vibration following the incident. Can you actually see an area on your tyre where it is no longer round?
It doesn't sound like the vibration is that bad, however balancing is not that expensive if you go at a quiet time and pay cash.
Charisma said:
I think you will find that flatspotting tyres on a road car is a bit of a myth.
I beg to differ! The flatspots on my tyres were very distinct, and confirmed by two lots of tyre fitters to be the cause of my problem. Perhaps it's because the Advans are a softer compound than your average road tyre.
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