Vibration/shimmy at speed? Get a lug centric balance.

After fighting with handling mush and a nasty 55-65mph shimmy for a while, I finally did my homework took the Taco to the stealership for a proper alignment and lug-centric road force balance.

Good lord, what a difference. I didn’t know that these wheels required lug-centric balancing instead of the usual hub-centric. I had been taking it to the Midas half an hour closer to me, and funnily enough the guy there was scoffing about how “the previous guy was an idiot and balanced em all wrong.” And the problem didn’t go away.

From what I’ve gathered, our stock wheels are super picky and need to be balanced a specific way. The road force balance is basically rotating the tire around the wheel to best balance it that way(for both shape and weight), before simply slapping more weights on it. Generally becomes more necessary with larger, more rugged tires.

For 120 bucks I walked outta Yota service with a fresh alignment, properly balanced wheels(it passed the road force tests before they had to adjust anything), a new state inspection sticker, and complementary wash. Most importantly, a smooooooth ride that feels like a while new truck again. I don’t feel like I’m bouncing down the road anymore.

Also, really liking how well the Meguiar’s 3-in-1 wax is holding up a month or so later.

Hope this helps someone!

 

I have a 55-65mph shimmy that disappears when I reach 70mph. But I also have a 4" lift and don't have stock wheels (still toyota though). I've assumed the shaking was due to the lift, but now I'm wondering if a proper alignment would fix it. Anyone know if a Toyota dealership would align a tacoma w/o the stock suspension? I have aftermarket shocks, springs, and upper control arms

 

Still got a wax residue on that lower front bumper )

 

My mechanic(Toyota master) aligns mine with after market parts to my specs no issues. Alignment won’t fix the shimmy. Suspension will cause a shimmy if you have worn components. More than likely it’s the tires.

 

Yeahhh, I realized that after it dried and cured, must have been the textured plastic not letting it buff out properly. It looked great when fresh. But it still lets bugs wash off easy so I’ll rock the milk mustache till next waxjob. Lol