gtx wheels and a problem

[goodbabbu]

I have been having a lot of troubles with my newly installed GTX wheels.. (they are 14")
What i have experienced from day 1 is, these things keep wobbling at certain speeds!(30-60, and over 100 KM/h)
I have been to the shop 3 times already to get them balanced, but every time, its the same deal...

As for the mounting of wheel goes, i am running 1 spacer up front, 2 in back(.25 inch)..

has anyone else experienced this sort of problem? anyway how i can correct it? will strut bar help?

Your help is very much appreciated!

[mattswabb]

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19023

You should have continued the thread from before. Are you sure it's the wheels? Have you tried another set? A strut bar will not help. My guess it's either the wheels or how they are mounted. Probably the mounting.

When you put the wheels on is the wheel's center hole sitting on the hub center or is the spacer pushing it out too far?

Is this problem with all 4 wheels? Or just the fronts? Or rears? Or just a single wheel?

[goodbabbu]

Sorry, i should have continued the on with the old thread...

I honestly cannot tell if its just 1 wheel or all of them, as, while driving, it feels like all the wheels are just going in their own direction!
I haven't tried any other wheels on yet, but i remember i had no problem with my old 12 inch steelies..

[mattswabb]

I guess we'll need more info.

In my post above are the wheels on the hub or are the spacers pushing them away.

What lug nuts are you using? Studs with the proper nuts? Or longer bolts?

If your 12" wheels worked then it's the GTX wheels. So start eliminating the problem. Put the 12's back on the front and the GTX wheels on the back and see how it drives. Then do the opposite. This will tell you if it's a front or rear (or both) problem. This should narrow it down a bit. Then you can focus in on the problem.

[25Horseplay]

Did you use the Festiva lug bolts or did you switch to studs with nuts?

[FestYboy]

god i hope he's running studs, the lug bolts aren't long enough to run any kind of spacer.

[LittleHoe]

Chances are its the spacers that are causing the wobbly feel... The wheels don't center exactly right with some spacers.... where did you get the spacers from?

[goodbabbu]

I am running long aftermarket bolts...
I got my spacers from a custom performance store here in town... they are generic one's.. but have special holes for 114

Another point to be noted is that the wobble only happens when i am going slow, ie, 20-50, and then it disappears! But it comes back when i hit the 95-100 mark...

Whats the reason that the wobble would just disappear out of nowhere..

Any/all suggestions are welcome..

I really want to fix this thing!

[mattswabb]

Take the wheels somewhere esle and have them balanced. Then if that corrects the problems go back to the 1st place and ask for your money back.

Wheels will do that. They can vibrate at a speed and at multiples of that speed. It's not uncommon for a vibration at 30 then 60 then 90mph.

[ohsoslow]

are you sure the problem isnt one of the tires? a broken belt inside a tire can do very similar to the problem your having.

[phantorn]

Find a shop that can road force test/balance them to see if you have a tire/rim problem.

[25Horseplay]

Were the tires new? If not one might be bad. But the bolts may be yur problem, they may not be holding the wheels centered, you might need to switch to wheel studs with lugnuts.

[Levitan]

I think as a starting point, Matt's idea of eliminating wheels to figure out where the prob is. Mark each tire, left front=LF, right front=RF, left rear=LR and right rear=R.

Remove LF and RF, put your good 12" tires on and run the car. IF the wobble is gone, then you know the problem is in the front tires/wheels package. If wobble remains, put LF and RF back on and remove LR and RR put your good 12" tires on and run the car.

You need to pinpoint where the problem is so people can better help you. Without eliminating things, every answer given is just random guesses and gets you no closer to solving the problem. Start by doing what MAtt said!

[nonamekid]

Any/all suggestions are welcome..

I really want to fix this thing!

If this is the case do what was suggested. If I remember right, I thought our rims where hub centric, not lug centric, so if you bring the wheels out so they can't center on the hubs, that would be your problem. Have you tried running the GTX wheels without the spacers? Maybe the spacers are the problem and not the rims or the tires.

[goodbabbu]

If i take the spacers out then the tires hit the rear strut perches! I am going to do some diagnosis this coming weekend, and will update you guys..