My steering wheel shakes when I reach highway speeds of 70+. '03 X-type..any ideas on the problem? I just had an alignment.

 

Hi mrcr..............if you've just had an alignment I'd say that the wheels have not been balanced properly if at all. Were they taken off the vehicle? New tyres fitted recently?
Take it back and explaint the problem and ask for them to be balanced.

Good luck

Jim

 

Get all four tires and wheels ROAD FORCE balanced..it's the only best way to balance Jag tires.

 

What is ROAD FORCE balancing?

 

Most tire shops have the equipment and Most Jag dealers do too..

It looks like a standard spin balancer with an extra accessory that mimics road weight on the tire as it spins and monitors the slapping force on the tire against the road..in order to compensate for a tire that is out of round (we are not talking a whole bunch, but enough to make the tire hit the road at odd points harder than on other points of the tire) the balancerindicates tothe operator where the tire and rim would match up best..they slide the rim around inside the tire until the points line up as indicated by the balancer for best harmonic balance...there is a cut off as anything over 20 Lbs of road force is consider rejectionable..The POS Continental Tires that come with the X type (at least mine) would not Road Force Balance (two out of 5)and they (my tire guy) told me I would always have body shake or steering shake regardless of how many weights they tried to stick on to compensate..So this was when the tires only had 1000 miles on them..so I ended up buying two more tires to get a smooth ride, until they wore out at 20k miles and I put Kuhmos Acsta ASXon and the ride has been superb since.

 

27 IS THE SPEC AND OBVIOUSLY THE LOWER THE NUMBER THE BETTER. TO EASILY THINK OF WHAT YOUR LOOKING AT IS THIS. I CAN DRILL A HOLE IN A BRICK AND BALANCE IT TO SPIN PERFECTLY, BUT HOW WILL IT RIDE! THE SAME WITH YOUR TIRES.

A ROAD FORCE BALANCER TELL THE OPERATOR IF THE "ROUNDNESS" OF THE TIRE AND WHEEL ASSEMBLY IS OK OR NOT.

IF YOUR REALLY **** AS I DID ON MY WIFES XKR WHEELS WHEN THEY WERE NEW, I MEASUREDEACH WHEEL WITHOUT TIRES TO FIND THE LOWEST SPOT ON THE RIM AND THEN PAINTED A STRIPE INSIDE(NOT THE TIRE SIDE) OF THE RIM SO I COULD ALWAYS MATCH UP THE HIGH SPOT OF A TIRE WITH THE LOW SPOT OF THE RIM TO GET THE ROUNDEST AVAIL COMBO.

I ALSO BALANCE ON TARGET TO LESS THAN A 1/4OUNCE OR LESSTOTAL AS BALANCERS WILL ROUNDOFF UP TO A 1/2 OUNCE. THEN YOURE STARTING OUT OF BALNCE 1/2 OUNCE ALREADY AND WILL BE OUT OF BALANCE THAT MUCH FASTER. BUT ON YOU SHIMMY.

X TYPES TEND TO BEND FRONT STRUT AND UPPER MOUNT ALONG WITH LOWER CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS ON BAD POTHOLES SO BE SURE THAT THIS HAS BEEN REALLY LOOKED AT WELL. IF THE STRUTS BENT, THE BACK OF THE TIRE WILL BE CLOSER TO THE WHEEL ARCH THAN THE OTHER SIDE.

THE NUT (3) THAT ATTACH THE STRUT ASSEMBLY TO THE SHOCK TOWER TEND TO MUSHROOM OUT WHEN THEYRE BENT INSTEAD OF BEING STRAIGHT, IT EASIEST TO SEE IF YOU HOLD UP A NEW ONE TO IT, YOU CAN SEE THE BOLT SPREAD.

AND LOOK FOR OIL LEAKING FROM THE FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, THE BIG ONES IN THE REAR OF THE ARM.

 

Great insight BRUTAL but I wish you would use the enter key every now and then. Just makes reading it a little hard. *disclaimer - I am not trying to put you down in any way, honest,just asking for some help, you write knowledgeable posts and breaking off a paragraph now and then makes a little easier reading/comprehending* ...many thanks.

Back on topic - the Roadforce balance makes a huge difference in my experience. I'll never go back! Most dealers have them. A good starting point for your diagnostic journey.

 

Chris what the HELL are you talking about? Go get your eyes checked it reads fine to me

 

i think he is talking about the CAPS button... so how much does a road force test cost??? about?

 

Typical rate is $20-$25.00 per tire at my tire shop

 

Now that you mention it I am overdue for an eye exam! I'll get em checked and read again.


Do you know how large of a tire the Roadforce machine can handle? I have some 15x8 rims with 31" x 10.5 off road tires I want to get balanced....think they will fit?

 

CHRIS,
A
HUNTER
9700
WILL
BECAUSE
MINE
ON
MY
TRUCK
ARE
A
LITTLE
BIGGER
THAN
THAT,
BUT
THEY
WONT
DO
MY
RACE
CAR'S
SLICKS
WHICH
16W X 32 X15[:@]
SORRY I JUST COULDNT RESIST THAT ENTER KEY TODAY FOR SOME REASON

 

LOL!!!

Thanks for the info and the good chuckle. You are a good sport!

I'm thinking of moving up to 33's or 35's on my lifted ZJ, just wondering how far I could go with a roadforce.

 

WELL ITS EITHER THAT OR A GOOD SWIFT KICK IN THE KNUTZ FROM CALVIN, AND DONT PAY AS MUCH ATTENTION TO ROAD FORCE WITH TRUCK TIRES, THEY'RE A WHOLE OTHER ISSUE WHEN IT COMES TO ROADFORCE. ITS A GOOD TOOL, BUT DONT FREAK OUT IF NONE OF THEM ARE IN SPEC, ITS COMMON

 

OK - I won't be too concerned then. Really, most of the time I am beating the trail at 5mph anyway, with the tires aired down. Only the vibrations I get on my way to and from the trail and the occasional towing trip does it get irritating. I am having an alignment done today on that pig, and I have a new trac bar and LCA bushings to go in that should help line things up better. Might get the driveshaft balanced too. I probably bent something last time out.

Of course, the Cragar Soft 8's didn't look all that round out of the box anyway!