After two attempts, one by a specialist tyre fitters (hopeless, got my money back) and then a garage (better, till you hit 70mph) I still get a wobble through the steering wheel. Both places said that alloy wheels are the problem. Is that true?

 

Well, did they check wheels for trueness? Are they hubcentric wheels? Are they sure its not the tires? These are all factors.

You need to find a facility with Hunter 9700 balancer and a tech that knows how to properly use it.

 

Thanks for that wazari. As far as I know both did balancing and alignment adjustments. The tyres are new and have nitrogen in them and the pressures are spot on.

 

Delta, just because they are new tires doesn't mean that you can't have a bad tire. There is a process called "Road balancing". IT is a much more aggressive tire balancing method and it will bring out any flaw in a tire/rim. You can also have them mount up the tire in the balancer and then run a mic along the edge of the rim (as close to the rubber/metal interface). If you get any sort of wobble in the rim, that would indicate a bent rim.

 

I think I need to find a specialist beyond your high st kwick fit tyre fitters. One thought is, would rotating the wheels help, back to front etc?

 

Delta, if you only have a single tire that is the issue, then yes, rotating them front to back will help as a wobbly tire will not be felt as much if it is in the rear of the car. If this does help, then you can rotate one side of the car back to where it is now and see if the problem moves. From there, you can isolate the problem down to a single tire.

 

This is just 1 part of a broader problem of to many hacks out there. Be it for reguler services or tires or wheels. it just sucks that for basic tire balancing it is something that canNOT be done on our own