Wheel wobble with alloy wheels.

[TimD]

I picked up a set of alloy wheels, that since installing them , I now have a significant steering wobble that was not present with my original steel wheels. They have slightly elongated stud holes and are not hub centric. I have the required tapered nuts and have checked them
twice on a balancer , still there. Has anyone had any luck having a centering adapter machined to cure this problem?

[HDRider]

Usually sloted hole mags use shouldered nuts unless they use a special washer.

Edward Hamer
petaluma CA

[TimD]

The nuts I have are acorn headed with a large washers that totally cover the slots. I was told that the slight taper on the end was to center the rim as it was tightened down, they are a tight fit in the stud hole with definitely no side play. I searched the forums and found another guys wobble problem where he states that as the wheel was being tightened it would be drawn slightly off center. He cut up a 20 thou feeler gauge and wedged it in to center his rims. I see all these ads for centering adapters for other vehicles and thought maybe knew a source for our cars.

[Workshop Help]

This is an often fought battle here in TR7 Land. Here we go again.

1. Are you using the same tires on these new alloy wheels?
2. While at the tire shop, did you check the wheels for straightness and/or wobble on the spin balancer?
3. Are the tires tread cupped from mal-adjusted front end geometry?
4. Have you appeased the Gods of Wheel & Tires by sacrificing a burnt offering or a semi-virginal damsel who has had only three kids and two ex-husbands?

Mildred Hargis

[trekcarbonboy]

My alloys with stud-centric wheels needed no additional centering. But they do not have elongated holes.

Where did the tires come from? If they where on the wheels they may have flat spots from sitting previously.

Have you put the original steel wheels back on to see if it continues?

Craig '75 2.0 FHC

[Hasbeen]

Don't forget we are talking as little as 5 grams to generate a wheel wobble. I find even the genuine TR8 wheels, fitted as standard in Oz do not center well enough, after 30+ years of wear, to not give some wobble.

I had some centering rings made up for my first 7 with aftermarket wheels, but it was still not good enough. May be the propriety ones are better.

The only alloy wheels I have found that are good enough without an "oncar" balance are the stud centric MG wheels, & the Oz made Symonds wheels on the 8, which are also stud centric, & very high quality.

As some here know, I actually bought an aging on car balancing rig no longer in use at a local tyre shop, to do my own, & Triumph friends wheels. Fortunately for me, none of the current staff could work the thing, so I got it pretty cheap.

Hasbeen

[jeffremj]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by TimD</i>

I picked up a set of alloy wheels, that since installing them , I now have a significant steering wobble that was not present with my original steel wheels. They have slightly elongated stud holes and are not hub centric. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">That is the problem. I have made my non-centric alloys centric by the judicious use of appropriate sized feeler gauges - work out the size mismatch, work out the way the studs pull the wheel across and fit the gauge slithers as appropriate to act against the 'pull'.

[FI Spyder]

I never had wheel wobble on the alloys, even after multiple 5 wheel rotates except for last year when I had a slight one felt mostly when going slowly over pasture land at car shows. turned out it was slightly to much wheel bearing play after regreasing wheel bearing and it working the excess grease out of the bearings such that a slight adjustment had to be made.

Are the elongated slots radially or concentric? Regardless it doesn't bode well. Is it just me? I can't visualize jeffemj's technique.

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

[dursleyman]

You can buy things called Spigot Rings which match the wheel centre to the hub size. Available in various sizes of inside/outside diameter combinations. This gets over the problem of the new wheels not being hub-centric. Seems its a common problem on other cars as well as ours. Typically you can buy a set for £5-10

Russ

1980 TR7 Sprint DHC, 1981 TR7 Sprint DHC
Dursley
UK

http://tr7russ.blogspot.co.uk/

[img]http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b410/dursleyman/TR7%20web%20picture/IMG_0479-Optimized.jpg[img]

[HDRider]

It is fairly easy to check for "wobble" Just jack the wheel up, place a block on the ground near the tire and then lay something like a pencil or a piece of steel rod across the block so that it is close to the wheel bead. Rotate the wheel and see if it runs true.

