Serious Vibration In The Rain

[DodgeViper01]

So I have noticed over the last several months that there is an EXTREME Vibration that happens when the car is driven in the rain at 60 MPH or over in 6th gear. Take it under 60 MPH and you are fine. I am not sure if it would happen in the other gears as it was bumper to bumper last night, but I know for sure it happens in 6th. The vibration feels very similar to driving on the grooves that are in the road near the shoulder or before toll booths. The whole car shakes when this happens and it is pretty scary. Any idea what this is??

 

[Viper4Christ]

Where does it "feel" like the vibrations are coming from? And have you checked your tires and suspension to make sure everything is tight and not worn out?
Sounds like a slight case of wheel hop perhaps.

 

[BoeingMan]

OMG ...oh no Rain

My viper has only seen rain one time. I was backing out of my driveway, it started sprinkling so I drove it back into the garage.

(above is weak attempt at humor)

Hope you get your problem fixed

 

[RAYSIR]

60 MPH in 6th sounds like a good load on the engine at a REAL low RPM. Then add the load of pushing rain. Sounds like the engine would be at such a low speed under load it would be cutting out.I never go into 6th at 60, ever, the engine is at idle RPM. Not til about 70. What RPM are you turning and see if it goes away in 5th.

 

[dave6666]

My '01 had a similar problem and it was the motor mounts being shot. They looked good from below, until you put a jack under the oil pan to separate them.

Anyway, it was 5th gear at 110+, but not fourth gear. Same speed, lower rpm, shake car.

Enough to make me slow down.

 

[xlrashn]

I would check your plug wires. As it sounds like you are dropping cylinders. At that low of an RPM there is an increased load on them, added with the moisture in the air would make marginal wires/defective wires act poorly. That's where I would start. We see that alot here in the shop when wet weather hits. Hope this helps.

 

[DodgeViper01]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Keep them coming please! I will be taking another look at the car next weekend to see if it still does it.

 

[DII]

Keith its your wheels. You have reverse lip wheels, so there is a channel behind the spokes. This channel allows the tire to be mounted over the rim, but it also allows water to collect and this throws your balance off.

Next time it happens, stop, take a towel and dry the puddle behind your spokes, you will notice it stops.

There is a diverter that you can buy and mount in that channel that sweeps the water out. I have a customer in Texas testing them out now, so far so good.

-Derrick

 

[dave6666]

Keith its your wheels. You have reverse lip wheels, so there is a channel behind the spokes. This channel allows the tire to be mounted over the rim, but it also allows water to collect and this throws your balance off.

Next time it happens, stop, take a towel and dry the puddle behind your spokes, you will notice it stops.

There is a diverter that you can buy and mount in that channel that sweeps the water out. I have a customer in Texas testing them out now, so far so good.

-Derrick

Why would you have someone in Texas test a part related to rain?








Sorry. My yard is 12 shades of brown right now.

 

[06blueviper]

You could have a wheel that is out of round. I have an '06 with 5 spokes and just had my rear tires replaced recently. When the Viper Tech tried to balance one of the rear wheels, he noticed that it was "out of round" (apparently a factory defect), so he ordered a new right rear under warranty.

A week later, I brought my car in to get the new rear put on and again, the new rear 5 spoke was defective/out of round, so he had to send that one back and order another one.

The final wheel was finally ok.

You might want to try getting your wheels balanced to see if this is the issue.

 

[Jim Wilson]

Keith its your wheels. You have reverse lip wheels, so there is a channel behind the spokes. This channel allows the tire to be mounted over the rim, but it also allows water to collect and this throws your balance off.

Next time it happens, stop, take a towel and dry the puddle behind your spokes, you will notice it stops.

There is a diverter that you can buy and mount in that channel that sweeps the water out. I have a customer in Texas testing them out now, so far so good.

-Derrick

Wouldn't the centrifugal force from the rotation of the wheel make the water in the channel actually balance the wheel? Why do you think it would "puddle" in one location?

Maybe I don't understand what you are trying to say?

 

[DII]

Why would you have someone in Texas test a part related to rain?

Sorry. My yard is 12 shades of brown right now.

That's the funniest part, he bought the wheels almost 2 years ago and called me in May to tell me about the vibration.

I got him the diverters and he's been waiting for a downpour ever since! He has driven it in the rain, just not a downpour!

 

[Mike Adams]

dII is right. If you have an after market wheel like I-forge/HRE and the are reverse mount they will shake in the rain. Water collects and causes vibrations

 

[99 R/T 10]

That is very interesting, and good to see you posting again Mike!

 

[Mike Adams]

My Son's go kart racing has kept me so busy. I have not driven my car in 2 yrs really.

Back to topic I ran into this on a set of HRE on a Porche SUV ended up returning the wheels. Most viper owners do not experience this as they do not drive cars in the rain often. I still love my HRE's small price to pay for the look they give

 

[RTTTTed]

You could have a wheel that is out of round. I have an '06 with 5 spokes and just had my rear tires replaced recently. When the Viper Tech tried to balance one of the rear wheels, he noticed that it was "out of round" (apparently a factory defect), so he ordered a new right rear under warranty.

