Bad shake when going over 40 mph

PalmettoStateBob

PalmettoStateBob

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Anderson, SC
I put a new set of wheels and tires on, mounted and balanced at a tire shop. When I got over 40mph it started to shake VERY HARD. I had shoulder surgery shortly after and wasn’t able to address it. During this time I decided I didn’t like the look of the wheels or tires. I ordered a new set of wheels and tires online from a reputable dealer. A mechanic from work came over and changed them out. Today I drove it for the first time. Felt a slight vibration, but when I topped 40mph it shook hard again. Lugs are tight and I used centric rings the second time. Drove a few miles below 40mph and there was no shaking, still felt a little vibration. My TJ has always driven exceptionally smooth until I did the tire change.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Sounds like the shop rushed the tire balance part of the job. Many shops don't give their techs enough time to do anything better than "good enough" which typically not good enough for larger Jeep-size tires.
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^^^ THIS is probably the ticket.

I was mind-blown the other day when i took my LJ to Discount Tire for a balance/rotation.

I was in-out the door in less than 10 minutes.
I even asked "did you guys balance them at all?"

Haven't had tire/wheel issues though, so I guess all is well...
 
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zachpeakee said:
^^^ THIS is probably the ticket.

I was mind-blown the other day when i took my LJ to Discount Tire for a balance/rotation.

I was in-out the door in less than 10 minutes.
I even asked "did you guys balance them at all?"
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Discount Tires had to balance my 35" tires three times in one day. I had to return twice after the first two quick attempts produced terrible shimmying.
They spent considerably more time the third time to finally get them balanced acceptably.
 
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If it’s just mostly coming from the front tire you can put the front tires on the back - I’m not saying you’re not going to feel the vibration but it could prove that you had a tire shaking the steering linkage

There really is no in between on tire balance for these vehicles- This is especially true if the tires are oversized.

Even though a 33 inch tires is only 2 inches taller than a stock Rubicon tire- It will be 2 to 3 times heavier often and he is manufactured for a 1/2 to three-quarter ton truck weighing three times as much
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
Discount Tires had to balance my 35" tires three times in one day. I had to return twice after the first two quick attempts produced terrible shimmying.
They spent considerably more time the third time to finally get them balanced acceptably.
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I know they have 2 different machines.
One is a standard "balance" and the other is a "road force" balance.

I'm willing to bet the road force takes considerably more time, and therefore they ONLY utilize it 'if they need to'...

Just my stance on it.
 
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zachpeakee said:
I know they have 2 different machines.
One is a standard "balance" and the other is a "road force" balance.

I'm willing to bet the road force takes considerably more time, and therefore they ONLY utilize it 'if they need to'...

Just my stance on it.
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I gave up paying more for a Roadforce tire balance, their results were too inconsistent for me. Few turned out as well as expected or hoped for. The best tire balances I ever had came from an old guy with a tire balance machine straight out of the 50's.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
I gave up paying more for a Roadforce tire balance, their results were too inconsistent for me. Few turned out as well as expected or hoped for. The best tire balances I ever had came from an old guy with a tire balance machine straight out of the 50's.
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was it the one that has a monkey on a bicycle pedaling to spin it up ?
 
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The guy I work with that does our tire balancing will take as long as it takes to get the tires dead nuts perfect.

The used wheels that I put the Kenda Klever MT's on, he only had to Roadforce balance one, due to the wheel having a slight wobble. Now I run it in my rotation and it's smooth as the rest of the tires.
 
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GOLENJEEPTJ said:
Always" Hunter's Road Force" balance!
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I gave up on paying extra for Road Force balancing. It never produced better results than what I could get from someone who was simply good at balancing tires. And often not even as good where my 35's were concerned. The best tire balance guy I ever found did so on an old machine straight out of the 50's.
 
As with most things mechanical, the skill if the technician is paramount. I've worked in the industry for 40 years now and in the last 20 years the amount of people who wanted to get into the auto technician field has taken a huge hit with everyone wanting to go to college and not choosing the trades. Look around there are still some good ones out there though. If you find one pay him well they are worth it.
 
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AndyG said:
Even though a 33 inch tires is only 2 inches taller than a stock Rubicon tire- It will be 2 to 3 times heavier often
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Just curious what 33 inch tire is that heavy? A 245/75-16 BFG KO2 is 48 lbs, a 33/12.5-15 General Grabber X3 that is thought of as heavy is 67 lbs. Is there a 96 lb 33 inch tire? :oops:
 
AzJeff said:
Just curious what 33 inch tire is that heavy? A 245/75-16 BFG KO2 is 48 lbs, a 33/12.5-15 General Grabber X3 that is thought of as heavy is 67 lbs. Is there a 96 lb 33 inch tire? :oops:
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How heavy is a stock 31” rubicon tire- My point is the stock tires really don’t weigh a lot in comparison-
 
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AndyG said:
How heavy is a stock 31” rubicon tire- My point is the stock tires really don’t weigh a lot in comparison-
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245/75-16 is the stock size, I can't find the brand and model but it was an A/T. The lightest A/T tire in that size I found is 39 lbs. Just trying to learn something and was surprised by your 2 to 3 times heavier comment. What brand is a really heavy 33x12.50 tire that's used on TJs?
 
AzJeff said:
245/75-16 is the stock size, I can't find the brand and model but it was an A/T. The lightest A/T tire in that size I found is 39 lbs. Just trying to learn something and was surprised by your 2 to 3 times heavier comment. What brand is a really heavy 33x12.50 tire that's used on TJs?
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Oh well I’m just thinking any mud tire and I’m just throwing out approximates I’m not stating a hard fact- The truth remains that it is a lot more tire
than the vehicle was designed for and if they aren’t well balanced you’re going to know it.

A 33” mud tire on a bead lock will knock you down if rolled to you in the shop.
 
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