Question regarding tires(maybe)

[Yerfdog79]

I have a 2000 Limited. Got some tires a while back for the Wallyworld. General Grabber STX. Ex had a bad shimmy and shake at 70 mph. Rebalanced tires myself and shimmy went away a little. Every bump though sends a shimming vibration from the road to the roof. Put shocks on today and sway bar links. Also did Upper control arms and lower ball joints and alignment before i got the tires. So, my question, could the tires just be not very sidewall solid and causing my shimmy or have i overlooked something. Any help is appreciated.

 

[yavapaires]

I have a 2000 Limited. Got some tires a while back for the Wallyworld. General Grabber STX. Ex had a bad shimmy and shake at 70 mph. Rebalanced tires myself and shimmy went away a little. Every bump though sends a shimming vibration from the road to the roof. Put shocks on today and sway bar links. Also did Upper control arms and lower ball joints and alignment before i got the tires. So, my question, could the tires just be not very sidewall solid and causing my shimmy or have i overlooked something. Any help is appreciated.

What do you mean by 'sidewall solid'? How much pressure are you running in the tires? What size tires? Have you hit a big pot hole?. Sounds to me like you have too much air in the tires.

 

[rabbit91]

I had something similar, the ones that came with my X i ran them low on a camping trip but they weren't made for that. i had to quickly replace them because the shake was troubling

 

[Yerfdog79]

I meant are there just not enough plys in it. I had them at whatever the store put them at, 32 psi i think. I upped them to 40 psi as max on the tires says 44psi. They are p255/70 r 16. i am replacing the differential stabilizer shock today. I think WalMart is going to give me a problem when i go to exchange them. I have never had this problem witha any other tire, either p metric or LTs. I did hit a rather large pothole the other day but the problem was already there.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

I think the best first step is try bleeding your power steering. Its very common for air to get in the system when working on the front end & the results are exactly the problem you describe.

If the problem still exists, I would have the alignment rechecked before returning the tires. Different tires can require alignment adjustments.

 

[alohamonte]

You balanced the tires yourself?

 

[1996BLKBauer]

You balanced the tires yourself?

I was wondering this myself. unless he has his own shop...

 

[Yerfdog79]

Power steering is fine. When i hit one of the tires it shakes like a hard jello and that its exactly what i feel inside. i understand that there will be a little roughness when driving but this just doesnt feel right. When I said i balanced them myself I mean I took it to a friends shop and used his balancer. I worked at a WalMart TLE and know how their balancers are. I don't think they ever recalibrate them or they don't set the measurments right. When I was there i used to recalibrate it every so often. I balanced them with the weights WalMart had on and the were all off. I don't beleive my wheels to be bent because the most weight any of them took was 1.5 oz. My F-150 has a screwy wheel and it will take 3 oz.

 

[fifthranger]

Tire pressure will cause a lot of controversy since the pressure on the tire is maximum pressure for the tire and not specific to the vehicle. That is what the whole Firestone/Explorer fiasco was about. Anyway, the tire pressure recommended by the manufacturer is on the inside driver's side door. For my Ranger, I feel that 32 is way too low for the pressure, yet my tires say 44 max psi like most passenger vehicles today. I run about 37 psi year round. A couple things you fail to mention are how many miles on your vehicle and how many miles on the tires. It is possible that one of your tires is defective/worn, etc. Another possibility is that your alignment may be off (as someone else mentioned). Have you rotated the tires consistently? If, for example, the driver front has a problem, yet it is still there after a rotation, then, the problem is likely not the tire(s). Also, you state at 70 mph is when the problem occurs. What happens below that? Vehicles ride differently and experience different symptoms at lower speeds. Last, I'm not knocking the age of your vehicle, however, it is 12 years old. Vehicles tend to develop noise's, grunts, whines, and other symptoms over time.

