Pug 307 HDI Wheel balancing
Discussion
I've had my car for over a year and a half (its a 54 Peugeot 307 136bhp HDI XSI ) and when i drive it past 70mph i get a vibration through the steering wheel, especially when i change lanes etc. Its not slight, you can really feel the vibrations through your fingers and its bad enough to make the car feel really unstable, like its on ice lol.
I've taken it to the pug dealer 4 tries last year to get its wheel balanced (its got 17 inch Pirelli PZero's) before the vibration stopped for a few months and now its back.
I've noticed that the back tyre is loosing pressure, down from 32 to 20 everytime i check it (once a fortnight?). I rearlise that's not good and i'm going to get it checked/fixed but wondered if that could cause the vibrations?
I don't really notice any difference after pumping the tyre up although i'm unsure if its because its going flat again?
Any replies would be greatly appriciated as i'm getting fed up with having a 140bhp car and having to worry about going over 70mph.
I've taken it to the pug dealer 4 tries last year to get its wheel balanced (its got 17 inch Pirelli PZero's) before the vibration stopped for a few months and now its back.
I've noticed that the back tyre is loosing pressure, down from 32 to 20 everytime i check it (once a fortnight?). I rearlise that's not good and i'm going to get it checked/fixed but wondered if that could cause the vibrations?
I don't really notice any difference after pumping the tyre up although i'm unsure if its because its going flat again?
Any replies would be greatly appriciated as i'm getting fed up with having a 140bhp car and having to worry about going over 70mph.
Sounds like the balancing, but there are also other things to check.
My C5 has had the same problems for a few months and was also pulling to the left. Finally got some spare cash so had it in to a tyre-fitters here and had the tracking done, mid-budget tyres put on and balancing. It's now got its 'magic-carpet' ride back!
You've got Pirelli tyres, I've had these on previous cars and found them quite hard, you don't say how much tread is left but I also find wheels can need rebalancing part-way through the life of their tread wear.
Also, I don't know what kind of balance weights they're using, are they clipped to the rim or stick-on weights? If they are stick-on weights, after they've been balanced, count how many weights on each wheel and re-count them if the vibration returns. I had stick-on weights on a previous car and found that they sometimes fly off. It's handy to know which wheel needs rebalancing rather than getting all of them done! You mentioned the vibration disappears after balancing and then returns, so this may be something to check?
Finally, I recommend that you avoid the dealers for things like wheel balancing, I never use the Citroen dealer and take it to a local fitter. Unfortunately finding a good local fitter is hard, I've finally found a good one here so I use them all the time now. Balancing wheels is a fine art and some fitters just could not care less about doing a perfect job, but a poorly balanced wheel completely spoils the ride irrespective of how much you've spent on the tyre.
As for the flat tyre, if it's on the back it shouldn't affect the vibration much (but get it fixed!), if it's on the front then it could caused the car to start pulling to the side.
My C5 has had the same problems for a few months and was also pulling to the left. Finally got some spare cash so had it in to a tyre-fitters here and had the tracking done, mid-budget tyres put on and balancing. It's now got its 'magic-carpet' ride back!
You've got Pirelli tyres, I've had these on previous cars and found them quite hard, you don't say how much tread is left but I also find wheels can need rebalancing part-way through the life of their tread wear.
Also, I don't know what kind of balance weights they're using, are they clipped to the rim or stick-on weights? If they are stick-on weights, after they've been balanced, count how many weights on each wheel and re-count them if the vibration returns. I had stick-on weights on a previous car and found that they sometimes fly off. It's handy to know which wheel needs rebalancing rather than getting all of them done! You mentioned the vibration disappears after balancing and then returns, so this may be something to check?
Finally, I recommend that you avoid the dealers for things like wheel balancing, I never use the Citroen dealer and take it to a local fitter. Unfortunately finding a good local fitter is hard, I've finally found a good one here so I use them all the time now. Balancing wheels is a fine art and some fitters just could not care less about doing a perfect job, but a poorly balanced wheel completely spoils the ride irrespective of how much you've spent on the tyre.
As for the flat tyre, if it's on the back it shouldn't affect the vibration much (but get it fixed!), if it's on the front then it could caused the car to start pulling to the side.
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