Administrators gav240z Posted November 25, 2013 Administrators Posted November 25, 2013 Hi guys, I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good tyre shop in the Sydney area for balancing wheels + tyres? The background is ever since I got my RX-7 on the road here in NSW it has a slight vibration at 80 km/h that seems to disappear around 100 - 100km. Before the car left Ireland I had it detailed pretty thoroughly I suspect that perhaps 1 of the wheel weights came off during the clean (they steam cleaned the under carriage and wheels were pretty spotless after also). Either that or something else happened during transit. Not sure if wheel nuts being swapped between different wheels could cause it, if the wheels were off for compliance and put on in different order? It also seems to pull slightly to 1 side now, could it be a wheel alignment issue? So basically just want it checked for balance and alignment. It's not a major issue or vibration but I recall it used to be smooth as silk before (even at 180km/h on Irish roads it was like icing on cake smooth lol)... Quote
CroS13 Posted November 25, 2013 Posted November 25, 2013 cant remember if you told me if your running aftermarket rims or not? If they did clean and remove the wheels, if you have aftermarket rims, could it be possible that a hub centric spacer fell out? Rudolf. Quote
Administrators gav240z Posted November 25, 2013 Author Administrators Posted November 25, 2013 Yes aftermarket wheels, but I've never seen this hub centric spacer what do they look like? And where would I get another from? Quote
dat2kman Posted November 25, 2013 Posted November 25, 2013 Pulling? It's bumped a kerb, toe is out a touch. As the hub nuts are so close to centrepoint, they wont have effect. Tried swapping backs to fronts ? If vibration goes away thats a balance, f it still pulls, thats toe. In IRE you drive on same side of road, so any alignment done there will suit here. Quote
Administrators gav240z Posted November 25, 2013 Author Administrators Posted November 25, 2013 Pulling? It's bumped a kerb, toe is out a touch. As the hub nuts are so close to centrepoint, they wont have effect. That's what I figured, I don't think it's the wheel nuts since they are not on the outer edge. I had it aligned before I left Ireland and it was spot on, seemed to drift slightly to right the other day on freeway but sometimes the road has a slight curve so I gotta confirm this again. Tried swapping backs to fronts ? If vibration goes away thats a balance, f it still pulls, thats toe. Not yet, I'll have to check they are not staggered wheels, pretty sure they are same all around but seem to remember the tires being wider on the rear than the front. Does the vibration usually only come from the front wheels though? Not the rears? In IRE you drive on same side of road, so any alignment done there will suit here. Yeah exactly. Quote
nizm0zed Posted November 25, 2013 Posted November 25, 2013 your Irish tyres are a bit wobbly since leaving the motherland. Put some Guinness in them and they will run perfectly. May need to top it up regularly though re, swapping the wheels. If the vibration seems to be felt more through the steering wheel, its usually a sign of the fronts being the culprit, If it feels as if it comes through the seat or frame of the car, its usually the rears. Swapping them front for back helps to narrow down the end you look at. Quote
luvemfast Posted November 26, 2013 Posted November 26, 2013 They were balanced in the northern hemisphere. They'll need to be redone here and spun the opposite direction! Quote
pauly_adams Posted November 26, 2013 Posted November 26, 2013 sounds stupid but change your ball joints, my 260z and my 280zx have both had the same symptoms and once I changed the ball joint it stopped Quote
Scoota G Posted November 26, 2013 Posted November 26, 2013 Check for play in the rack. There's an adjustment there just near the alternator. Quote
Administrators gav240z Posted November 30, 2013 Author Administrators Posted November 30, 2013 Just visited a tyre shop today and we discovered 2 of the wheels are slightly buckled. So I left the car with them and it's getting repaired. Guessing it happened way back when it was stolen. It will cost about 125 each wheel. Sound reasonable? Quote
dat2kman Posted November 30, 2013 Posted November 30, 2013 There are wheel straighteners around, they use a rather large lathe, with a very sturdy mandrel, and a hydraulic ram, to push them back, $125 per is up there, includes remove/refit, balance etc, not too bad! Get the alignment rechecked, as a bucle in a rim could mean its hit a kerb or gutter a bit firmly. Quote
Administrators gav240z Posted November 30, 2013 Author Administrators Posted November 30, 2013 Yeah thanks mate sounds like a good idea to get them to check the alignment because if it's off I'll get uneven tyre wear which I don't want. I'm now trying to figure out if the vibration was there in Ireland and I just didn't pay enough attention or if it's since it's been imported. What's interesting is that if was the front left (passenger side) and the rear right (driver side) wheels that are out of whack. The front left I can understand because that's where they damaged the car in that corner when it was stolen, but the rear right I'm not sure about... Anyway I knew there would be more to discover after fixing this car. I think it goes back to when it was stolen (but I guess it could also be from shipping etc..), they were only slightly buckled but it was obvious once it was rotating on the machine they weren't true. Looking forward to it being smooth again. It really is a pleasure to drive at speed. Quote
dat2kman Posted November 30, 2013 Posted November 30, 2013 Being the model RX7, i think it is, with thehuge amounts of positive offsets on the wider than stock rims, ( assumption) how they tie the car down for shipping, all it takes is some numpty to wrench the Nth degree out of the severely angled out ratchet strap, and puts excess force on the very inside of a rim lip, thus giving it a bit of a slight "pull out" buckle. The outer lip edge, due to being closeish to the postive offset hub face mount plane, will be a lot stronger, it will be the inside lip edge on the front left, that hit a severe bump/kerb/gutter, and pushed it inwards. It wont be much, 4-6 mm will do it! Quote
Administrators gav240z Posted November 30, 2013 Author Administrators Posted November 30, 2013 Sounds plausible to me. It is the inner edge of the wheels that were buckled. As my g/f said if that's the only problem you had after shipping it, then you're lucky. I guess she's correct. Quote
CroS13 Posted November 30, 2013 Posted November 30, 2013 so the only question remaining is when are we going to go for a cruise! Quote
Administrators gav240z Posted December 1, 2013 Author Administrators Posted December 1, 2013 I get the car back Monday / Tuesday - hopefully with no more vibration and true rims. I'll be in Melbourne next weekend though for the Auszcar Christmas BBQ. But if you want to go for a cruise just let me know? You've still got my mobile number right? Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.