[stangbuff]

I’ve done forum searches on steering vibrations but didn’t find anything specific to the brand so I thought I’d ask. Has anyone experienced vibration issues with Toyo tires?

I started experiencing steering wheel vibration (60-70 mph) with my ’05 GT convertible after installing a set of 18 x 9 Wheel Replica Magnum 500’s and 245/40ZR18 Proxes 4. The tire installer re-checked the balancing and found it to be in spec, they thought it might be a suspension issue. My Ford dealership (SVT dealer that knows their stuff) inspected the suspension and found nothing wrong. I tried to isolate it to a wheel/tire myself by moving them around (front to back/back to front). I virtually eliminated it with the first move which lead me to believe I’d found the problem combo. Seeing as it went away I let it slide for the season (last year), unfortunately it returned right before the car went into storage.

I just had the Ford dealership road force balance the wheels/tires and the vibration is as bad as before only now occurring at 45-65 MPH. They found no anomalies during the balancing process. They went through the suspension again and found nothing amiss. They also removed the two fronts and replaced them with my stock wheels and the vibration went away. I was actually expecting one to remain since the wheel/tire I originally identified as the problem was still on the car.

The service manager (a Mustang auto-x racer himself) believes the issue may be the Toyos. He had an F250 w/Toyos that had a similar vibration issue. After exhausting all possibilities he swapped the tires for another brand and voila, the vibration went away. I’m still skeptical the Toyos are the root cause but thought I’d inquire. I lurk here and know there are a lot of knowledgeable people that might be able to point me in the right direction. Sorry for the long winded post, I appreciate any and all feedback provided. Thank you.

PS - I realized this AM that the factory retaining rings are still on the studs so I’m going to remove them and reinstall using progressive 30/60/100 torque rates on the lug nuts. Could it be that simple?

[travelers]

If it's not the clips which I would have thought the dealer would have removed, then it might be a slipped belt in the tires. I would talk with the place where you got them.

[ITLRUN]

Speak to the tire dealer, have him replace the tires. Did you purchase 2 or all 4, when replacing your tires your better off replacing all 4. I run Toyo Proxes, on my 04 MACH1 and never had any issues. It sounds like you just got a couple of bad ones, but I would replace all 4 as long as money is not an issue then have all 4 high speed balanced that should take care of your vibration issue, Mike.SCT Tuner.

[sqidd]

I’ve done forum searches on steering vibrations but didn’t find anything specific to the brand so I thought I’d ask. Has anyone experienced vibration issues with Toyo tires?

I started experiencing steering wheel vibration (60-70 mph) with my ’05 GT convertible after installing a set of 18 x 9 Wheel Replica Magnum 500’s and 245/40ZR18 Proxes 4. The tire installer re-checked the balancing and found it to be in spec, they thought it might be a suspension issue. My Ford dealership (SVT dealer that knows their stuff) inspected the suspension and found nothing wrong. I tried to isolate it to a wheel/tire myself by moving them around (front to back/back to front). I virtually eliminated it with the first move which lead me to believe I’d found the problem combo. Seeing as it went away I let it slide for the season (last year), unfortunately it returned right before the car went into storage.

I just had the Ford dealership road force balance the wheels/tires and the vibration is as bad as before only now occurring at 45-65 MPH. They found no anomalies during the balancing process. They went through the suspension again and found nothing amiss. They also removed the two fronts and replaced them with my stock wheels and the vibration went away. I was actually expecting one to remain since the wheel/tire I originally identified as the problem was still on the car.

The service manager (a Mustang auto-x racer himself) believes the issue may be the Toyos. He had an F250 w/Toyos that had a similar vibration issue. After exhausting all possibilities he swapped the tires for another brand and voila, the vibration went away. I’m still skeptical the Toyos are the root cause but thought I’d inquire. I lurk here and know there are a lot of knowledgeable people that might be able to point me in the right direction. Sorry for the long winded post, I appreciate any and all feedback provided. Thank you.

I will wager it’s a tire issue but I doubt being a Toyo has anything to do with it. One or more of the tires is either out of round, has a separated chord, part of the carcass is de-laminated a touch, etc. The rim could be out of round a touch also.

