wobbly steering at 80+ MPH

[celicatalk]

Hi, my steering wheel wobbles when I go over 80 MPH. Do my wheels need balanced?

Thanks!

[vvtlikick]

Quite possibly.

First off, I'd make sure you're wheels are securely mounted with the lug nuts torqued down fully.

Next, if you want to be sure that the tires need balancing, jack up your car and switch the front tires to the rear.

If the wobble becomes less noticeable, then the tires/wheels are the problem. If the wobble remains, the problem may be in more than one tire, or something else may be off.

If you have directional tires, make sure to switch the front left with the rear left. Same thing on the right side.

Good luck :burnout:

[Dj_cElicA]

or maybe your tires are unevenly worn... like from drifting or somthing.

[celicatalk]

Hi guys,

Are the stock Yokas directional? The dealer rotated them for me before, and I think they moved the front ones to the rear.

The center tread is worn more than the sides on all 4 tires. I have them inflated correctly since I had the car.

[vvtlikick]

If I recall correctly, the stock 205/50-16 Yokohama A680 tires on the GT-S are directional. You can't tell by the tread design, but there should be an large arrow on the sidewall indicating the rotation direction.

As for the excessive wear in the center of the tire on stock inflation pressure, I had the same thing happen to my stock tires. This suggests the stock inflation pressure is on the high side, but I wouldn't go much below the recommended pressure to try to even the tire wear out (30psi cold would be the lowest I'd try).

[celicatalk]

vvtlikick,

Thanks for the info and tips. I can't believe my tires only have 13k on them and are going bad. I will check out the side walls tomorrow to see what they say for direction.

[bagodoosh]

Originally posted by vvtlikick
I wouldn't go much below the recommended pressure to try to even the tire wear out (30psi cold would be the lowest I'd try).

why not?

[yuloose]

Originally posted by celicatalk
Hi, my steering wheel wobbles when I go over 80 MPH. Do my wheels need balanced?

Thanks!

Yeah, you probably need a balancing job.

I don't want ot get into physics, but different objects respond different at different frequencies. Same for your car, your wheels will "wobble" if they are not balanced properly. They aren't too far off if they don't "wobble" till 80.

damn, does that make any sense. even i am confused now.

[vvtlikick]

Originally posted by bagodoosh
why not? Severely underinflated tires can overheat and fail at high speeds. As many Explorer drivers discovered. :chuckles:

But at 30psi cold, I'd mostly be worried about numb steering and poor handling compared to 32psi cold. :burnout:

[celicatalk]

What type of weights will Toyota use, the kind that came on the factory rims that go on the inside?

[vvtlikick]

I think they'll use stick-on weights on the interior of the wheel.

I say this cause thats what I've always had that kind and this Toyota TSB (http://www.radphys.com/TSB_WHEEL_BALANCE_ADJUSTMENT.pdf) states that (all?) clip-on weights won't work on the Celica alloys.