OEM wheels and tires Question

[Rocket Man]

I've been experiencing difficulty in balancing the wheels on my 2003 300A MM. I am the second owner of the car, and have had to get two of the original OEM wheels straightened because they were beyond balancing machine tolerances. I'm on the second set of BFG's, and have tried no fewer than four different tire shops to try to get the vibration and hum out of the rear end. I was told that the tires are sometimes inherently hard to balance, and often have "hard spots" that just can't be balanced out.

Has anyone else experienced problems like these, or maybe could offer suggestions? This is too nice a car to drive around being dissatisfied with because of a balance issue. I'd really appreciate your thoughts and ideas.

Happy New Year to the MM community!

Rocket Man
Keller, TX

[gdmjoe]

The tire shops should be able to tell you if there is run-out (often indicates a bent / aschew rim) and/or whether or not the tires have "hard spots" (casting flaws) since there will be a LARGE amount of weight on a section (or sections) of the rim.

So ... Have the rims been checked for run-out ?

BTW ... You indicate that the hum / vibration is from the rear; Have you had the wheel bearing checked ? *This is a known axle/bearing problem with a TSB.

BTW (2) ... Went with the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW NT for my last set of tires; required a total of ¾ oz of wheel weights for all 4 (2 didn't require any weight, ¼ oz on one, and ½ oz on the other).

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

Have them done on a Hunter Road force machine. That will tell you tire and wheel run out w/ your balance. But yeah it sounds like you have rear end problems, not wheel balance problems.

[hippys04rauder]

looking to replace tires i found a deal on 225/40/18 fronts 255/45/18 rear will these work ? what about t/c@ abs

oh yea I am a new owner of a dtr /light flint thanks Hippy:help:

[Bluerauder]

looking to replace tires i found a deal on 225/40/18 fronts 255/45/18 rear will these work ? what about t/c@ abs

oh yea I am a new owner of a dtr /light flint thanks Hippy:help:

I don't think that combination will work. Rear diameter will be ~ 84.93" and fronts will be ~ 78.81". Ratio Rear/Front will be 7.8% and exceeds the OEM ratio of 5%. That's a 60% difference and will probably be detected by the computer. I say it would be marginal (maybe-maybe not -- but I think it will be a NOT) as to any effect on Traction Control and ABS.

From what I have seen in Mike's/Breadfan's tire matrix, the acceptable R/F ratio must be between 2% and 6% to avoid T/C issues (assuming you have traction control).

Here's a link to Mike/Breadfan's Tire Thread. It contains a link to his "Tire Matrix" >>>> http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=26999

[MM2004]

2004 = T/C.

;)

Mike.

[Bluerauder]

2004 = T/C.

;)

Mike.
I missed the DTR part. So yes, he has a 2004 DTR with T/C. :o

[Vortech347]

OEM BFG's suck ass in every field, balance is one of them.

[rayjay]

I've had tires on other vehicles that needed to be warm before they would balance correctly. This includes my Aveo. I needed to warm up the Cooper snows for them to balance correctly. Is this what the roadforce balancer does, warms up the tire?

[stangracr]

Take the car to the dealer and make sure they have a road force balancer and pay to have them road matched. It will work wonders. Promise you will be happy if you have no other issues. It measures the runout of the wheel and the tire then tells you how to move the tire so that the tire on the wheel is the best it can be with the least runout.



ed

[Vortech347]

I do agree with the road force. Normal tire shops just don't do it right, everytime I take my car to the dealer for balancing it comes back super smooth.