A week later, I brought my car in to get the new rear put on and again, the new rear 5 spoke was defective/out of round, so he had to send that one back and order another one.

The final wheel was finally ok.

You might want to try getting your wheels balanced to see if this is the issue.

Since Vipers are handbuilt and test driven on dyno at 90mph there is no chance of buying an 'out of round' wheel. You must be refering to a different car.

Ted

 

[dave6666]

Since Vipers are handbuilt and test driven on dyno at 90mph there is no chance of buying an 'out of round' wheel. You must be refering to a different car.

Ted

Would that catch a front wheel issue though? Even though I agree, sounds more like a bowtie problem.

 

[06blueviper]

Since Vipers are handbuilt and test driven on dyno at 90mph there is no chance of buying an 'out of round' wheel. You must be refering to a different car.

Ted

No, it's a 2006 Viper SRT-10. Although the service manager used the words "out of round", here's what the tech put into the report...

"THE CUSTOMER STATES THAT THERE IS A VIBRATION FELT IN THE REAR WHEN DRIVING.
THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL FAILED ROAD FORCE MEASUREMENT. THE INSIDE OF THE WHEEL IS BENT.
REMOVED RT. REAR WHL ASSEMBLY, DISMOUNTED TIRE, MOUNTED/BALANCED TIRE ON NEW WHEEL. THE NEW WHEEL ALSO FAILED ROAD FORCE MEASUREMENT. THE WHEEL IS BENT ON THE INSIDE. INSTALLED WHL. ASSEMBLY ON VEHICLE. TORQUED LUG NUTS TO SPEC. ORDERED ANOTHER WHEEL."

My point was that my Viper had a defective wheel from the factory and the new wheel that the tech ordered to replace it was also defective from the factory, this seems to be a QC issue that could be affecting more cars, so it's worth looking into this as a solution to your vibration issue..

 

[Mike Adams]

Bent wheel would give vibration all the time not just in Rain. Viper wheels bend very easy expecially with on inside with such a large inner barrell

 

[Limit]

My '01 had a similar problem and it was the motor mounts being shot. They looked good from below, until you put a jack under the oil pan to separate them.

Anyway, it was 5th gear at 110+, but not fourth gear. Same speed, lower rpm, shake car.

Enough to make me slow down.

Thanks for the info Dave... While doing some recent county road runs... a friend of mine... was going up to 120 or so and was experiencing a lot of car shaking, enough to where he didn't feel comfortable going any quicker...

 

[RTTTTed]

No, it's a 2006 Viper SRT-10. Although the service manager used the words "out of round", here's what the tech put into the report...

"THE CUSTOMER STATES THAT THERE IS A VIBRATION FELT IN THE REAR WHEN DRIVING.
THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL FAILED ROAD FORCE MEASUREMENT. THE INSIDE OF THE WHEEL IS BENT.
REMOVED RT. REAR WHL ASSEMBLY, DISMOUNTED TIRE, MOUNTED/BALANCED TIRE ON NEW WHEEL. THE NEW WHEEL ALSO FAILED ROAD FORCE MEASUREMENT. THE WHEEL IS BENT ON THE INSIDE. INSTALLED WHL. ASSEMBLY ON VEHICLE. TORQUED LUG NUTS TO SPEC. ORDERED ANOTHER WHEEL."

My point was that my Viper had a defective wheel from the factory and the new wheel that the tech ordered to replace it was also defective from the factory, this seems to be a QC issue that could be affecting more cars, so it's worth looking into this as a solution to your vibration issue..

Can't believe that got past the dyno test, more likely it was bent loading or hitting a road hazard. Shipping damage for other wheel most likely.

Ted

 

[Dimitrios]

Keith its your wheels. You have reverse lip wheels, so there is a channel behind the spokes. This channel allows the tire to be mounted over the rim, but it also allows water to collect and this throws your balance off.

Next time it happens, stop, take a towel and dry the puddle behind your spokes, you will notice it stops.

There is a diverter that you can buy and mount in that channel that sweeps the water out. I have a customer in Texas testing them out now, so far so good.

-Derrick

i think D is right. i had the same problem that day when coming back from CT in the rain. at around 80mph it felt like i went over the grooves so had to slow down.

 

[DII]

i think D is right. i had the same problem that day when coming back from CT in the rain. at around 80mph it felt like i went over the grooves so had to slow down.

You THINK??? Man you know D is the "wheel man!!" lol

Nah Ive been answering this water / vibration question for over 5 years now! lol

Like someone else said, VIPER guys hardly ever go out in the rain, so we never experience this, but BMW, Lexus, MB guys complain about the shakes all the time.

A quick point of clarification, if you do a "step lip" wheel (the one that as a bump right in the middle of the lip), you won't have the vibration.