 

[Yerfdog79]

This 2000 explorer is the newest vehicle i have owned. It has 194k on it. Got it with around 110k. I have a '92 F-150 with 175k on it. I understand about creaks and cracks and such. And only 700 miles on the tires and they have been doing it since i hit 70 the first time. I am just trying to see if there is anything that i can do personally before having to actually take it somewhere. So far everything i ave done has actually needed to be done. No wasted money yet, knock on wood.

 

[Yerfdog79]

Also, I do rotate my tires religously. I was able to get a bunch of miles out of some $55 a piece Goodyear Wrangler on my truck. When i finally changed they i had wore all of them down nearly evenly.

 

[SoNic67]

yet my tires say 44 max psi like most passenger vehicles today.

I NEVER saw a passenger car with RECOMENDED pressure of 44psi. That is the maximum absolute limit that the tire manufacturer would allow. It is plain reckless to run the actual pressure in the tires that high. You put that much cod air in winter and on highway, sumertime it will heat up and go to 50psi! Why would some people assume that the car manufacturers are idiots when is about tire pressure?

Only the car manufacturer tested the needed pressure for that specific vehicle. Tire manufacturer cannot know what vehicle you will use the tire on, that's waht they alway state "USE CAR MANUFACTURER INFLATION PRESSURE" on their sites.
A couple of PSI higer than recomended won't be the end of the world, but more than that would actually decrease the contact patch to unsafe(r) levels.

That is what the whole Firestone/Explorer fiasco was about.

No, it was not. 98% of the exploded tires where coming from a specific 15" line in Decatur, IL Firestone plant. After they recalled 6.5 million tires, Firestone closed the plant. Because of unions in Ford and Firestone, everthing was swept under rug.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/06/27/national/main298685.shtml

Last August, Bridgestone/Firestone recalled all 15-inch ATX and ATX tires, and the 15-inch Wilderness AT tires built just in Decatur, after discovering those lines had high failure rates. After a four-month internal investigation, Bridgestone/Firestone said a faulty design and a unique manufacturing process at the Decatur plant caused some tires to suddenly lose their tread or suffer other failures.

The Decatur plant uses a process known as pelletizing, in which rubber pellets are blended with a lubricant to create the rubber that coats the steel belts of tires. Other plants use rubber slabs, which require less lubricant. The company found the lubricant apparently can cause a tire breakdown.

 

[Yerfdog79]

Fixed

Turns out it was the tires. The Duelers dont make my explorer wobble at all. Thanks for all the input.

 

[fifthranger]

I NEVER saw a passenger car with RECOMENDED pressure of 44psi. That is the maximum absolute limit that the tire manufacturer would allow. It is plain reckless to run the actual pressure in the tires that high. You put that much cod air in winter and on highway, sumertime it will heat up and go to 50psi! Why would some people assume that the car manufacturers are idiots when is about tire pressure?

Only the car manufacturer tested the needed pressure for that specific vehicle. Tire manufacturer cannot know what vehicle you will use the tire on, that's waht they alway state "USE CAR MANUFACTURER INFLATION PRESSURE" on their sites.
A couple of PSI higer than recomended won't be the end of the world, but more than that would actually decrease the contact patch to unsafe(r) levels.

Do you have a reading or a comprehension problem? I stated nothing about the tires indicating recommended pressure. That is why I specify said to use the info. ON THE INSIDE OF THE DOOR JAMB. I have nothing against engineers, but like you said, a couple pounds greater than the door jamb will have no harmful effects. There are a lot of articles written about tire pressure on the web, and for all practical purposes the door jamb info. is for maximum fuel economy. I have always run only a couple extra pounds of air in my wife's vehicle, my mom's vehicle, and my vehicle, and not once did I ever have a problem. I also know about hot air and expansion in summer. Thank you.

 

[2TimingTom]

There are a lot of articles written about tire pressure on the web, and for all practical purposes the door jamb info. is for maximum fuel economy.

Actually the pressure listed in the door jamb is the best compromise between comfort, handling and fuel economy.

 

[fifthranger]

Actually the pressure listed in the door jamb is the best compromise between comfort, handling and fuel economy

Correct.