TheShape8787

Good morning everybody. I have an 06 coupe 3LT that has vibrations especially felt on the steering wheel. The vibration happens on 2 second increments going between 45 and 65 mph. Weird thing is that whenever I merge left, the vibration is dramatically decreased. Straight line and merging right, the 2 second increment vibrations return. However, street/local driving is normal. Any thoughts?

C-INRED

The most obvious possibility is an out-of-balance tire, probably front since you are feeling it more in the wheel than in your butt. Since it is less noticeable when merging left I'd guess the right front but you should have all four tires/wheels checked.

Chevy Cust Svc

TheShape8787,
This can be caused by various things (tires needing alignment/re-balancing, possibly rear diff fluid change, etc). I would recommend taking it to the dealership and having it looked at. If you'd like I'd be more than happy to setup an appointment for you.

Chevrolet Customer Service,
Justin

Gearhead Jim

The pulsating type of vibration described by the OP is unusual for a balance or alignment problem. I'd start out checking for a loose wheel, bad bearing, tread separation, etc.

But these things can be elusive. Hope you find it easily.

roscoe118

My wife's '08 Couple developed a vibration at, and above, 95 mph (on the track of course). We had all four tires balanced, and now it's as smooth as a baby's bottom at "a buck thirty" (on the track of course)!

I'd start there...

Vegas Panton

A friend of mine had a similar problem. The tread had started to separate despite having plenty of tread left.. Since it was on the inside, you could not see it easily until the wheel/tire was removed from the car.

C7&7

What type of wheels do you have? Are they good aftermarket wheels? CCWs?

I had this similar issue when I put my CCWs on and it turned out to be the little circular clips the factory put on each of the lug nut stems to hold the rotor on before the caliper was on the car. I just removed them and the vibration went away. They were causing the wheel not to sit flush on the rotor.

TheShape8787

It doesnt feel like an off balance tire. It feels like a very fast vibration like a cell phone.

TheShape8787

I will definetely check for those. How do I check for a bad bearing and tread separation? The tires I have on now are the Kumho EXTSAs. The previous owner had them installed.

fnsblum

Vibrations that come in at the same speed each time and go away at the same speed are almost always a balance problem. I would start with a road force balance. Later! Frank

Gearhead Jim

These contradictory statements are both true.
A vibration that is pulsating instead of steady, is usually more than a simple balance problem.
A vibration that always happens at the same speed, often is a balance problem.

Basic checks:
Loose nuts- just lay a wrench on them, 100 lb/feet if you have a torque wrench, otherwise just "snug".
Bad bearing- jack up car (be careful of the rockers), try to shake or wobble the wheel. Spin it and listen for unusual noise.
Tread separation- careful visual inspection, all across the tire.

If you find nothing, next step is a Hunter Road Force balancing machine. You can google them for locations. The machine does a good balance and also will find an out-of-round or out-of-true wheel/tire. Accept no substitutes!

Good luck!

barneyz06

my tires had flat spots from being stored too long. the previous owner had it five years and only put 500 miles on it. it was a "rolling" type of vibration, like yours every couple of seconds. best we could figure it was "rolling" because of the two different size wheel/tire front to back. even tough they were vibrating all the time, it was very noticible as the vibrations synchd up. kinda like two different cars with their turn signals on. at times they are way out of sync, but for a short time they seem to sync up then get out of sync again. had to put 4 new tires on, that fixed the problem. hope this points you in the right direction.

Tim Coltrain

Possible Problem areas:
1) Out of balanced tire
2) Possibly bent rim
3) front end alignment out
4) Flat spot
5) Broken cord on tire causing a bubble bounce


Possibly Need:
1)Road Force Balanced
2) Rim repair or replacement
3) Hunter Four Wheel Alignment
4) Let tires warm up some
5) Replace tire




TIM$VETT

TheShape8787

I went to Discount Tire this passed weekend and have gotten a wheel balance. They told me if was a little off and that they corrected. Anyway, the vibration is still there just like before. What is a road force balance? Is it any difference than a regular balance?

C7&7

Have you checked to see if the lug nut studs have the little medal sleeves on them? If they do remove them.

HighPro

Had the same prob on a 74 coupe. Was broken belts in the rear tires. Would shimmy at certain speeds and then level out. Very dangerous situation. The belts ended-up coming out the side wall. Suggest you check it.

wolfdogs

Out of balance tires do not normally show vibration, unless very severe, until 65+ is reached. What you said could be caused by a front tire that has bad conicity. Radial run out could possibly be involved as well.

"Conicity is a parameter based on lateral force behavior. It is the characteristic that describes the tire’s tendency to roll like a cone. This tendency affects the steering performance of the vehicle. In order to determine Conicity, lateral force must be measured in both clockwise (LFCW) and counterclockwise direction (LFCCW). Conicity is calculated as one-half the difference of the values, keeping in mind that CW and CCW values have opposite signs. Conicity is an important parameter in production testing. In many high-performance cars, tires with equal conicity are mounted on left and right sides of the car in order that their conicity effects will cancel each other and generate a smoother ride performance, with little steering effect. This necessitates the tire maker measuring conicity and sorting tires into groups of like-valu"

"Radial Runout (RRO) describes the deviation of the tire’s roundness from a perfect circle. RRO can be expressed as the peak-to-peak value as well as harmonic values. RRO imparts an excitation into the vehicle in a manner similar to radial force variation. RRO is most often measured near the tire’s centerline, although some tire makers have adopted measurement of RRO at three positions: left shoulder, center, and right shoulder."

I would have a qualified person take a very close look at your front tires before you do anything else... and bad alignment does not normally cause a vibration until after it causes severe abnormal wear on one or more of the front tires.

TheShape8787

I hope its just the tires and not the drive line or the front end. Its an 06 with 28k miles. Just hope that the previous owner hasnt rolled over any huge potholes.

jmoffett

Are you sure it's not your phone ringing in your pocket?

Just kidding....if you feel it in the wheel, it's almost always going to be in the tires.

TheShape8787

Just took the car to the dealer today to hopefully find out what is going on with the vibration. They had my car the whole day and they could not figure out why it was vibrating. They told me that I would have to bring the car back in a couple of weeks because their certified GM certified Corvette master tech is on vacation. WTH?