# Steering Wheel shakes at 60mph



## lovin it (Jul 2, 2009)

I had new General UHP tires put on and balanced and aligned and my car still vibrates when I go 60...not above or below 60. I'm thinking about taking it back and having him balance it again.....has anyone else had this problem....it's very annoying considering I usually drive 60 on my way to work and back.....I go over and I get a ticket I go under and I look like a grandma....any suggestions???:confused


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## lovin it (Jul 2, 2009)

*anyone with shaking steering wheel*

I have not had any responses to my thread about the steering wheel shaking at 60 mph.....am I the only one with this issue?? Also does any one have any suggestions on the weatherstripping mine has some sun damage and I have put the gummi pfledge on several times. It makes the parts that aren't dried up look new but the other damaged parts look the same. I purchased this car in May and I guess the owner before didn't take very good care of the exterior.


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## jpalamar (Jul 22, 2008)

Could be the banance, alignment, wheels not torqued properly, bad wheel bearing, bushing, ect...


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Check the tie rod ends. How are your struts? Any leakage? Does the car track one way or another when you hit the brakes, when you release from the steering wheel at that speed? Listen for any kind of bearing noise. Was the car ever involved in an accident? 

Weatherstripping? Which weatherstripping, around windows, roof?
Is there dried wax on it making it look chalky dried out and aged? Is it just faded?


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## lovin it (Jul 2, 2009)

It doesn't jerk to either side when I brake and if I let go of the wheel it drives straight it just shakes (the wheel). I'm not sure about it being in an accident....I wasn't told of one when I purchased it but I did purchase from a dealer. I read somewhere about the glue on weights.....how do you know if you have lost some when each wheel has different amounts of them? As far as the weatherstripping it is around the windows....no wax just where it has been exposed to the sun and really dried out in spots. I know when the alignment was done he said he set it at negative because that is the way these cars are set up to handle. He said that the inside of my tires will wear quicker because of that. Should I have it realigned?


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Premature wearing on the inner tire can also be attributed to spring sag. 
I thought about the glue on weights but you said it is still doing it even after new tires. Double check the tie rod ends for play.


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## lovin it (Jul 2, 2009)

When I purchased the car it still had the original tires which where bald on the inside....the mechanic called me when he was getting ready to do the alignment and said he wasnt going to mess with it much because it is set at negative and that is where these tires need to be.....Well, I don't know if they need to be or not. I think I read someone say to have it at zero. The car only has 17k on it would the springs be sagging already? I asked the mechanic about the struts and everything else he could see and he said everything looked great???


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

The common practice is to set the camber to a negative to compensate for the strut rub issues. The strut is to be tilted towards the engine. As the strut begins tilting away from the engine towards the tire more negative camber is given to compensate for the movement. This was explained in detail at a peddars seminar I attended. If your tires are balding on the inside it could be due to spring sag. Many of these cars are afflicted with this. You would have to measure the distance from the center of the wheel hub to the bottom of the fender. Without doing a search, I cannot recall the precise measurement for that distance but 21" rings a bell. 

I check for signs of strut rub every 5k at tire rotation and I have not yet experienced strut rub. I did experience accelerated inner read wear on my original tires at about 24K. My car was within alignment and tires properly balanced. I found my rear springs were sagging and had them changed out under warranty. Apparently when the tires were rotated the tread was wearing but not real noticeable until they eventually wore at 5K miles.


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## lovin it (Jul 2, 2009)

So with my tires slanted (negative) this will make my tires wear prematurely? I have lifetime balance and rotation so I'll probably just take it back and have them look at it. I appreciate the info and I'll let yall know what comes of it when I get a chance to take it in......other than the vibration issue and the weatherstripping I love my car just a lil scared after reading some of the other problems people have had with them..........


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## gto_rider (Aug 10, 2009)

first thing i would say is to make sure you don't have a bent wheel. they should've told you at the tire shop where you got it balanced but not all do. where did you take it?


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

If your tow in and tow out are set properly the negative camber shouldn't cause the tires to wear prematurely. I got 24K out of my original tires and the camber was on the - side. Only at the end of the tire life did the inside tire tread wear out. I discovered the rear spring sag and corrected it. So far so good.


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## lovin it (Jul 2, 2009)

I got the tires at Trax Tires in Daphne,Al if anyone is familiar with my area....he didn't say anything about a bent wheel. Can someone post what these cars need to be set at as far as the alignment. When I picked the car up he even made a point to write on my receipt that it is set at negative which will cause premature tire wear as to save his butt when I try to bring tires back because they are bald. The only reason I went there is because I read good things about General UHP from this site and thats one of the places I could find the tires without ordering them online. I just don't understand why it does it at a certain speed.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

to further explain jpalamar, most tires shops air impact the wheels on instead of taking out a good torque wrench and tightening the wheels properly to spec. doing it wrong can warp the wheel. try loosening the wheels and tightening them correctly ( i do 70 ft/lbs and then go to 100 ft/lbs in a two pass "star" pattern) and see if it goes away. i always check my wheels after someone else touches them


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## Acoen (Aug 19, 2009)

svede1212 said:


> to further explain jpalamar, most tires shops air impact the wheels on instead of taking out a good torque wrench and tightening the wheels properly to spec. doing it wrong can warp the wheel. try loosening the wheels and tightening them correctly ( i do 70 ft/lbs and then go to 100 ft/lbs in a two pass "star" pattern) and see if it goes away. i always check my wheels after someone else touches them



Good point, I just purchased my Goat and the car has 16k miles. The PO purchased new tires, prior to selling. I get a slight shimmy at 60mph nowhere else. The car is like new and perfect besides that. I will retorque the wheels. Balancing is crutial, that is what it feels like to me.


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## lovin it (Jul 2, 2009)

After you torque your wheels can you let me know if it helps.....this vibration is getting old!!: :cheers


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## dms (Jun 27, 2005)

this is a problematic issue with the GTO. Now lets take some MAJOR jump in fate and assume all your suspension is OK. If you have not updated your suspension, this is not an assumption you should make.

Things to do:
1. First thing is to make sure your tires have absolutely no abnormal wear.
2. Make sure your wheels are not bent
3. Using ONLY a Hunter 9700 Hunter wheel balancer, and after the vehicel is driven 15-20 miles of freeway speed and wthin 60 minutes, get the tires balanced to between 10 and 15lbs road force MAX
4. Eliminate all rust on the hub and rotor face and back of the wheel.
5. Do a hand torque in 3 star pattern increments to torque specs
6. this eliminates the majority of the problems

Now other things that cause issues:
1. custom wheels that are not using hubcentric wheels
2. Loose suspension parts from radius rod bushings to strut bushings
3. Loose tie rods or ball joints. 
5. Anything loose in the suspension or steering

thanks
mike
dms


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