'90 Legacy 4wd wagon, Auto. Vibration driving @ 65-75, most noticeable in shaking steering wheel.

 

History: 1. Car had soft/bouncy struts, so I put used (60K) Outback struts on all 4 corners.

2. Put on my 15" Studs to fill up the wheel wells, which had a little vibe going on about 70, but nothing like now.

3. Put slightly used (still have nubs) 205/75R14 tires on the OEM wheels and vibration started. Took back to shop to re-balance and they showed me how the wheels are warped - not "true" maybe 1/8" off? Not out of round - but side-to-side. Wheels still balanced OK.

 

Would the wheels cause the vibration? Or are the used tires more likely the cause? The old 185/70R14 didn't vibrate like the new ones...but maybe the soft struts masked it?

 

Thanks

You might find some useful info in one of my previous posts:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=586934

'90 Legacy 4wd wagon, Auto. Vibration driving @ 65-75, most noticeable in shaking steering wheel.

 

History: 1. Car had soft/bouncy struts, so I put used (60K) Outback struts on all 4 corners.

2. Put on my 15" Studs to fill up the wheel wells, which had a little vibe going on about 70, but nothing like now.

3. Put slightly used (still have nubs) 205/75R14 tires on the OEM wheels and vibration started. Took back to shop to re-balance and they showed me how the wheels are warped - not "true" maybe 1/8" off? Not out of round - but side-to-side. Wheels still balanced OK.

 

Would the wheels cause the vibration? Or are the used tires more likely the cause? The old 185/70R14 didn't vibrate like the new ones...but maybe the soft struts masked it?

 

Thanks

Note - Bolding by me. Sure, the wheels will balance, but when rolling along the pavement, the tire will be tracing a slight sine wave instead of a straight line. This causes side to side forces with every revolution of the wheel, which in turn is felt as vibration at the steering wheel.

 

No wheel/tire expert here, but I would consider 1/8" wobble to be quite significant.

 

Commuter

I believe it's fixed.....w/new(er) wheels. I bought some used - '96 legacy - wheels off a guy on our local craigslist. Took 'em to a chain - Les Schwab - and they traded me the wheels for the mount/balance.

 

Much better and no wiggle @ the 65-75.

 

the shop said they mount the tires low spot to line-up w/the valve stem..just as one of the articles stated. I didn't check if the old tires were mounted that way.

 

Thanks for the info and the links.....