Although this is not in my Mera it may benefit all Fiero owners. I have a tire vibration in (I'm pretty sure) a passenger side rear tire in my daily driver car. How can one tell what it is? Broken belts? The car only has 25,000 miles on it and the tires were replaced at 18,500 miles with quality tires. I'm assuming a weight did not fall off. I has weights inside. Both outer (stick on) and inner-towards the inside of the car (hammer on). I can not see any evidence that any have fallen off. The outer ones (stick on) are numerous while the inner is only one. I wonder about that. The only other thing I know of that would cause a vibration is a broken belt? I can feel it on the freeway. Lower speeds it seems smooth. Should I take the tire and rim to a tire place? Can they tell without driving the car?

Rodney Dickman

quote Originally posted by Rodney: Although this is not in my Mera it may benefit all Fiero owners. I have a tire vibration in (I'm pretty sure) a passenger side rear tire in my daily driver car. How can one tell what it is? Broken belts? The car only has 25,000 miles on it and the tires were replaced at 18,500 miles with quality tires. I'm assuming a weight did not fall off. I has weights inside. Both outer (stick on) and inner-towards the inside of the car (hammer on). I can not see any evidence that any have fallen off. The outer ones (stick on) are numerous while the inner is only one. I wonder about that. The only other thing I know of that would cause a vibration is a broken belt? I can feel it on the freeway. Lower speeds it seems smooth. Should I take the tire and rim to a tire place? Can they tell without driving the car? Rodney Dickman

Any tire dealer with a up -to -date balancer should be able to tell if a belt has kicked loose...A "road force"balance would be the best...Tire's will seperate internally even when "new" (rarely...But happens)chk the DOT #'s on the side of the tire. the last 2 #'s will be the year made...over 5yrs old even when new may create a problem...

the stick on weights can, will and do come off. Even the crimp on ones can eventually come loose and fall off. All it takes is a good hit on a pot hole to loose a weight and in some cases bend a rim, especially aluminum rims. But as said before, and good tire dealer can put in on the balancer and (hopefully) just replace the lost weight or tell you what's what.

Oh edit to say, if you take the wheel off at home instead of driving the car to the tire shop, they can usually do it right then and there and sometimes for free or real cheep. If you drive the car to them you may have to wait your turn for the lift or empty bay which = time, and time = more money usually. Just my experience.

[This message has been edited by DLCLK87GT (edited 05-20-2010).]

depending on the age of the tire, it could be out of round too. i had a 76 mazda that i bought, when i got over 35mph the front end would shake like crazy.
when the goodyear dealer took the front tires off, they were shaped like eggs....the only fix for that issue is new tires...

Check how many weights were used to balance your tires. Any tire with 3 or more ounces of weights on it is defective. Ask the tire shop to replace it. If the tire is good, then your wheel is defective.

quote Originally posted by larini74: depending on the age of the tire, it could be out of round too. i had a 76 mazda that i bought, when i got over 35mph the front end would shake like crazy. when the goodyear dealer took the front tires off, they were shaped like eggs....the only fix for that issue is new tires...

Put them on the back and round them back up

How do you know the rotor isnt warped and causing the vibration?
To make sure you could swap the rear wheels one side to another
and this way if the vibration remains on the same side as before it's
probably the rotor.

Kit

[This message has been edited by Kitskaboodle (edited 05-20-2010).]

Rodney, what kind of car are you talking about?? If its a fiero, a rear wheel hub bearing can cause vibration...makes a low pitch (growling) noise. Once there is a load applied more to one side on the vehicle (when turning) that is the side the bearing is defective. If it does it on both sides, the bearings need to be replaced. This would be odd for a low milage car. If its not a fiero, go to the dealer and have it checked if its still under warranty.

Wheel balancing is another thing...just get all tires balanced and then do a road test. That would be the #1 thing I would do before tearing things apart.