When I am at the bigger race weekends the tire guys have a setup where you put the wheel/tire combo on/in a static wheel balancer and there is a bunch of lasers set up that measure the distance to the tire surface. The tire is spun through it’s rotation and the lasers will pick up any anomalies with the tire or even the tire/rim combo. The problem is that this setup is pricy and not common.

I check my rims all the time, especially if I just came from a track with big curbs that we jump on a static balancer with a dial indicator. Obviously the wheel is easy to check because the surface is smooth and hard and doesn’t goof with the dial indicator too much. Checking a tire for out of round or a separated chord is tough, especially if it has treads (slicks are by far easiest). If I were you I would jack the car up and spin the wheel while feeling the tread surface with your hand. If a chord is separated or if it’s de-laminating a bit you may feel it with your hand.

But at the end of the day using the process of elimination always gives great results. Mount up four stock wheel/tire combos and take it for a drive. No vibration, it’s in your aftermarket wheels/tires. Then swap on one wheel/tire combo at a time until you find the combo that is causing the vibration. It should only take you all day.

PS - I realized this AM that the factory retaining rings are still on the studs so I’m going to remove them and reinstall using progressive 30/60/100 torque rates on the lug nuts. Could it be that simple?

Not impossible, but I doubt it. I have seen lots of rims that have a relief for the retainig clip thing so it doesn't wedge between the wheel and rotor.

[slow06gt]

mine has been doin this a little bit every now and then. i hate to say it but if ur wantin to run anything with a low profile, u had better get used to it. but it seems ur running a 40mm profile right? not sure what the deal is there. I know mine really only occurs when the tires are cold or when i'm braking. some ppl have told me before that if u have been hard on the brakes, that the rotors might have a slight indention in them, and thus makin the steering wheel vibrate a little bit. idk if there's any truth to it but i mean it seems feasible. i plan on upgradin to a new set of rotors

[Back@itagain]

Originally Posted by slow06gt

mine has been doin this a little bit every now and then. i hate to say it but if ur wantin to run anything with a low profile, u had better get used to it. but it seems ur running a 40mm profile right? not sure what the deal is there. I know mine really only occurs when the tires are cold or when i'm braking. some ppl have told me before that if u have been hard on the brakes, that the rotors might have a slight indention in them, and thus makin the steering wheel vibrate a little bit. idk if there's any truth to it but i mean it seems feasible. i plan on upgradin to a new set of rotors

just to give you a little hand here, the "40MM" you refer to is not a measurement but an aspect ratio. It is a percentage of the width of tire. In this case it would be 98MM. The "indention" is not an indentation. The rotors are warped and as long as there is enough material left, they may be resurfaced to remove the high spots and stop the pulsations caused when you apply the breaks.

[stangbuff]

Thanks to everyone who responded. Since the originals are on now it makes sense to swap off a wheel at a time and try and isolate the problem one(s). I also contacted the tire dealer and their less than enthusiastic response tells me I'm in for some fun. Thanks again!

[dtuna42]

did you buy road hazard insurance??? is so, have a "blowout".... get them replaced under warranty. It's probably just a bad tire(s), not the whole brand... however, I had similar problem, and it happened at different speeds with different tires, so I always thought it was the tires, until I changed the driveshaft. The factory driveshafts are wobbly, vibrating, rough-rotating pieces of crap... just something else to consider

[livin]

I went through the same problem when I switched from the stock 17" to 20" rims...yes, it was a simple as the factory retaining rings...took them off and the vibration went away.

[stangbuff]

Originally Posted by livin

I went through the same problem when I switched from the stock 17" to 20" rims...yes, it was a simple as the factory retaining rings...took them off and the vibration went away.

Funny you should mention it. I took a closer look at my wheels today and realized there's no relief built in. As a result they don't sit flush; I could see the mark the rings left. Once the weather clears I'll be pulling the rings off and beginning the process of elimination.

[Witchstang]

I had the same problem with Toyos Proxes 4 on my Team Dynamics racing wheels. Thought the wheels were out of balance, but turns out the problem were the Toyos. I put the stock rims w/stock tires back on, no more vibration.