Help with tracking down a mild steering wheel shimmy?

[1950StangJump$]

I don't really have anyone from which to borrow wheels. It's a great idea though.

My daily is a Taurus SHO, but I don't think it's wheels will clear my Brembo calipers

 

[Oliver Vigil]

How many miles on the vehicle? Was camber adjusted when you got the alignment and if so how much camber do you have? I would start with inspecting steering related bushings. Kits online available, I am running poly bushings and love them, firm but at the expense of comfort. If I were in your position, I would take a good look at anything steering related (lower strut bar, inner/outer tie rods, rack, and any bushings) to hopefully narrow down your issue. If you're unable to find anything, depending on the vehicle mileage, I would suggest replacing your bushings.

 

[Juice]

Im in agreement its likely wheel related. Just because it balanced on the machine, doesnt guarantee they are centered on the hubs (also mentioned earlier).

 

[DieHarder]

If you have a shop that balances your wheels on a regular basis I'd take the car in and ask them to watch when they spin them (it's how I found one bad set). You'll be able to tell immediately if the rims are true and/or tires are round and how they balance out. You can also prop the front up on stands and check the run-out and true with the wheels on the car using a mag mount and dial gauge. For the most part I've always done it by eye. I figure if I can't see an obvious out-of-round/true issue and they balance okay I call them good.

 

[1950StangJump$]

Hey guys,

Sometimes, crowd sourcing for ideas and opinions can turn bad . . . in this case, I'm digging it.

I have ordered a steering rack, tie rods, and wheel bearings . . . all from Amazon and returnable. As noted, the A-arms and bushings are new already.

In the meantime, I forgot my neighbor has a low mileage 13 Boss . . . I reached out to him this AM, and he's going to let me use his front wheels/tires for a quick spin this weekend. That should allow me to reasonably know for sure if the Foose rims and/or Nitto tires have been the problem all along.

And if the shimmy remains, I'll throw those parts at it. If the shimmy goes away, parts get returned, and I figure how what wheels/tires I need to get. I really hope it's not that, as the Foose rims I have are discontinued. Plus, I'll then have to figure out if its the rims, the tires, or both . . . and I'd have to basically start over.

Will report back

 

[OX1]

Thanks for the input.

The front has 235/35/20 Nitto 555 G2.

I don't remember how they road balanced the first couple times. This last time, they showed in the low 20s (not sure the unit of measurement?), which I know is not ideal, but I was told it wouldn't cause vibration. Ideal is less than 15?

The machine told them they only stood to lower the number by 1, so they let it be and just ensured the balance of correct. Thoughts?

I have 255 Nitto 555's (not sure which gen) on the front for my summer setup. I bought them as Mich only had 245 or 265's in PS4S. They are Ok, but not 100% smooth

Those Mich (have them 245 square on my DD 17 Fusion sport) are the roundest, smoothest tire I have ever owned and will be going with them after these Nitto's (even if I have to go to 265 in front). Have had my own hunter balancer for 25 years. Those Mich have almost perfectly aligned tread grooves, even when spinning on the balancer.

Most tires, the tread grooves are at least a little wavy. Also notice on balancer no change it tire dia as it is spinning. I have a tool I made that sits on top of balancer and has a wood piece that I can put right on top of tread while it is spinning. You can see that gap jump around on the balancer many tires, but not these. (line up the top of the tire in video with your eye, on one of the features in the railing behind it, you can see how perfect the dia stays).

http://luxjo.supermotors.net/FUSION SPORT/24540R19 PILOT SPORT 4 STOCK WHEELS/20171007_154135.mp4

Contrast that with this 305 NT01 I bought when I was going to run my stang on a road course. I sent that one back. it didn't even balance out that bad, just wasn't round. (look at tread surface vs that wood piece)

http://luxjo.supermotors.net/MUSTANG GT/AM 18 X 10 WHEELS 295_305 NT05 NT01/BALANCING/20180512_120218.mp4

So not sure how bad your vibe really is (I'm very anal about it, just annoys the crap out of me to have $40K+ in a newer car, and it's not smooth going down the highway), but I wouldn't completely rule tires out. Also, have you removed tires and Mic'd rims on a balancer? It seems these new low profile tire setups are super finicky. Contrast that with the 67$ 14" rim, crappy whitewalls that sit on my 59 T-bird all winter. Smooth as glass no matter what, as sidewalls is 4 or 5 inches, LOL!!

 

[1950StangJump$]

LOL, I get it. Let me see how my neighbor's wheels/tires do.

By the way, mine are 255/35/20, not 235 like I said.

 

[Jonesy]

I had a similar issue and I tracked it down to tie rod ends