Balance issue?

Alright car people, I'm lost on this one...

For the last 45,000 miles or so I had a set of Michelin Symmetry tires that were fantastic. They wore out, so I purchased some new ones - Mastercrafts this time. Immediately noticed a vibration, so I went back to the shop and had them re-do the balance. Still had the vibration. They look at the tires while spinning them, and two are visibly out-of-round. Two new tires in - both also visibly flawed. At this point I pay the difference and have the shop get me a set of Michelin Primacy MXV4's. They install them and while it's less noticeable, there's still a vibration at about the same speeds (~30, ~60, and anywhere above about 75). Took the tires to a different shop to have them try to balance them. They do, tell me that the tires look fine but they were out of balance. Pay them, go on my way. Still has the same vibrations. The vibrations aren't felt through the steering wheel, but rather through the seat, if it's of any help.

I never had any vibration problems with my old Michelins, but ever since I tried to replace them, I can't seem to get rid of it. Now I'm becoming concerned that the tire shop damaged something during the installation of the new tires.

So - does this still sound like a tire balance issue, or is there something else I need to check? Any advice is appreciated!

Possibly your Motor Mounts. Do you feel the vibration through your floorboard?

Go to your local trusted Repair Shop or if you have the cash your Toyota Dealer

Have them check the: Motor Mounts and Ball Joints.

The basics.

Check the air pressure. I've had some shops pump in 40+psi into the tires. The extra psi can bring out worn front end parts.

If you drive in muddy conditions, make sure the inside of your wheels are cleaned before you take it into the shop for any kind of tire work especially balancing. Otherwise the balancing could be hosed.

Sometimes the extra rubber mass of new tires can aggravate a front end thats out of alignment or other worn front end parts. If all else fails have the front end checked out. Also depending on how the new tires were stored in the shop, they could of been temporarily or maybe even permanently deformed. Put some mileage on them.
But you say the vibes are felt in the seat.

Vibrations felt in the seat as you describe, indicate to me that the problem is in the rear two wheels/tires or possibly the drive shaft/Ujoints if its a RWD. Did the shop pop off the drums to inspect the brake linings (if not discs)? They might not have been seated properly due to rust, binding, etc.

Check for a bent wheel. While mounting the tires, they might of screwed something up.
:

Vibrations felt through the seat usually involve the rear tires. Was it the rear tires that were out of round?

Have them remount the tires but when they do it, line up the area with the most weight (in the tire), with the valve stem. Its an old tire tech trick but sometimes it works. If they dont know what the hell that trick is find somewhere else to bring it. That set of rubber is a little bit fickley, you should try out some Goodyear triple treads for all seasons.

Ive had the same problem before, one time it was a bad brake rotor, the other time it was the type of balance my tires were getting. Go to the dealership a try to get a road force balance. It cost about 100 but it took care of my problem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by compu44

Alright car people, I'm lost on this one...

For the last 45,000 miles or so I had a set of Michelin Symmetry tires that were fantastic. They wore out, so I purchased some new ones - Mastercrafts this time. Immediately noticed a vibration, so I went back to the shop and had them re-do the balance. Still had the vibration. They look at the tires while spinning them, and two are visibly out-of-round. Two new tires in - both also visibly flawed. At this point I pay the difference and have the shop get me a set of Michelin Primacy MXV4's. They install them and while it's less noticeable, there's still a vibration at about the same speeds (~30, ~60, and anywhere above about 75). Took the tires to a different shop to have them try to balance them. They do, tell me that the tires look fine but they were out of balance. Pay them, go on my way. Still has the same vibrations. The vibrations aren't felt through the steering wheel, but rather through the seat, if it's of any help.

I never had any vibration problems with my old Michelins, but ever since I tried to replace them, I can't seem to get rid of it. Now I'm becoming concerned that the tire shop damaged something during the installation of the new tires.

So - does this still sound like a tire balance issue, or is there something else I need to check? Any advice is appreciated!

---

Your rims might be slightly bent, same problem with my car, had the tires balanced and rebalanced and got new tires, at the end the front two rims were slightly bent, my car would shake after 70+miles so you might need new rims or used, but make sure you inspect them before you buy if there used, because they can be bent as well.

have them check the road force variation on each tire when they are balanced... the procedure will one balance the tire and second simulate the road on the tire to find any high or low spots in the tire..also when balancing a tire the tire pressure is the first thing that should be done. form their you can mark the high and low spots line them up and rebalanced to help reduce vibration... work of advice discount tire does not do a great job on balancing tires.. i have had many cars com back to dealer complaining of vibration after tires have been installed from their.. good luck on you issue!!