Steering Wheel Vibration - Normal with 33" A/T Tires?

[Sspearsau]

Hey everyone, I searched the forums on steering wheel vibrations but it sounds like most folks that have issues are from the factory, not after a tire install.

I just had installed 33x12.5r22 Terra Grappler G2 tires installed on my OEM Limited 22-inch Wheels. They look great. The only problem is that once I hit about 60 MPH I get a mild vibration in my steering wheel. Before this set up I had the factory 20" limited wheels, which had no vibration. Therefore I am pretty sure I can narrow it down to the wheel/tire set up.

I have not ever had A/T tires, so this is new to me. I know the ride is usually degraded to an extent, but I thought that would just be comfort over bumps, etc., not a shaky steering wheel. For those of you with A/T tires, do you still have a smooth steering wheel when going highway speeds?

Furthermore, I did not get any kind of alignment when I did this (my car is brand new, and the tires are roughly the size of OEM). Are there any concerns with this that I should be aware of?

Would appreciate any guidance or experiences. My next step is to take them back to be sure they are balanced correctly, but wanted to seek some feedback before doing so. Thanks!

 

[Louhound88]

What is your tire pressure at? With AT tires you'll feel a little more tire bumpiness through the steering wheel, but if it's at speed then it may be a wheel balancing issue.

Also, how much clearance do you have between your tires and your upper control arm? I have stock 20 inch wheels and couldn't fit a 12.5 wide tire without them rubbing the upper control arm ball joint. I have 11.8 or so inch wide tires and I can't stick a finger in between. That could be rubbing causing the vibration.

Did you do a level or anything?

 

[Sspearsau]

I have all tires at 40psi. It is definitely only as speed. I was under the car last night putting on some Husky Mudflaps and did not see any components touching the UCAs. I will double check tonight though.

I do not have a level on the truck. Being the limited it has the air suspension. When looking for tires I searched around the forums and saw a lot of people chose this tire size with no rubbing issues. Same appears to be true for me.

In calling around to find a place to balance my tires, most places say they cannot handle a tire this large. This makes me believe that the Tuffy that originally installed the tires did not have the right machine and may have missed the mark.

Does anyone have experience with Discount Tire doing the balancing? They said they can handle up to 35" which is promising.

 

[HSKR R/T]

I have all tires at 40psi. It is definitely only as speed. I was under the car last night putting on some Husky Mudflaps and did not see any components touching the UCAs. I will double check tonight though.

I do not have a level on the truck. Being the limited it has the air suspension. When looking for tires I searched around the forums and saw a lot of people chose this tire size with no rubbing issues. Same appears to be true for me.

In calling around to find a place to balance my tires, most places say they cannot handle a tire this large. This makes me believe that the Tuffy that originally installed the tires did not have the right machine and may have missed the mark.

Does anyone have experience with Discount Tire doing the balancing? They said they can handle up to 35" which is promising.

Take it back to the place that installed the tires and make them rebalance rhem

 

[PurpleRT]

Yep wheels need to be rebalanced. Preferably road force balanced.


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[djevox]

Yep wheels need to be rebalanced. Preferably road force balanced.


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What purple mentioned about road force balancing is probably the answer to your issue, assuming you don't have a defect in a tire or a bent wheel.

 

[grimreefer]

Had the same issue when I swapped from stock Goodyears to the A/T3's. Smooth until highway speeds. Road force balance cured it, and I went ahead and had it aligned since it'd been awhile.

 

[Sspearsau]

Great, really appreciate the feedback. I just made an appointment for Thursday morning to take it in. Hopefully this will take care of things. I tend to believe it is a balancing issue since the wheels were takeoffs from a friend and tires are new.

I'll circle back with results.

 

[Sspearsau]

Follow up on this:

I took the car in to a new tire shop that has road force balancing (Discount Tire). They said all four wheels were not in balance. The balanced them. Had the car on the highway today, and no steering wheel shake, which I am thrilled about.

I do notice that there is quite a but more vibration in the steering wheel than the stock tires, but it sounds like that is a product of having A/T tires. Would you all agree with that?

Thanks!

 

[ferraiolo1]

Yeah you will notice a little bit more feedback with a more aggressive tire


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[djevox]

Follow up on this:

I took the car in to a new tire shop that has road force balancing (Discount Tire). They said all four wheels were not in balance. The balanced them. Had the car on the highway today, and no steering wheel shake, which I am thrilled about.

I do notice that there is quite a but more vibration in the steering wheel than the stock tires, but it sounds like that is a product of having A/T tires. Would you all agree with that?

Thanks!

That’s good to hear. The more aggressive tread pattern you have, the more you will get road feedback. Road feedback is different than vibrations though. I’m not sure whether you have air suspension or not, but you should feel it in your feet and butt if you have coil suspension also. It should be a different frequency then the vibration from wheels being out of balance though.

@ferraiolo1 lol, you are fast. Looks like we pretty much had the same comment

 

[Awood05]

Follow up on this:

I took the car in to a new tire shop that has road force balancing (Discount Tire). They said all four wheels were not in balance. The balanced them. Had the car on the highway today, and no steering wheel shake, which I am thrilled about.

I do notice that there is quite a but more vibration in the steering wheel than the stock tires, but it sounds like that is a product of having A/T tires. Would you all agree with that?

Thanks!

It could also be the load rating (amount of steel braids in the sidewall) causing the vibration issue. You can try lowering the PSI a few pounds and see if that helps. I know when I had my 18 Raptor with E rated tires, just a few pounds of pressure would change the ride quality. Just a thought.

 

[djevox]

It could also be the load rating (amount of steel braids in the sidewall) causing the vibration issue. You can try lowering the PSI a few pounds and see if that helps. I know when I had my 18 Raptor with E rated tires, just a few pounds of pressure would change the ride quality. Just a thought.

That is very true

 

[brian42]

Yeah you will notice a little bit more feedback with a more aggressive tire


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You'll "feel the hum" depending on the tire. As long as the wheel isn't shaking or vibrating it's normal.

 

[Sspearsau]

I drove it 50 miles on the interstate state, and I do think it is more of a mental thing than anything. I never paid attention to the amount of vibration/movement in the steering wheel with my stock tires on. Certain surfaces on the road you don't feel anything, and other parts of the road you feel it some. This tends to make me want to believe I am just feeling the road, not deal with an imbalanced set up.

I'll do my best to start ignoring it now.