Hello everyone.
Wanted to post this for others on this forum in case they were curious about Centramatics.
I have a 1997 Jeep TJ Automatic 4.0 with 32/11.50-15 KM3 Tires. 4 inch lift, new steering Box and all tie rods, ball joints, Track
Arm bushings, etc... have been checked and or replaced including new front rotors. Keep in mind that I air these tires down every other
weekend when I go wheeling and these rims are Old School Centerline looking rims, not Bead Locks. I have about 10000+ miles or so
on the tires and was a little lax on rotating them as often as I should have and developed vibration and shake in the wheel
anywhere from 50MPH to 75MPH...... It happened over time so to be honest, really didn't think about it till my son went wheeling
with me recently and he was shocked how bad the Jeep was vibrating on the Hi way.... Once he mentioned it I realized just how bad
it really was.
Went and had rotated the wheels, which only caused the sound to increase but maybe reduced the vibration by 20% or so.
Took it to discount tire and was surprised that they would balance the tires for free. Took almost an hour and afterwards, the guy who
balanced them said they weren't perfect but it was the best he could do. I don't think removed the tires from the rims but re-balanced them
as they were. Was surprised to see all the new lead weights on the outside of the rims but also knew I should have been rotating them every
3k to 4k miles. Anyway, was shocked just how smooth the steering wheel became after re-balancing. Just a mild vibration through the wheel
and a reduction in vibration of 60% or more. The noise was still a bit loud but I couldn't expect that much of an improvement since you could
visually see cupping on two of the wheels. With all the improvement I decided to throw some Centramatics (300-345) on the jeep along with
keeping the weights on and am completely surprised at the improvement! I even ordered through Amazon thinking that they wouldn't do much
so I could just return them as disatisfied. Anyway, had these on for a couple of hundred miles now and the noise is diminished by 60% or more
and anywhere between 45MPH and 80MPH I can drive with my thumb and fore finger holding the wheel strait and actually have to concentrate
to feel the vibration. Grab the wheel by wrapping all your fingers around the rim of the steering wheel and you really have to concentrate to feel
the vibration. So much smoother that my steering wheel feels super responsive! Realize that's probably more
mental then anything but I cannot express just how much of an improvement these things have made.
There have been a couple of times when I slowed down at an intersection to make a 90deg turn and then started accelerating and felt a small, mild, and
slow sway in the wheel. It quickly went away after reaching 30MPH or so but that has only happened twice since installing them and the sensation lasted
a couple of seconds or so.
Keeping in mind that these things are almost $55.00 per wheel so not cheap but after experiencing the results for myself, they were well worth it to me.
Just such I night and day difference that I wanted to share with others
Wanted to post this for others on this forum in case they were curious about Centramatics.
I have a 1997 Jeep TJ Automatic 4.0 with 32/11.50-15 KM3 Tires. 4 inch lift, new steering Box and all tie rods, ball joints, Track
Arm bushings, etc... have been checked and or replaced including new front rotors. Keep in mind that I air these tires down every other
weekend when I go wheeling and these rims are Old School Centerline looking rims, not Bead Locks. I have about 10000+ miles or so
on the tires and was a little lax on rotating them as often as I should have and developed vibration and shake in the wheel
anywhere from 50MPH to 75MPH...... It happened over time so to be honest, really didn't think about it till my son went wheeling
with me recently and he was shocked how bad the Jeep was vibrating on the Hi way.... Once he mentioned it I realized just how bad
it really was.
Went and had rotated the wheels, which only caused the sound to increase but maybe reduced the vibration by 20% or so.
Took it to discount tire and was surprised that they would balance the tires for free. Took almost an hour and afterwards, the guy who
balanced them said they weren't perfect but it was the best he could do. I don't think removed the tires from the rims but re-balanced them
as they were. Was surprised to see all the new lead weights on the outside of the rims but also knew I should have been rotating them every
3k to 4k miles. Anyway, was shocked just how smooth the steering wheel became after re-balancing. Just a mild vibration through the wheel
and a reduction in vibration of 60% or more. The noise was still a bit loud but I couldn't expect that much of an improvement since you could
visually see cupping on two of the wheels. With all the improvement I decided to throw some Centramatics (300-345) on the jeep along with
keeping the weights on and am completely surprised at the improvement! I even ordered through Amazon thinking that they wouldn't do much
so I could just return them as disatisfied. Anyway, had these on for a couple of hundred miles now and the noise is diminished by 60% or more
and anywhere between 45MPH and 80MPH I can drive with my thumb and fore finger holding the wheel strait and actually have to concentrate
to feel the vibration. Grab the wheel by wrapping all your fingers around the rim of the steering wheel and you really have to concentrate to feel
the vibration. So much smoother that my steering wheel feels super responsive! Realize that's probably more
mental then anything but I cannot express just how much of an improvement these things have made.
There have been a couple of times when I slowed down at an intersection to make a 90deg turn and then started accelerating and felt a small, mild, and
slow sway in the wheel. It quickly went away after reaching 30MPH or so but that has only happened twice since installing them and the sensation lasted
a couple of seconds or so.
Keeping in mind that these things are almost $55.00 per wheel so not cheap but after experiencing the results for myself, they were well worth it to me.
Just such I night and day difference that I wanted to share with others
They keep taking mine off, I find a shimmy on the drive home, test a few days to confirm, put them back on, and find it's at least reduced if not fully gone. I'm no longer skeptical.
