slight high speed tire woble....approx. 90 mph

[Marv S]

Wheel out of balance is likely. First thing is to do a visual and check for wheel damage or if any wheel weights have come off. It can happen if the car has had enough hard braking to heat up and loosen the weight adhesive.

Next step is to find a good Balance machine (Hunter) and have them checked. With a car that new some dealers will cover a rebalance under warranty.

 

[Robert Dyck]

I guess it should be mentioned that the wheel could be out-of-round. While on the balancing machine, visually inspect wheel runnout. If it looks excessive, measure it and see if it is within specs. There is a TSB out on wheels with excessive runnout.

I will investigate the possibility of having this problem on my 97GTS.

 

[JonB]

I hope it is as simple as a missing wheel weight. But.......

Robert may have nailed it, and "the year matters"......kind of. Your 18" 2000s are more suceptible to runout ("out-of-round") complaints than 17" 92-98 rims. And 18"ers are more suceptible to simple road hazards like potholes and minor curb rubber scuffs that can 'tilt' the wheel's drum portion off center.

I think the spec tolerance is no more than .020...and some shops say YIKES! If it measures .035 for example, most places think they have done a great job, and they would not DARE to shoot for .020 or better !

Know your installer.....and be sure they have the equip to measure and manage 18X13 rims.

Hint: You can tape a small object like a penny inside a loop of tape on each fender directly above the whell hubs....watch them closely to see which begins bobbing first / most.

JonB

JonB

 

[Marv S]

Was the wobble always there ir just begin lately? A wheel with excessive runout or a bent one would either have it from day 1 or from being damaged.

Be careful not to hang out the window too far or drive too fast while you watch that penney taped under the fender or you might end up a candidate for the Darwin award.

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[Bob Woodhouse]

Hmm, advice is always good, this may be more than needed but here goes. If a tire wobble is in the front you will feel it in the steering wheel vs. the seat of your pants. This has been done no doubt. If the wobble is at 90 and up on a Viper, and you can drive out of it, say 110 to 120 it gets smooth again, then it has high probability of being a bent our out-of-round wheel/tire per Jon/B's previous post.

Out of balance issues usually can be sensed in the 65 mph area. Balance on Vipers must always be done in two planes due to the wheel width, nearly all new balancers are capable, some operators are not.

Out of round (wobble) can be both radial and lateral (up and down/in and out) OK don't get ***** on me here. This issue sneaks past the common tech as he won't think to check the inner barrel rim edge (a Viper's weakest part of the wheel)

 

[medmonds]

Bob Woodhouse makes a great point. Watching the tread move as the tire is on the balancer is essential. Up and down movement is always thought to be the culprit but the side to side movement is just as critical if not more so on wide tires. Hunter equipment has a great new balancer that senses force variation and actually places a load on the tire as it is rolled on the balancer. Got to tirerack.com and look under Recommended Installers for someone close to you that uses this machine.

 

[JonB]

HEY ! If you cannot isolate the front wobble, You tape the penny or nickel on TOP of the fender/hood area!

JonB

 

[Vreracing]

Most times when I complain about my car having a little shutter over 90 miles per hour they tell me not to drive that fast.

Once I went in to say it shook at about 120 and they sort of chuckled.

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