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Steering wheel shimmy anybody?

36K views 65 replies 21 participants last post by  Altitude17 
#1 ·
I bought my 14 srt with 22K on it. The dealer installed new P Zero's to pass inspection so it came with brand new road force balanced oem tires. Since day one At any speed 60+ the steering wheel will shake and you can feel it through out the entire truck.


I could not stand the curb rash on the oem wheels from the previous owner and hated the way the run flats rode. I installed new reproduction spiders with new Toyo proxes STII tires and they were road force balanced. Also had them take out all of the camber. Trucks rides and drives awesome now EXCEPT when you hit 60+ the steering wheel still shimmy's. That did not change at all which tells me the problem is not in the wheels or tires. Feels identical.


Anybody else have this problem with a WK2 SRT? All the info I find on this problem is with the WK1 SRT8's and those are fixed with new lower control arms.
 
#2 ·
shimmy is from couple unbalance too high which happens when a Hunter balancer is left in Smartweight mode. Tell them to use collets and pin plates when mounting wheel on balancer and then take the balancer out of Smartweight mode. This happens all too often on Roadforce balancers and the techs kick them out the door all too often.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I have the same issue at about the same mileage. 2014 SRT. Had a brand new set of Pirellis replaced with same, no change. Had wheels road force balanced again, different shop, no change. Had front wheel bearings replaced, no change. Had Chrysler zone rep look at it, they road forced again and after 100 miles of test driving, said it was "within spec." Seeing the steering wheel visibly shimmy at speed is not "within spec" in my world. Bought another set of Spider Monkeys (take offs from a 2015 SRT) and swapping them on Tuesday. If vibration is still there, it's being dropped off at the dealer.

My wife's 2014 Overland is glass smooth at similar speeds and mileage so I know the GC can be vibration free.


Sent from my iPhone using JeepGarage
 
#4 ·
Roadforcing your tires is not a balancing process, it is checking for a run out condition in the assembly to see if it can be "More Round". Unfortunately there are so many shops from dealerships to retail tire shops who don't understand how to balance properly. Again I would demand that they turn "Smart Weight" OFF. Balance in conventional mode and put the balancer in "Fine" Mode which shows the unbalance under .25oz. If they don't know how to do this then either educate or move to another shop. The video in link shows what "Smart Weight" Balance does which is leave up to 1.5oz of "Couple Unbalance" in the assembly which will lead to a "Shimmy". Mounting errors account for over 60% of vibration comebacks and "Residual Unbalance", which Smart Weight leaves a bunch in the assembly, account for over 25% of vibration comebacks. RoadForce only accounts for less than 5% of comebacks. What you are describing is a "Residual Unabalance" issue not a RoadForce Issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0fLChZmvYc
 
#8 ·

Thanks for the links!


I have to take mine back in again due to the steering directed headlights not working so I am going to print this out and hand it to them and have them replace the wheel bearings while they have the truck. If that doesn't fix the issue I will take the truck back to the tire shop. The tire shop I use specializes in high performance wheels and tires and normally does a great job. All the performance shops around here use them.


Here is a video of the shimmy. Doesn't look to bad in the video but trust me you can feel it through out the entire truck.


https://youtu.be/K1sLD7eJjnQ


Thanks again for the suggestions guys!
 
#9 ·
I know this is a TSB about replacing wheel bearings. Sounds like it corrects the condition for a while. The new bearings are tighter and actually changes the suspensions sensitivity level for a while. I am 100% confident my suggestion will fix your issue. I see this issue everyday and know how to correct for it and train shops all around the country on how to correct for it too. I only wish I could discuss and show a Chrysler Engineer on how to correct for it.
 
#10 ·
Tire with Zero Roadforce definition: Tire/Wheel has No Radial Runout and is ready to be Balanced. This is where the problem starts. Again on a Hunter Machine the balancing software or SmartWeight hides the "Residual" Couple Unbalance. Couple Unbalance is a vibration on inside plane and a vibration on outside plane exactly 180 degrees apart and at exactly the same amount. The claim is that this "Residual" leftover amount will not be felt by the driver. With all the vibration issues that Jeep owners experience do you believe this is an accurate statement? It is not and hence why we have an Industry problem that even most OEM Manufacturers choose to ignore.
 
#11 ·
Hennessy my new friend, you solved my problem!

To be fair, Aaron at Northwest Frame and Alignment in Zionsville, Indiana never uses the SmartWeight feature for exactly the reasons you stated, so when I showed him your post he said, "That's exactly why I don't use SmartWeight."

$58.00 later, I have something 3 trips to Chrysler and 2 trips to a GM dealer (where I bought the SRT), which included swapping out a brand new set of Pirellis, two new front wheel bearings and 5 re-balancings, couldn't give me - a smooth ride.

My question now is, why does Hunter even offer this BS feature? To save lead, time, to be eco friendly? I don't get it.

Thank you again for solving this seemingly unsolvable problem. Now I can use my extra set of Spider Monkey's for winter tires.
 
