Rim Weight Things

Whappeh

Whappeh

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2006
Messages
2,657
Location
Seattle, WA
Car(s)
05 Nissan Xterra 4x4
So I bought a new car a while ago, drives great. Noticed the steerwheel shakes a bit. Thought I needed an alignment, but checked the rims for bends or anything of the sort, noticed the front left rim has none of the little weight things the rest of the wheels do.

Issue?
 
I actually do!

50 Euro Cents and R15.56

But really... anything I should do?
 
When does it shake? All the time, or only when you brake? If the shaking is only when you brake, then you have a brake problem - warped rotors.

If you feel it all the time, you need your wheels balanced.
 
Its never when I break.

Its pretty much between 55 and 70mph, over 70 it smooths out, below 55 I just don't think its fast enough to really get going.

Never while breaking.
 
Incorrectly balanced wheel or a bent rim. Most likely one of the front wheels if it smooths out over 70mph. Just take it to any wheel shop and they will balance it for you for like.. ~20$?
 
If its that cheap, rad. I'll knock it out today. Rims do not look bent.
 
Whappeh said:
If its that cheap, rad. I'll knock it out today. Rims do not look bent.
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You can't see if a rim is bent or not when it's on the car, but a bent rim is not very likely unless there are curbing marks on it.
 
No curbing marks on the wheels. There were slight marks when I bought the car, however they were polished out and refurbished by my request.

Which means there could be a bent rim. Hmm.
 
Posmo said:
Incorrectly balanced wheel or a bent rim. Most likely one of the front wheels if it smooths out over 70mph. Just take it to any wheel shop and they will balance it for you for like.. ~20$?
Click to expand...

Bloody rip-offs if they charge that much for it.
 
Erm... just because there's no weight on the outside doesn't mean it's out of balance. Yes, there's a good possibility of it not being in perfect balance, but not all wheels and tires need weights everywhere. Also, if any of the wheels have more than about 2.5 oz of weight on one spot, they weren't balanced well and should be redone by someone who knows how to do it right.
 
^^^^ While thats possible, it's unlikely that subaru uses wheels/tires so precise they don't need to be balanced.
You should be able to get all for rebalanced for under $30. I'd go ahead and clean the wheels and look for marks from where the weights were either hammered (steel wheels) on or glued on (look for remnants of double sided tape) the inside..
 
Last edited:
Was a bent rim.

386 for a Subaru standard alloy.

I want to cry.

I'd replace all my rims if I could... blah.
 
Whappeh said:
Was a bent rim.

386 for a Subaru standard alloy.

I want to cry.

I'd replace all my rims if I could... blah.
Click to expand...

You can get it straightened, but it will cost ~$50 and it might not come out perfect. I'd still pick that option though, rather than getting a new wheel.
 
Don't really know, don't live in America so I have no need to know of shops in there.. But if there is a shop that straightens rims in my hometown of ~40k people here, Im sure you can find some place that will do it for you..

EDIT: Also, try putting the bent rim on the rear axle, it will lower the amount of wobbling.
 
You could also hit up ebay/craigslist for people selling off sets of standard Subie wheels after getting aftermarket ones. Usually quite cheap...
 
bent rim you say..... i wonder if this is what my car had... it only had steel wheels as well and i reckon it'd been in a bit of a scrape (though the owner denied all knowledge....though eventually i found enough evidence to convice myself) and on the motorway i could always feel a wobble or a shimmy. i got the wheels balanced countless times....but it never really went away.

eventually i got rid of the wobble in the steering wheel, but i could still feel the shimmying through the seat, lt felt like it came from the rear. which makes sense coz at one point i had the fronts an rears swapped when i got 2 new tyres.

never knew about bent rims, so thanks!!
 
+ bent wheel doesnt always have to be caused by curbs.. hole in a road does decent unfixable malformation to a wheel also.. former workmate had one so he had to buy new set..
 
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