Vibration is in the steering wheel and the car is pulling to the right. What is this a sign of?

FYI: I have FLIK Wasps that originally had Falken Ziex's on them. Today, I had the Pirelli Euforis mounted on the Wasps. After this install, my car pulls to the right and if I let go of the steering wheel, it moves back and forth about 1 inch. Any suggestions?

I believe I need an alignment but need help solving this issue. Any assistance will be appreciated.

Steven

 

You wheels are out of balance.

Try going back to your tire shop to have them re-balanced. :smile:

 

A tire out of balance will cause vibration, but usually won't cause pulling. If the steering wheel is visibly moving side to side at low speed, you've got a bum tire - probably a front.
To check them, raise the car so the wheels can turn freely. Spin them individually by hand while looking at the tread from the end of the car, focusing near the ground.
Look for the tread weaving side to side (slipped belt) or any lumps, knots or high spots in the tread or sidewall (likely air between the liner & the body). You may see little dents in the sidewalls - those are just mold markings & nothing to worry about.
Be careful & good luck - Bodinski

 

Thanks for the advice. I am going back to the shop tomorrow morning to see what's wrong. I believe the tires are OK. Just a few thousand miles and nothing visibly wrong with them.

 

Let us know how it went and what the problem was. :smile:

 

I agreee on rebalance, when ther put fronts to rear and vice versa - if you have a radial pull, it will be less apparent when you put it in the back. You may have a defective tire.

Alex

 

Please do let us know, I might be in the same boat as you.

 

They shop put the front tires on the back and the back tires on the front. Problem solved, I believe. It has been raining hard here for the last 24 hours or so. Water is standing on the road so it is difficult to tell if there is any residual issues or not due to the abundance of puddles. The major pulling to the right and the vibration in the steering wheel appears to be solved. Again, with the way the roads are today, I just can't really be sure, yet.

While the tires were off, I had them ensure the hubcentric pieces were in place, too (they were).

Thanks for the assistance everyone. This is such a great place to trouble-shoot issues so someone like me who doesn't have much experience can go into the shop and sound somewhat knowlegeable.

 

So they just put the front tires on the back? That sounds like a
half-assed job to me......Did they check to re-balance the
wheels/tires before they put them back on the car?

If not, when you get a chance, put your front tires back on the front
again and drive around to see if you still have the vibration and pull....
you should carefully take it up to about 50mph+ to check for vibrations
on dry road.

Puddles do pull your car towards it, but in your case, hard to tell if
the problem is completely solved or not.

 

kenchan,

You were absolutely right on the half-assed job. After allowing the roads to finally dry, I took my car out for about a 60 mile drive in the country yesterday. There was still a noticealbe shake from the rear end after the shop rotated the front right to the back. I was incorrect when I stated earlier they rotated both side rears to the front.

Anyway, I went back today and the shop was quite pleasant to work with. They balanced all 4 tires this time (some were over an ounce off after just two days). Now, the car seems to drive just fine. No pulling or vibration. The tech said he 'static' balanced them the first time and this time they used 'alloy 2' setting to balance the tires. All the hubcentric pieces were in place, too.

Hope this helps someone else. I also hope this has solved the issue. I drove approximately 30 miles home with no issues.

 

Great to hear your problem is solved! Have fun out there.

 

wow that is too funny. since i have had my 04 it has always semed to pull right as well, and when i was driving it yesterday i was thinking as to why it would be doing this. and then i see this post