macaroni

Ever since I installed the new set of 195/45/16 tires and rims my car, the civic's steering wheel would vibrate violently at speeds 60-80mph. If I go slower or faster than that, the vibration would disappear. I didn't have this problem with the stock rims+tires I had on before. I had these wheels balanced already but the problem still persisted. I don't have the old wheels anymore so I can't put them back on to see if the problem goes away. Any suggestions?

FALKEN

iTrader: (55)

Did your new wheels come with hub centric rings?

unTuned

a balance means nothing without centering rings if you have aftermarket rims. if you dont have centering rings, the rim will be resting downward on the bolt pattern when you place it on the car, and then when you lower the car to torque the rim in place, the car slides down a bit in the rim and the bolt pattern now rests down on the rim.there is always some slack when you install the tire....you can have it in place but still slide it up, down, left, or right very slightly. that completely throws things off. the centering rings sit them perfectly centered over the bolt pattern.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i have the same problem and with or without rings the vibration did not change. some places were able to balance it better than others, but i think the main problem is the rim itself is not perfectly round or just not balanced specifically to the civic hub like the oem rims are. most aftermarket rims are just universal fit. its just a problem you gotta deal with or go back to oem rims.

heelandtoe

Did you buy new or used Rims?

I'm all too familiar with that problem and that usually means that you have uneven / bent rim(s).

Let me know how it goes.

macaroni

I bought the rims off a buddy that were about a month old (a couple hundred of km on them). I think I'll try the centering rings as mentioned above. Didn't see any rings when I got the rims =/

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

mine were brand new.

NwShadow

I had the same problem on my 02 civic ex, I had 205/40/17 tires on and the steering wheel shook like crazy. turns out that by changing the overall diameter of the tire, the car is off balance meaning a new wheel alignment is necessary. I didn't know at the time that changing from 195/65/15 (stock) to 205/40/17 meant the overall diameter of the tire and rim went from 24' to 21" or something like that. This just means the car is lower to the ground and the wheel alignment from the factory wasn't set up for those new tires. just get a new wheel alignment but you may need camber kits to bring it back to specs. I either had to get camber kits or change tires, so i changed tires cause i didn't like the bumpy ride, now i have 215/45/17 and no more shake, its now something like 24.1" overall diameter, alot closer to the original 24".

macaroni

Update: I went out and bought a set of hub centering rings for 15 bucks OD:72mm, ID: 56mm (huge gap difference o.0) and whaddy'a know, the steering wheel vibration reduced by like 90%. There's still a very minor vibration but it's a heck of a lot better than before! And yeah NwShadow, I've noticed my car is a bit lower now due to these tires (had to go out to buy a lower jack because it wouldn't slide under the car). I think I'll stay with the minor bumpy ride for now instead of the new tires/camber kit+wheel alignment until I get some more money (broke college student). Anyways, thanks for all the great help everyone as always!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

cool glad it worked out for you.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

cool glad it worked out for you.

mr22508

Yeah I work for a wheel place right now... And if your getting violent vibes then you might have a bent rim. And if you have the acorn or shanked style lugs, then you dont need centric rings... BUT if you got flat style lugs, then u definetly need rings if ur hub is smaller than the bore of your rim!

juliegarcia_

i have the same problem now just put some new rims on and i get a shaky steering wheel once i hit like 50 =/