Why Do My Tires Cause My Car To Shake And Wobble?

Blog 11 January 2017 Why do my Tires Cause my Car to Shake and Wobble? | Penney Auto Body & Glass Vancouver

Tires are very consistent. They will wobble at the same speed every time, whether you're driving at a constant speed, braking, or accelerating.

Do this First: Check for Cupping and Flat SpotsHow to Test for Cupping:The simplest test is to run your hand along the surface of the tire where you can feel the rubber. Make sure you don't have steel cords on the tire so you don't cut your hands. If the tire is flat, that’s good. If you feel small waves, you have cupping. Look along the edges of the tire, you will see that one tread block is raised, and the row after that is most likely smoothed out, and the row after that is raised again. Cupping can be caused by alignment problems or inherent vehicle design issues. If this type of wear shows up on the rear of your front wheel drive car, the only way to correct it is to have a four wheel alignment done to your car. You can put new tires on it, but unless you have the rear of the vehicle aligned, it will just be a matter of time before the new tires are cupped also.How to Test for Flat Spots:Flat spots are caused by locking up the brakes. This is not usually a problem if you have anti-lock brakes, but if you've had to stand on the brakes for any reason and had them lock up, you can have flat spots on your tires in no time. If you've locked the brakes, and slid a long way, you will definitely have flat spots. Simply run you hand along the tire again, making sure to turn the tire, (so that you don't miss any part). A flat spot is simply one spot on the tire that has been shaved off, (or flattened). You can feel the flatness it with your hand, or if you spin the tire, there will be an obvious dip when it gets to that spot. If it's not too bad, you can sometimes rotate the tires, since the front tires will usually be worse than the back. If not, the flat spotted tires will have to be replaced.Your Car Shakes and Wobbles At 40 to 50 kilometres per hour:If your vehicle wobbles at 40 to 50, go directly to your auto body shop. The wobbling is most likely caused by a separated tire. Separated tires are a very serious safety issue, and must be dealt with immediately, since it's just a matter of time before the tire blows. A tire failure of this type almost always causes damage to the vehicle. Do not put this off.To test for this, simply drive the vehicle for a short distance at 40 to 50km. If the bad tire is in the front, the steering will rock back and forth, if it's in the rear, the rear of the car will wobble in a similar manner. If you can find out which tire is separating, it may be best to put the spare on right then and there. The tire with the problem will have a bump along the tread surface which is visible, or you can feel it with you hand. If you use the hand test, the tire should be consistent except for the place where the separation is, which will be twisted, usually with part of the tread pushing away from the tire.Your Car Shakes and Wobbles at 70 to 80 kilometres and over per hour:The most common cause of shaking at this speed range is a bent wheel or a poorly shaped tire. Transmission and drive line issues can also show up in this range, but tires are the first thing you should check. You can usually see the wobble in the tire/wheel assembly if you put it on the balancer. In many cases, the tire can be better matched and the wobble can be eliminated. If that doesn't work, the problem tire or wheel should be replaced. If the tires and wheels spin true and you still have a problem, then you should have a professional look at your car.

Penney Auto Body & Glass, Vancouver’s Auto Body Collision Repair Shop, is an expert in paint and body repair and cares about the welfare of your car and your personal safety. If you get involved in an automotive accident or you're a victim of a vehicle break-in or theft be sure to contact Penney Auto Body for your auto body, collision repair, and car painting services.

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