I know with all these after market wheels people have been putting someone has run into this.

I got a nail in my stock 17" runflats the other week and decided to go ahead and get new rims and tires.

I got Racing Hart C5 17x7.5 43offset
and
Nitto 555 205-40-ZR-17

Now I got new a new problem , the car shimmies at 65 - smooths out at 75+ (but it is still there just faster so don't feel it as much).

I had the tires rebalanced - this fixed for a brief time then started getting worse again.

I just had them Road Forced fitted and rebalanced at a national tire dealer, thye told me that they balanced perfect and should be smooth ride now and will fix the problem.

NO it didn't :evil: - now it is worse.

I am thinking it might be suspension or steering or something other than the wheels/tires since they have been balanced 4 times now - this last one is supposed to be the best balance method.

Someone has mentioned that I just need to put miles on the tires and that it might go away - anyone else heard of such a thing?

suggestions?

 

I suppose there is a slim possibility that there is something wrong with one of your tires.

I had a similar problem a few years ago. I got new tires for my car (not the MINI) and had a vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds. I took it back to the shop, they rebalanced, yet the problem still existing. I had them rebalance the tires a couple times and they finally decided that there could be a manufacturing defect with one of the tires so they replaced them and the problem went away.

Granted, I'm guessing that's a pretty rare problem but just something to think about.

 

I had the same problem, balancing took care of it. I hope you don't have to go back as many times as Robin did before the problem is resolved. Good luck.

 

Big&Mini,

Did the Racing Hart C5's include hub centric rings? If these wheels require hub centering rings then make sure they are snug on both the wheel and the hub on the car. You may want to remove one of the rings and test fit it on the hub of the car. If it is loose at all you may have identified the problem. These are crucial in the way the car drives. If the rings are off, even a little, the steering wheel will vibrate at various speeds. I had incorrect rings on my car and the vibration would start around 40-65 but even out after 70mph.

Good Luck, Jason

 

most-likely the wrong hubcentric ring. if not, then tire's probably a defect.

 

I'm thinking hub-centric rings are the issue. That or you need to look into your suspension bushings to make sure they're not damaged.

 

>>most-likely the wrong hubcentric ring. if not, then tire's probably a defect.
Exactly.
I had the same problem a few years ago with my MR2. I was supplied the wrong size hub centric rings AND one egg shaped rim. After no less than a dozen trips to various tire shops, and two ruined tires (cupped) later, this was finally discovered.

 

Hmm - those rings were something I was going to test today. But I was going to remove them and take a drive and see - I doubt the tire shop balanaced with those on the machine and I am thinking they cannot be perfect by themselves.

I did take one oof the rings off to make sure my tire tool still worked with the lug nuts and it seemed tight to me - will check them all.

I thought I might have had a egg-rim as well but the Road Force testing is supposedto find those and I was told everything was perfect.

Thanks guys - I'll report back later.

 

ok - I just tested the center peices:

trip 1 - tightened center peice - drive was smoother not perfect
trip 2 - took peices off - about the same as 1
trip 3 - center peices back on tight as hell - smoothest yet but not to my liking

So I think this is a bad wheel design - if the 2 center peices are not balanced with the wheel then they will throw it off balance when installed on the car. There is little hope in them being balanced when milled so this is the only logic.

I am heading back to my speed shop on monday and seeing what they say.

I like the look and the lightness of the wheels but I paid too much money for this to be happening - this is the first time I have ever had this sort of problem and the first time I have had this sort of center cap thingy.

Livin' and Learnin' - guess I can pay student price at the movies tonight

 

I hear your frustration, trust me! I was ready to shoot someone when I had a dozen or so techs tell me that everything was perfectly balanced and I should be "all set"! Are they balancing the wheels on the car, or off?