#12 ·
That's Awesome Ron-Indy! I am so glad you go your problem solved! It is total BS that anyone has to deal with what you had to deal with.

To answer your question why does Hunter even offer this BS feature... Hunter pitches this to the shop as a way to save money on wheel weights. This potentially could be a thousand dollars or more over a years time. The problem is just what you experienced, a crappy ride. You as the consumer pay for a Balance and Hunter simply does not deliver with SmartWeight.

So glad your ride quality is fixed.
 
#13 ·
Wow, buy an expensive balancing machine and then put it in a cheap balance machine mode to save on lead. It's almost funny. Almost.

I certainly will be sharing my experience with the Chrysler zone rep so maybe he can help others avoid dealing with this frustration.

Thank you again!
 
#14 ·
I can't wait to get my new tires mounted and balanced. I think I have been just been dealing with this for the last 2.5 years!
 
#18 ·
Big thanks to Hennessy! They checked my tires the way Hennessy said to do it and unless I am mistaken they were WAY out of balance. He said they re clocked a couple of the tires and balanced them without smart mode and he admitted they were far enough out that it would create a shimmy in the sterring wheel and through out the truck. I tested them closely on the way home and NO MORE SHIMMY! Rides nice and smooth now!


He made this note to show me how far out they were. How does this look Hennessy?

 
#21 ·
Thanks for all the good info, you have no idea how many shops just plain don't know how to balance these larger 20" wheels and blame it on everything under the sun except themselves. So to summarize, because I know I will never get a tech or service manager to read anything for more than 10 seconds are these bullets correct below on what they need to do? did I miss anything below?

I need to get new tires but I am petrified to go get them because my jeep is smooth as silk now and given the past experience with shaking tires on this jeep and no one knowing how to correct.

-Use collets and pin plates when mounting wheel on balancer
-Take the balancer out of Smartweight mode
-Balance in conventional mode and put the balancer in "Fine" mode to show the unbalance under .25oz.
 
#22 ·
Yes.

1) Use Low Taper Collets to backcone wheel. Make sure the collet fits snuggly.
2) Use Pin Plate to contact lug holes to replicate mount on balancer to mount on car
3) Take Balancer out of Smartweight Mode
4) Balance down to "0" in Dynamic Mode to eliminate Residuals
5) Switch to Static to check for Residual over .25oz
6) If Reads over .25oz place additional corrective weight in center of wheel for a Performance Balance.
7) Re-Spin to Check

The facts are that Residuals can impact the balance up to 50% of the time, while radial run-out and eccentricity issues account for less than 5%.

*Please note that on Coats Balancers they use Direct Drive for consistently accurate balance jobs and minimal calibration is needed to maintain Zero. Also they show Dynamic and Static on same screen which eliminates switching modes. Their high end model takes the technician through the Residual correction process while their other models show the information and the technician must know how to correct, which is very easy. Hope this information helps all. Thanks
 
#23 ·
Excellent, thanks for the listing. I feel more confident going to get new tires now that I am armed with something like this. Do you think it is better to hand them something like this the first time going in? or should I wait for it to shake(which it probably will) and then come back. I don't want to insult them up front acting like a know it all but id like to avoid a return also.
 
#24 ·
I think it is perfectly fine to request them to take their Hunter Balancer out of Smartweight Mode, if it is a Coats you have one less thing to worry about. Also to ask if they will please use low taper collets and pin plates. It is a fine line after that. I don't hesitate to discuss if they perform "Residual Static & Dynamic Minimization"... If they give you the deer in headlights look I think you will know what that means.
 
#28 ·
1) Did the shop back cone the wheel? (Use collet on backside of wheel to center)

2) Did the shop use a pin plate on the front side of wheel?

3) Did the shop perform residual static minimization or ProBalance? (Balance Dynamically in fine mode then switch to static to check residual static. If over .25oz unbalance add corrective weight. To verify balance loosen wheel and turn 180 degrees on balancer shaft and tighten then recheck readings. If over .30oz then double check your mounting)

Mounting errors are the leading cause of vibration related comebacks.
 
#31 ·
Thanks for the info guys, I have the same thing with my new '16 with 400 miles on it, I was told by the service manager that this shimmy was normal on performance vehicles, then when I didn't go for that he told me that my best bet was to file a complaint with Goodyear, none of this made sense to me. Thanks for the info, I'm off to the dealer tomorrow or either my wheel shop who will fix and the dealer will have to reimburse.
 
#34 ·
...Relax guys, that's what the service guy said, I am well aware we have Pirelli P-Zeros, I think the guy got mixed up with the Overland or something. Main point is I now have the info to get them balanced properly, hopefully. :)
 
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#38 ·
I'm from your neighborhood, Fort Lee, where did you go to get yours done right? I have a 2014 Grand Cherokee Limited (18" wheels on Michelin Latitudes) and been dealing with this since new. Although it's better it still shimmys every so often.
 
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