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The Wobble

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  #1  
Old 04-27-2018, 05:34 AM
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The Wobble
For whatever reason, I'm experiencing a slight but constant wobble at around 80mph. Wheels have been checked for balance and they were all off by a tad - so they were rebalanced - but I still feel the wobble. Any ideas? No noticeable wobble under 70 and not sure of anything over 90.

R53 06S with 96k on the clock. I've been going through the 100k service but nothing was real noticeable until recently and most 'front end' service was completed a month ago.
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 07:14 AM
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Stock wheels or aftermarket? I had a wobble on higher speeds on my Jetta with aftermarket wheels. Turns out it was the lack or incorrect size hub centric rings. Installed the right size and was great there after.
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 07:22 AM
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Aftermarket - but they're not new to the car - and are in balance. I've had the car for going on 2 years and they were on the car when I got it.
 
Last edited by MiniTigger; 04-27-2018 at 07:45 AM.
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Old 04-27-2018, 07:28 AM
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cool, but as a note, not that this is your problem, a balanced wheel that is not sitting snug on the hub, will cause a wobble. But it sounds like you have a issue elsewhere. From you other posts, you just did the powerflex bushings up front recently? So that should all be good

Seeing that the problem is at around 80mph, that should legally only be a problem in Utah

Good luck tracking it down
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 07:47 AM
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Was it a normal balance or a road-force balance? Traditional balancing doesn't fully account for a tire and wheel not being a perfect circle. Also, as the shop that last did the balance when their machine was last certified. They lose their accuracy over time and can fail to balance a wheel well.
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 07:52 AM
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Normal balance - not sure on certification but this specific shop has done the balancing previously. I know that doesn't mean anything.
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 08:02 AM
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I'd rotate tires (direct front to back). Also swap hub centric rings if you have them. If still happens, definitely not a tire.

It has to be a tire/wheel issuef it's at the same exact speed every time, right??
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 08:19 AM
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That's what the balancing shop thought too.
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 08:22 AM
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I had a similar wobble with my daughter's R50. I used a wire brush to clean the mating surfaces of the rotors and wheels and it solved the wobble.

-Jeff
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 08:29 AM
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You may have tierod ends failing, ball joints failing, control arm bushings failing, wheel bearings failing, steering rack wear, etc. All need to be checked!
Suspension systems are complex and many problems come from multiple small faults at the same time.
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 08:34 AM
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I have new ball joints, new bushings too.
 
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Old 04-27-2018, 10:11 AM
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A wheel can be balanced, but not round. An out of round wheel will wobble at speed. Happened on by BMW.
 
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Old 04-28-2018, 01:54 PM
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Originally Posted by aspen
a wheel can be balanced, but not round. An out of round wheel will wobble at speed. Happened on by bmw.
x2!
 
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Old 05-29-2018, 10:59 AM
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Update: Seems the Wobble was caused by a plastic wheel adapter that made itself known.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-the-part.html
 
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Old 05-29-2018, 11:02 AM
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That's a hubcentric ring - it just helps line everything up before you torque the lugs and should not do anything beyond that
 
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Old 05-29-2018, 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by cyow5
That's a hubcentric ring - it just helps line everything up before you torque the lugs and should not do anything beyond that

Why would it be only on one wheel? Why would it not fit into the bore of the wheel?
 
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Old 05-29-2018, 06:33 PM
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Originally Posted by MiniTigger
Why would it be only on one wheel? Why would it not fit into the bore of the wheel?
it would be on one wheel if the other three are missing; could one of those three be the actual source of vibration?

the bore is intentionally oversized. Rather than make each wheel specific to a particular hub, the far cheaper hub centric ring is used to make a tight fit. Once the mugs are tight, it is the friction between the brake hat and the wheel that actually holds the car up, not the lugs or the hub centric ring. It just makes sure everything is lined up since the slightest misalignment (like what I’m guessing your other three wheels have) might cause a noticeable vibration.
 
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Old 05-30-2018, 05:23 AM
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I understand what you're saying - what I'm saying is that with this piece of plastic on, it does not allow the wheel to sit up against the hub. The plastic piece doesn't fit inside the center core of the wheel, so there would be a gap between the wheel and hub, and act as a spacer pushing the wheel away from the car - it would be hub | plastic | wheel. I imagine this could allow for some wobble as the wheel may not sit parallel to the hub.
 
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Old 05-30-2018, 05:32 AM
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Wow, that's weird. Is the piece not distorted now? I would think that the crushing force from the lugs would ruin it. Either that or maybe it is supposed to fit in the bore but some burr or dirt or whatnot is interfering?
 
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  #20  
Old 05-30-2018, 05:35 AM
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I hate having to jump between threads since it causes a loss of information, but it seems like your lugs (since they are conical) are centering the wheel fine enough on their own that the hubcentric ring isn't really needed. I'd just put that in the junk drawer and hope the vibration doesn't come back.
 
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