Just a though, if the car has been sitting for several months the tires could have developed a flat spot. This could have happened to one tire that had a lower pressure than the others.

Has it been raining lately? Could be you have a spot of mud inside a wheel. It doesn't take much mud to cause a balance issue.

A lot of things can cause vibration. I would recommend rotating your tires first. While the tires are off the car, examine them. A broken belt is easy to spot. The tire will have a bulge. Just roll it once for a full rotation and examine the sidewall looking down over the edge. Any odd shapes and you have a bad tire. Also look for uneven wear. If you had a wheel locking, slide to a stop with wheel squeeling and smoking incident, that can create a flat spot in one or more tires.

If the vibration moves after you rotate the tires, then you have a out of balance tire. If the vibration is still in the same spot, then you have a suspension issue. Worn suspension parts, or a loose nut or bolt can cause vibration. A blown shock can also cause vibration on rough roads.

[This message has been edited by Doug85GT (edited 05-20-2010).]

Broken belts are usally easy to spot by sight or feel of the tire.

Assuming the tire is balanced and the wheel has no damage. Also no bearing issues I would look to a flat spot on the tire since it looks like the car sits a lot due to the low miles.

Some tires flat spot more than others. Many will clear up one you get them hot and drive it a while and other tires will take a set and never clear up.

My Comp TA's are old and flat spot sitting but after about 5 miles they clear up. But I have seen others once they take a set they never do smooth out.

THe only thing the brakes could do is lose a balance weight if they have them. Usally they do not shake much even if they do.

I had a vibration in my right rear tire a few years ago. It ended up being a bad axle.

quote Originally posted by rourke_87_T-Top: Hello Rodney, could you offer these brackets with a sleeve for an extra one of the long upper control arm bolts. helping to brace the control arm, it would not pivot, it would help to give the upper control arm much, much more stability, with a shackle on each end instead of the washers. The sleeve on the upper crossmember is too short. [QUOTE]Originally posted by Cliff Pennock: This is the driver's side mount in the wheel well (what is this thing called again?): CLICK FOR FULL SIZE CLICK FOR FULL SIZE

//www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/100642.html //www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/105830.html

[/QUOTE]

i dont know if you figured out whats up with ur tire but im a certified tire tech and from my experience as a tire wears down the original balance becomes off. my rule of thumb is
1. if they offer lifetime balance.....get it. keeps any problems from bothering you as far as vibrations.
2. check for rocks or gravel. although little in size. can throw it off alot when theres many.
3. some tire tech take short cuts. usually if they are having problems getting it right they will get it within 1/4 ounce and say "they'd have to have a real sensitive @$$ to feel it. so always request to be notified of where they were at before work was done and afterwards.

Tires being that new, I would look elsewhere for the vibration. Rotate the tires. Does the vibration rotate? If not, it's in your suspension, not the tires. Otherwise, lift up the suspension, spin the tire and watch the end against a reference point for the tire being out of round in any way.

quote Originally posted by Kitskaboodle: How do you know the rotor isnt warped and causing the vibration? To make sure you could swap the rear wheels one side to another and this way if the vibration remains on the same side as before it's probably the rotor. Kit

It's a possibility HOWEVER not likely. The rotor is metal and machined vs rubber that is formed and then worn away from the road. The out of balance of a weight is multiplied by how far that weight is away from the center of rotation. Since the tire tread is at least 5x more farther away than the rotor, variations in the tire tread mass is most likey the cause of any out of balance.

AS stated in other posts - It's not only an out of balance that can cause vibrations - Many times its worn/cupped tires that cause it.

Warped side to side rotors (usually caused by overheating) WILL cause your brake pedal to pulsate when braking. Sometimes you will get a steering side to side vibration also during braking. Steering vibration at all times is most likely not from a rotor.

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 05-22-2010).]

I am wondering maybe bit off topic but have your struts broken away at the top It may look in place till you wobble them i bought my car this way and had to fix and replace tie rods.