Generally mags with slots use washers and nuts with shoulders. The washer disperse the load across the wheel surface and the shoulders, which should be only a few thousand's smaller that the width dimension of the slot, align the wheel.

Most wheels have about a 1/16 of an inch runout and side "wobble". Most tire do as well. You can often turn the tire on the rim to get the tread area to run darn near flat and true.

Edward Hamer
Petaluma CA

[jeffremj]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by dursleyman</i>

You can buy things called Spigot Rings which match the wheel centre to the hub size. Available in various sizes of inside/outside diameter combinations. This gets over the problem of the new wheels not being hub-centric. Seems its a common problem on other cars as well as ours. Typically you can buy a set for £5-10<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I don't thing you can get them 10 thou thick. I guess you would have to re-machine the wheel so that you could then use a spigot ring.

[TimD]

Thanks for all the replies. An answer to some of the questions raised, yes- they are the tires off my steel wheels, no flat spots from sitting,
the car was on stands all winter and wheels were taken off the steel rims and laying flat on a wooden shelf while I was refinishing the alloys. I mounted the alloys on a spin balancer to check run out before
I mounted the tires on them. I then mounted and balanced them myself again checking for run out and wobbles, none at all, the most weight used on any one wheel was 1 1/4 ounces. when driving I have a faint wobble at 70kph from rear, at 82-85 kph big wobble from front. Took the front tires off the alloys put them back on the steel wheels , balanced and took for a spin, wobble gone. The nuts I am using are the same nuts as guy who sold me rims used, I just bought new ones. they are a tight fit in the slotted stud holes and have a large thick washer, that should displace the load. If I could figure how to put pictures on here I would show them. I may try the feeler gauge trick if I can't find another way to hold them hub centered.

[Last TR]

My new Revolutions came with spigot rings and I haven't noticed any significant wobble or vibration. Like others, I'm suspicious of those elongated holes.

Ken Morton
Anchorage, Alaska

1980 TR8, 1973 TR6, 1965 Volvo PV544, 1958 MGA, Jeep Cherokees

[Triumph TR7V8 coupé]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by TimD</i>

Thanks for all the replies. An answer to some of the questions raised, yes- they are the tires off my steel wheels, no flat spots from sitting,
the car was on stands all winter and wheels were taken off the steel rims and laying flat on a wooden shelf while I was refinishing the alloys. I mounted the alloys on a spin balancer to check run out before
I mounted the tires on them. I then mounted and balanced them myself again checking for run out and wobbles, none at all, the most weight used on any one wheel was 1 1/4 ounces. when driving I have a faint wobble at 70kph from rear, at 82-85 kph big wobble from front. Took the front tires off the alloys put them back on the steel wheels , balanced and took for a spin, wobble gone. The nuts I am using are the same nuts as guy who sold me rims used, I just bought new ones. they are a tight fit in the slotted stud holes and have a large thick washer, that should displace the load. If I could figure how to put pictures on here I would show them. I may try the feeler gauge trick if I can't find another way to hold them hub centered.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">


Hi,

My alloys are not hub centered and they gave a wobble at 90km/h but the original steel wheels didn't. At first I thought it was the due to the non centered alloy wheel and there size; The steel wheels are 5" and the alloys are 7" but now I've changed the steering rack all vibration is gone and I'm still using the same alloys.
So I guess in my situation it was the rack that caused the vibes.

Greetings, J.

[FI Spyder]

This points out the many ways you can get wheel wobble. Tires (run out,out of round, flat spots, tread squirm, etc), wheels (not mounted correctly,either on the lugs or the hub, bent, etc), hub (too much wheel bearing play, etc), steering (play in steering shaft, u joints, steering rack, ball joints, tie rod ends, not enough toe in, control arms not torqued properly, etc). I put in a lot of etc's because there are no doubt others. Until you find yours it will seems like you are doomed to have it forever. Find it and you will have smooth steering forever or at least until the next item pokes up it's head.

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT