Vibration after new wheels and tires and numerous balancing

Tires will be installed tomorrow (Saturday) at 11:30am. I'll update tomorrow afternoon.

 

Don't take this wrong, but I'm wondering if some of this might be in your head. You may be a touch sensitive to driving a truck. Vibrations don't come and go and for the 1,000,000th time, your rotors have absolutely nothing to do with a vibration unless you get that vibration when applying the brakes. I would imagine by now that the shops are probably saying "here comes that guy again". I hope Toyota isn't charging you each time you take it there.

 

I understand where you're coming from, and I can't speak for OP. I'm a 45 year old man who has owned many different vehicles, cars and trucks. I have been in trucks for the last 10 years. I have experienced many issues with many different vehicles, especially back in the day when I couldn't afford a nice vehicle. I am very aware of many vehicle problems and their symptoms. I am part time mechanic as well, see Diesel Toys where I work for the owner who is an old friend of mine.

Again, I cannot speak for OP but my truck ran perfectly smooth with no issue across 3 different tires and two different wheels.

Suddenly I get 17" wheels and Toyo tires and I get a high speed body vibration and a light vibration while braking and speeding up at these speeds. I took it in with no issue, I drove it out with vibrations. What changed? Wheels and tires.

What are the odds that the (very noticeable and very real) vibration isn't due to the tire/wheel combo? Does the possibility exist it is caused by something else? Absolutely, but it is not bloody likely.

I don't think OP's situation is much different.

I am getting to the bottom of this as is OP, clearly. I have a list of things to try and luckily, while I may likely spend a few bucks buying parts, I do not have to pay a shop to help me figure it out.

All that said, I am well aware that there are people who have "issues" with their vehicles that are indeed in their heads! I have seen this.

 

It is amazing that some people can hear/feel/detect that slightest defect with a vehicle and others never notice it at all. I am one of the people that notice these things easily, even if I am driving or riding in someone else's vehicle for the very first time.

I believe that the OP knows his truck and how it drives and that following his wheel/tire change there is an issue. It *might* be in his head, but personally I doubt it.

 

I hear you and I have had my fair share of "in my head issues" that I swore were real so I can't blame anyone for it. We all know these are body on frame trucks with rear suspensions that showed up on trucks before most here were born.

There is a chance that a vibration may not be related to the wheel swap, and maybe that change exacerbated a problem that was there because you have changed the unsprung weight as well as shifted the position of the weight with different offset wheels. I mean it does put more stress on anything directly associated with your ball joints much like the effect of trying to hold a 10lbs weight close to your body then trying to hold that same weight with your arms fully extended. The issue is that we are talking extremes and really grasping at that point. To the point that you just say "it is a truck, not BMW M5".

What concerns me the most with the OPs issue is the claim that the vibrations are intermittent. That is something hard to imagine because with these types of issues they are pretty much black and white. There is either a problem or there isn't. I hope he does get the issue fixed, but he really needs to narrow the focus and eliminate problems where they cannot be part of his issue i.e. his rotors.

 

My tire techs made just over $10 a hour. Their "I'm interested in this" level is zero. Someone has to step in and take care of business like you said and get it done. Dismounting the tire and rotating it on the rim to match a rim/tire balance is a fix as well. (those yellow and blue dots are important sometimes, LOL) I've sold, mounted and balanced thousands of tires from go cart to tractor, and a model "A" tire with spoons. If we spent more than 20 minutes trying to run out a vibration, we're losing money. This is why stores like Firestone, Discount, Goodyear Corp. stores don't do custom work (normally). Custom work is defined as anything not recommended by the vehicle manufacture. I wish there was a easy answer to all this, but there is not. You're right. It's not rocket science. It's a hot mess. LMAO
Zim

 

I went through the same with 2 sets of KO2's. Ended up with Grabber ATX and haven't had a problem since

 

I have heard that song! We had the same story about how the tire techs didn't make enough money and that was why they didn't care so we tried a different approach. We bumped them up from $7.50 (this was in the 90s) to $11 an hour. They absolutely killed it after getting a raise. Showed up on time. Always wanted over time. Knocked out cars faster than ever. This lasted about 2 months. Then it went back to the same nonsense - Not showing up for work. Taking and hour to do a simple R&B. etc. We went back to paying them what they were worth. It really is an awful job. Working in filth in the elements. Poor bastards baked in the summer time and winter working with ice melting down your back isn't exactly pleasurable. We tried to sell the position as an entry to becoming a mechanic, but the reality is that maybe 1 out of 100 ever goes on to do much more than sling tread. Don't get me wrong, I have mounted my fair share of tires, but I like the luxury of being able to pick and choose when to do it.

