2018 TACOMA Shimmy with LTs - Nothing Dealer Can Do!

My vote is that you have a bad tire or two. I've had very expensive tires that were out of round brand new. Fortunately, I got them at Discount Tire and they replaced them at no charge.

 

Oh. Interesting. I mean, doing the chalk test would put me at like 30 lol. These trucks are so light for Higher weight load tires. Either way, it does really ride smoother at 45 compared to 32

 

I had the same issues as you.....KO2's 265/70/17 C load on 4runner TRD pro rims. Shop couldn't balance them (3 attempts), so I eventually took it to the toyota dealer and it's 99% improved.....not perfect, but million times better.

 

You’re an idiot

 

dont you balance tire every 5k?

 

Can you take a pic? Sounds like they may have tried to do a dynamic. Hard to tell based on what you’re saying.

If it’s a zero offset the weights would be in the center of the wheel along the same axis as the mounting face for a static balance.

 

Shouldn't have to. A single balance should last the life of the tires. From what I've heard though a set of KO2s pulling that off is rare.

 

If you search the 4Runner forums they are having the same issue with some people having stock rides. No real solution from what I read. Numerous tire replacements did not fix the shimmy on some vehicles. One dealer stated the steering rack replacement fixed the issue. I might add a very little bit of preload on my steering rack, balance my wheels/tires again & make sure when balancing to use the special lug centric tool to clamp wheel in place not a hub centric.

Technical Service Bulletin (TSB SU002-96) requiring the Haweka adapter when balancing 4Runner/Tacoma wheels/tires I believe.

Taken from researh.

Here is the problem. The wheels used on the 4Runner/Tacoma are “lug centric” and are not the more common “hub centric” wheels like on most cars and light trucks. Hub centric wheels are centered on the vehicle hubs using the center hole in the wheel. That is kind of simple. On lug centric wheels the wheels are centered on the vehicle hub using the lug bolt holes and not the center hole. When the wheels are made and machined they are done so using the lug holes to mount the wheels to the machines that make them. The lug holes are the true center of the wheel and not the center hole. So, if the center hole is not in the true center you can understand how mounting the wheel to the balance machine using the center hole is not going to work very well. The wheel needs to be mounted to the balance machine using the lugholes. This is done with a flange plate adapter made by Haweka.

The Haweka adapter firmly locks the wheel onto the balance machine in its true center. It holds wheel very solid and prevents movement. Toyota realized they had a problem with balancing these wheels and issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB SU002-96) requiring the Haweka adapter when balancing these wheels. The problem is that it seems that few Toyota dealers know about the TSB let alone have the adapter.
While on one of my many, many visits to the dealer to get the vibration fixed, I saw one of my tires on their balance machine. I walked over to it and grabbed the tire and shook it. It wobbled all over the place. I asked they guy how he thinks he can balance the tire with it moving around so much, “all the truck wheels do that.” That my friends, is the very center of the problem. If they cannot get the wheel to hold still on the shaft there is no way they can ever properly balance it. The Haweka adapter does two very basic things. First it mounts the wheel to the balance machine the same way it is mounted to your truck, and second it locks it to the shaft of the balance machine and prevents movement so you get a consistent and proper balance.

 

The first generation FJ Cruiser trail teams wheels had a similar balancing issue, and Toyota had special balancing instructions for them.

But as far as the lug centric statement is concerned, FJ, 4Runner, and Tacoma factory wheels are all hub centric at 106mm, and mostly all are interchangeable depending on offset. Maybe steel wheels or 5 lug Tacomas are different, as I have no experience with either, but I've been through a bunch of factory aluminum wheels, and they've all been hub centric.

 

i've ran lugcentric wheels on other vehicles where the wheel's hub was larger than the vehicle's without issue. There's just something with the FJ, 4R, Taco, and even Tundra that are sensitive to balancing. More so when the wheel is not hubcentric.

 

Yeah, but that's not what I'm addressing. Factory wheels are hub centric. For aftermarket lug centric wheels, you should be using hub spacers.

 

that's a dynamic balance

 

This is blowing my mind. All wheels are either machined (forged wheels), cast (typical), or stamped (steel). The tool that makes or finishes the wheel should be able to properly locate the center hole regardless of the centering method used on the vehicle. Lugcentric wheels were the norm a few decades back. This overlapped with dynamic balancing coming on the market. Until now, I never heard that this was a problem.

I'm not doubting what you posted, just incredibly shocked that this issue exists on machined parts.

 

FYI what I posted was taken from a 4Runner forum that a Toyota tech had told the customer. Not my personal thoughts or experience. I have road force balanced my own personal Ray10's with Wildpeaks with the cone adapter. I am going to try next doing it with the lug centric tool & see if anything changes.

 

I get you and am taking that as fact. It is just amazing that it is a problem.

 

I’ve got LTs on mine in 265-75-16. No shimmy. Drives great. Somethings wrong with yours.

 

Hey all,

After having another try at balancing again yesterday, I took it out for a spin and it was significantly worse. I can feel it stronger in the wheel than before. I can feel it when I put the brakes on at high speed. Not a warped rotor feeling, almost like putting the brakes on and releasing them starts an oscillation that dissipates after x= time.

I've been speaking with the Service department and techs over the past few days. They have discussed with other dealers and are coming to conclusion (not "jumping to" at this point yet...) that the 10 ply LT tire mounted on the OEM 17" wheel is too much for the all stock truck to handle unless they are FLAWLESSLY balanced. This is something I don't think they are able to achieve. They have 2 other customers with the same combo awaiting the same response as me. Not sure what the outcome will be...

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They have it in today doing the following:

Taking my truck in and removing the (scratched) Wheels and Ko2s

Installing new OEM wheels and P tires from a new in stock tacoma on my truck.
Installing my Original wheels and KO2s on that in stock tacoma.

Test driving my truck to verify there is no shimmy and ensure the truck is not causing the shimmy.
Test driving the in stock tacoma to verify that the shimmy transfers to that truck.

If the shimmy transfers to the new truck and disappears from mine they will:

Mount and balance my KO2s on the NEW wheels (to replace the scratched ones).
Mount stock P tires on my old scratched wheels.

They will test drive both trucks again to ensure the wheels weren't the issue.

If the shimmy transfers to my truck again with new wheels and my KO2s then we know the tires are the issue.
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I also made the suggestion that they have them balanced by O.K. Tire and confirm alignment by sending it out as they do not have an alignment machine.

We'll see what happens today.

 

yup, I have heard multiple stories about BFGs doing this. My KM2s won't balance either.

 

KO2s have bad tires. When they moved your tires around they moved the bad one (possibly 2) to the front. They need to warranty the tire. As long as they are the same size you can put them on in pairs but just don't engage 4x4. Had to do that with my Tundra to find the bad tire. Had a bad belt that moved about 1 inch to the right when it came around.

My 2 cents.