Weird shimmy when braking from 55mph

[Festiver]

So the 55mph shimmy is normal and I don't find to be annoying grown quite used to it but when braking from 55 this violent steering wheel shake comes up till I get to 40 mph kinda annoying and a bit worrying I've checked everything nothing loose and my brake pedal isn't vibrating like warped rotors

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[avitsefdrof]

I've experienced this issue as have others.......my fix was the steering rack....the inner tie rods were the biggest contributor for me.....even after new tires, rack and outer tie rods, alignment......I get a "livable" vibration......worse at some speeds and better at others.......maybe 13 inchers would absorb some of the shake......best of luck.

[jawja jim]

Try stopping with only the e-brake handle to see if it's in the rear. I recently had a vibration/shimmy feeling which was rotors and the rear. Replacing the rotors made it mostly good, but new shoes (everything else was already new) finished it.

[Festiver]

I've experienced this issue as have others.......my fix was the steering rack....the inner tie rods were the biggest contributor for me.....even after new tires, rack and outer tie rods, alignment......I get a "livable" vibration......worse at some speeds and better at others.......maybe 13 inchers would absorb some of the shake......best of luck.

My rack is worn but all the parts from the rack out have been recently replaced

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[Festiver]

Try stopping with only the e-brake handle to see if it's in the rear. I recently had a vibration/shimmy feeling which was rotors and the rear. Replacing the rotors made it mostly good, but new shoes (everything else was already new) finished it.

I'll try that tomorrow thanks

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[Winfield1990]

I also have a similar issue unsure what it is. Havent had time to look into it. Mine happens under moderate braking at speeds of 45-55 I havent paid too much attention recently to remember the details. But if I brake a little harder when it is happening it makes it stop. Assuming it is my rear brakes but idk. Let me know when solve it I will look into using ebrake and check my rack out sometime like others said.

[Festiver]

I also have a similar issue unsure what it is. Havent had time to look into it. Mine happens under moderate braking at speeds of 45-55 I havent paid too much attention recently to remember the details. But if I brake a little harder when it is happening it makes it stop. Assuming it is my rear brakes but idk. Let me know when solve it I will look into using ebrake and check my rack out sometime like others said.

Exactly what happens to me I would suspect rear but the mainly feeling I'm getting is the steering wheel as if it was the front

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[TominMO]

So much to check.

Lug nuts/lug studs tight
problem with a tire--rotate them to see if the problem moves or goes away
warped rotors
tie rod ends
tie rods
LCA ball joint
torn CV axle boots--grit getting in, grease out, causing bearing wear

Maybe other stuff I didn't think about.

[Advancedynamix]

These cars are very sensitive to how round and true the wheels and tires are on them. Most newer vehicles have at least 800 extra pounds on them to stabilize the vehicle with slightly out of round tires, but the Festiva is so light that it shakes easily. I have noticed this on my own cars from swapping from one set of tires to the next. With my 14" wheels, the car used to ride smooth as glass at any speed, but it shook like a wet dog at 60mph with my 13" wheels. This has been the case with 3 of my Festivas. tires make a huge difference. Also, make sure your wheels are evenly torqued too. Hub centric fitment is a plus, but not necessary if your wheel bolts are evenly torqued. sometimes these cars get the shakes with loose wheel bearings too.

[errjam]

Charlie can you talk a little more about tires... street , track, street/track day ,, DD,, ect. also wheels 13 vs 14 vs 15 and the like

[dalebwilson]

I have replaced everything on my front end including the rack. The only thing that eliminated my shakes were Yokohama 12" tires. Can drive any speed now without vibration.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?gclid=CjwKEAiA0pDBBRCFtoPyguTh8AUSJADNWeuxfe6nFQVFM2velAZsp2ES8YqLtIKxMSVtpFrhl_4CfRoCN5Hw_wcB&tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=Y372&partnum=4SR2372&GCID=C13674x012-tire&KEYWORD=tires.jsp_Yokohama_Y372_Tire&code=yes&src=17540115&ci_sku=4SR2372&ci_sku=4SR2372&ci_src=17588969&ef_id=V06s8wAABdOD7gij:20161110090208:s

[firebush357]

I have replaced everything on my front end including the rack. The only thing that eliminated my shakes were Yokohama 12" tires. Can drive any speed now without vibration.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....161110090208:s

I was using the Yokohama 12" tires when I first got my Festiva and had no wobbles until I switched out to the 14" tires that everyone else uses. I thought at first if may be because I was no longer hub Centric so I carefully redid all of my Lug Studs to try to get it as even as possible and it helped a little. The biggest thing I noticed when I did that is that it wobbled at 45mph at first then once I redid all of the Lug Studs it changed to a 55mph wobble. I think the tires are probably the main cause like charlie is saying. I did not know better when I got them mounted but you can ask for a Road Force chart on your tires when they are mounted and it will tell you what is going on with each tire such as High Spots. If you have a good technician mounting your tires that cares then they can get the road force a lot lower than someone who just slaps the tire on one time and thinks it is good enough.

[Winfield1990]

I actually just swappex my rims and tires from 12 yokos to some 165 x12s from my parts car. I dont know if it happened after that or not but had better tread and figured less spinning off the line at stop lights since have stage 2 clutch less tire wear

[FestYboy]

Add to firebush: most shops don't dynamic balance tires, and even when they do, the machines are typically set to round off the numbers to the nearest quarter ounce. This can still leave a high speed shimmy. Whenever I balance tires for myself or any customer, I set the machine for raw numbers (no rounding) and go for under a tenth of an ounce. Many times with new tires i can get under .05 without much fuss.

Granted balance has much to do with shimmy, the tech still needs to observe the tire for trueness... A perfectly balanced tire that's egg shaped will still cause vibration.

[Festiver]

So much to check.

Lug nuts/lug studs tight
problem with a tire--rotate them to see if the problem moves or goes away
warped rotors
tie rod ends
tie rods
LCA ball joint
torn CV axle boots--grit getting in, grease out, causing bearing wear

Maybe other stuff I didn't think about.

I do have a ripped boot I have to attend to but everything else is tight

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