 

Well, the Coopers are installed and the bad vibrations are gone, however I have only driven it about 18 miles. OP stated his came back after 25-30 miles. I have a 2600 mile round trip to Ogden UT and back on Tuesday. We'll see how they settle in.

 

Congratulations, maybe it's solved. Don't expect it to drive like a Lexus at 80 mph. What size,.rating and air pressure are you running? Drive safe on your trip.

 

Thanks!

265/70/17 c load 32psi cold
Exact same size, load, and initial psi as the Toyo's

 

Just my opinion, but generally tires that are faulty, or you can seem to balance will show a vibration issue right away....just depends at what mph. Well, for your sake lets hope its cured.

 

You're absolutely right and thanks, me too! If the vibration comes back, I'll know it's not the tires. Then I'll look into driveshaft issues, U Joint status, UCA settings (cuz I have SPC adjustable UCA's), rotors, drums, brake pads, calipers, etc....

 

Ok... Good News Everyone...
I see congratulations are in order for Phich... hey man it seems you got the issue resolved as well.

So, as far as my truck:

I got new TOYO AT3's and body/frame vibration is gone. (Discount had initially used clip on weights on the Ray10's but my head technician and Toyota removed them and used stick-on weight on the outer edge instead and phase matched it as well).

Front Rotors were warped and since I was over 12k miles warranty didn't cover it and dealership just resurfaced them and put the back on with the same pads.

Drives like a Cadillac... no vibrations anywhere under any circumstances. I've driven over 150 miles since Friday and I didn't want to post anything until I was sure that it's gone. But it is...

Just like Phich/Chris, I've owned many vehicles such as multiple CJ7's, Land Rover (Santana), Chevy K5, Jee Grand Cherokee SRT, Mercedes AMG C63, 2nd Gen Camaro SS, as well as a 2015 4runner. And I haven't left any of these vehicle alone and done something to them.... So, I really know the difference of a stock wheel and tire ride vs. larger/more aggressive and adjust my expectations according to the modification and based on my experience.
I know the difference of a pulse vs vibration vs stiffness, etc.

But this one was really a mystery. The fact that the vibration was intermittent and could happen in morning cold or while the vehicle was driven for some time. I just couldn't find a pattern or connect the dots. I still can't understand how could a bad rotor cause vibration intermittently... or when not braking.

I'm guessing I had tire/s, balance and the rotor issue at the same time.

Now, I'm looking at getting a good set of Rotors and Pads...

Not sure if this tread really helped anybody... definitely gives someone with these symptoms some idea at looking at unexpected spots...

Bad rotors causing steering wheel vibration intermittently while applying the brakes and even while cruising...!

Thanks everyone!

Cheers.

 

First off I bet you are all kinds of satisfied now! Congrats to you sir!

Now, straaaange thing: my vibration came back the very next day (today). It was slightly minimized, but without a doubt, it was there.

Just for kicks I tried dropping the carrier bearing and it was worse. Definitely not it.

After seeing your post, I am going to get my rotors turned and put on some new brake pads. It seems way early to have to do at just under 44k miles, but it's going to happen.
Unfortunately, I have to drive to Utah (from central Texas) tomorrow night and will be kinda busy all day before we leave. If I can get a free two hours I can use that to get the rotors to the shop and get the brakes on. If not I have 2600 miles round trip of vibrations ahead of me.

I just think it's weird that we both get 17" wheels, both get Toyo AT3's (I know you had BFG's first), and both got the same mystery vibrations from what is most likely the same (now-known) issue at almost exactly the same time AND that our rotors were perfectly fine the day before the new tire/wheel setup but were coincidentally "warped" right after. Strange as hell man...

Anyway, more things in heaven and earth and all that, the path isn't the issue, the vibration-free result is

 

The biggest question is why when I put the 4runner wheels on the Tacoma there was no vibration?...

They were TRD 17" wheels + BFG 265 x 70R17's C rating.
They were definitely heavier than the SCS + Toyos.

Do heavier wheel/tires dampen vibration?
Do wider larger wheel/tires highlight vibration?

 

Congrats on the fix, hopefully it will stay that way. I don't think heavier wheels and tires dampen it as a stronger sidewall may because you feel everything you run over. Good questions though.

 

There may be something here.

I went from 54lb e load 285 tire to a c load 265 42lb tire.

My offset went from 0 to -12 so thats not that big difference, but a difference nonetheless.

It drove vibe free and smooth with the heavy tires.

 

Toyotas don't normally like wide and heavy wheels. One would think that if a vibration is in the wheels that it would take more force to make a heavier wheel shake more but once that heavy wheel starts to vibrate, the vibration would seem to be worse.