Hard top on aaaand...

[atrizzy]

... I've developed a shimmy.

Strangely, I rotated the tires a few weeks ago and went for a long trip with the soft top on. The ride was super smooth. I went for a long trip this weekend after putting the hard top back on and have a significant shimmy between 80 to 110 kph (50 to 65 mph). The shimmy is mostly in the entire body, not just the steering wheel.

Has anybody experienced this? Tires are 33" x 10" BFGs at 27 psi. Wondering if it's just a coincidence or if the hard top can actually contribute to this.

Thanks all!

 

[Chris]

That has to be a coincidence. Even when my hard top hasn't seated properly to the header seal, there's still no shimmy. Sounds like maybe one of the weights could have come off and now the wheels might be out of balance.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

X2, 99.9% chance it's nothing but an imperfectly balanced tire.

 

[atrizzy]

Gents, thanks for the responses. I'd tend to agree, but the coincidence of it happening so suddenly was astounding.
Thought I'd get the word out.
Cheers!

 

[David Jackman]

Try Dyna Beads.......they won't fall out and the tire stays balanced. I've used them on my motorcycles for years. I'm going to remove the weights on the new to me '04 Wrangler and put about 3-4 ounces in each tire and see what happens.

Chief

 

[atrizzy]

Try Dyna Beads.......they won't fall out and the tire stays balanced. I've used them on my motorcycles for years. I'm going to remove the weights on the new to me '04 Wrangler and put about 3-4 ounces in each tire and see what happens.

Chief

I've wanted to look into these. What is involved with installing them?

 

[David Jackman]

I've wanted to look into these. What is involved with installing them?

When you buy the Dyna Beads (I get mine from Amazon) you can get a bottle and little piece of plastic hose, and put them in through the valve stem. The only CAVEAT is when you have to have a flat fixed or when you buy new tires, you need to let the people working on the tire that there are beads in the tire. The beads are TINY and they can go everywhere if you're not careful. You will never find them all.

On my bike, they broke down the tire on on side, stood the tire/wheel upright, and scooped the beads out with a spoon and saved them on a shop towel; then after removing the old tire from the wheel, they put the new tire on one side, poured the beads back in, then put the other side of the tire on the wheel. A friend said the shop he uses just sucks the beads out with a shop vac after breaking the tire down on one side.

Helpful hint: when installing the beads through the valve stem, an electric etching tool laid against the valve stem will keep the beads from clogging in the stem. If you don't have an etching tool, just tap the side of the valve stem with a screwdriver. When you get the beads with the bottle and plastic hose, it will all come together for you.

Chief