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I have a 02 Civic and just got new rims and tires. I have 5Zigen Fighter 17 inch rims with Nitto NT 450 Extreme Performance 215/40ZR – 17 tires. They look great! The problem is when I get to about 65mph I have a LOT of vibration in the steering wheel. I read the Wheel and Tire FAQ’s and it said if you get vibration around 40-45MPH it could be a balancing problem. Everything is nice and smooth at 40-45MPH. Is the vibration at 65MPH still a balancing problem? Is it normal to get that much vibration at higher speeds? My stock tire had no vibration at that speed. Please let me know!

Thank you

 
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yes, it could still need balancing.. when i had 17's with 215/45 tires.. mine started to vibrate @ around 65-75.. just get it balanced.. and if that doesnt work, get centering caps

 
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WeaponX is right, get them rebalanced that should take care of the problem but also ask them to check for bent rims or uneven wear (flat spots, cuping, etc.) if all that doesn't work you need to get hub centric rings.

 
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Recently, I experienced the strangest wheel vibration problem I have ever come across... both personally and from everything else I've read. I couldn't believe it when I finally figured it out... even now I still can't believe it.

I had my brakes and rotors replaced recently at a friend's uncle's place, who happens to be a mechanic. Nothing else was done. Well, right after I drove off, I started getting steering wheel vibration on the highway.

So I figured it was a tire balancing issue... maybe a balancing weight fell off. Well, I ended up getting my all wheels and tires rebalanced 7 times, rotated 3 times ... and still the exact same problem. They check for bent rims, uneven tire wear, cupping, etc etc... Nothing at all was found.

And my wheels are stock Honda 15" alloys, so no center cap needed. I really was losing my mind.

By now I was sure there was something about my rims that was wrong that the technicians missed, so I decided I would go buy some steel rims and see if that fixed anything. Before I left to go pick up the steel rims, I decided to take of my wheel locks since I no longer needed them for the steel rims. I took them off and put the stock lugs back on.

I get on the highway, and guess what... no more wheel vibration. It was those damned wheel locks!

I searched all over the internet and spoken with other mechanics, and none of them have ever heard of wheel locks causing wheel vibration.

A whole shitload of time and money wasted on a problem so obscure that nobody had ever heard of it before. But at least now my car is smooth as silk again ... but now without wheel locks. (They were by McGard, btw.)

What's even stranger is that I've had those wheel locks for over 2 years and never had a problem. Only started getting steering wheel vibration after that brake job. And vibration only happens when I cruise at 70-80 mph. (No vibration at all when I use the brakes...... vibration only when I cruise normally at highway speeds



.)

 
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OK took my tires back to Discount tire - they re-balanced and put on center caps.....all is good smooth as silk from 0-90... Thanks.