2003-2011 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
As a followup to my earlier post...the shop finally fixed the shaking/balance problem after 4 days of tinkering (that's 96 times the promised 1 hour install!). Since the troubleshooting had not isolated whether there could be a problem w/ the tires themselves (we had purchased a set(4)), I asked if they would swap the front 2 tire with 2 new ones off the rack to rule out a "production variance" problem that might have made the tires difficult to balance. That appeared to do the trick, although perhaps it was just a matter of getting the balancing right after re-doing it the umteenth time. Anyway, car drove smooth up to 70 mph and shaking was gone.
Although a frustrating experience, my hat goes off to the shop for their willingness to try many options to resolve the issue and not just blow us off.
While these tires were put on a Civic, they felt pretty good on the test drive and I would consider them when my P6's wear out (I'm fairly satisfied w/ the P6's except it would be nice if they were a bit smoother over the rough roads/cracks/joints etc). Steering feel/response on the AS430's was pretty good but perhaps a click below what I'm used to w/ the P6's. Tires felt "firm" on the road and bumps but there was a cushing effect on road cracks that was an improvement over the P6s which are a bit harsh. Compared to my prior Avid H4's it appears they have firmed up the compound to be just about right (not too harsh, not too mushy). Keep in mind that the AS430's were 185/65/15 tires and for that size I think they performed very well...I'm guessing one would likely see improvements on a sportier profile such as 215/55/16.
I learned a few things from this experience:
1) Before you go to a tire chain for new tires, take a test drive of your car on the hwy between 60--75 mph to verify the car does not shake (this information will come in handy if/when a balance problem arises -- then it can't be suggested that its the cars fault).
2) Use caution when selecting shops and perhaps ask them to mark/save old tires until you have completed a sucessful test drive with the new tires (if there is an unresolvable problem you can't drive away unless they put some tires on the car and if yours are no longer available and they don't have any other tires you like then you have a problem). National chains with promised fast service may not have the experienced staff as an indy shop or dealer though the latter may cost more.
3) It may be worth asking about the type of balancing equipment used by a shop. The state of the art appears to be the Hunter Road Force balancer but most shops will not have this (high performance shops or dealers might).
4) A number of folks have noted that if it shakes on test drive between 60mph and 75mph and you can "drive out of the shake" it is most likely a tire balance problem
5) Other things that other's have suggested might contribute to balance issues include overtorquing lug nuts or improperly torquing nuts (not getting nuts finger tight first then using a cris cross pattern). I'm guessing there are more than a few folks out there that will merely set the air wrench to max and tighten in a circle.
Pat
'07 2.0T SS
'87 900T (RIP)
posted by 129.162....
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