Aftermarket Tires steering wheel shake vs vibration

[serbiansizzle]

Went with a 17inch wheel and tire set from Discount tire on Friday. I stayed with some Toyo AT3s, but this time went with a 285/ 70/17 SL rated tire. When I got it done on Friday, there were some pretty noticble vibrations in the cabin of the vehicle where they clearly did not properly balance the wheels and tires. I went back today to get them to fix that, and they did, no questions asked.

The other thing I am now noticing that there is an increase in buzzing/high frequency feel in the steering wheel - its feel like you can feel the road surface through the steering wheel, if that makes sense. There is no movement back and forth anymore. The new ATs are a little louder than the stockers as they probably use a slightly harder compound and also have a deeper thread pattern, but I was curious if others noticed the same thing when changing out wheels/tires on their vehicles.


Updating this original post:

There is still a vibration in the cabin over 70mph. The seats are shaking and there is an uptick in steering wheel vibration - it’s a very quick movement. Not really something that would be enjoyable over longer drives.

 

[cilles]

What wheel size did you have before? If you had 18's why go to 17's? If you had 20's then I can understand.

 

[nonamex]

Went with a 17inch wheel and tire set from Discount tire on Friday. I stayed with some Toyo AT3s, but this time went with a 285/ 70/17 SL rated tire. When I got it done on Friday, there were some pretty noticble vibrations in the cabin of the vehicle where they clearly did not properly balance the wheels and tires. I went back today to get them to fix that, and they did, no questions asked.

The other thing I am now noticing that there is an increase in buzzing/high frequency feel in the steering wheel - its feel like you can feel the road surface through the steering wheel, if that makes sense. There is no movement back and forth anymore. The new ATs are a little louder than the stockers as they probably use a slightly harder compound and also have a deeper thread pattern, but I was curious if others noticed the same thing when changing out wheels/tires on their vehicles.

For better or for worse, there is definitely a change going from OEM tires. Certainly more road noise from the tires. The ride is probably stiffer as well. Did you get an alignment after getting new wheels and tires?

 

[serbiansizzle]

For better or for worse, there is definitely a change going from OEM tires. Certainly more road noise from the tires. The ride is probably stiffer as well. Did you get an alignment after getting new wheels and tires?

I figured it must be related to more of the road feel being transferred into the cabin. I can't remember experiencing this with my Tundra where I did have some ATs, but to the fair, the Tundra was loud all around so any small driveline changes to a much quieter Lexus are probably exaggerated more here.

I did not get an alignment yet. Had the wheels/tires installed on Friday and just got the rebalancing done today. Wanted to get this taken care of and drive for a couple of days before alignment.

 

[serbiansizzle]

What wheel size did you have before? If you had 18's why go to 17's? If you had 20's then I can understand.

I had the OEM 18s. Its been confirmed that the stock tires are made specifically for this vehicle to reduce weight, noise, and have a short life span.

17s provided a way to save some unsprung weight by going with a lighter and wider wheel + a much better selection of SL rated tires. I don't need a C/D/LT load tire to add more weight and stiffness based on what I use this vehicle for. This set up was overall lighter than OEM, with more sidewall, and still fits into the spare location.

 

[incognito.gx]

Sub’d for resolution. Feel like your new setup just magnified the normal ride quality of these trucks.

 

[munkeeboi]

What's your tire pressure?

 

[serbiansizzle]

What's your tire pressure?

35 psi

 

[serbiansizzle]

Sub’d for resolution. Feel like your new setup just magnified the normal ride quality of these trucks.

Yeah that’s almost what I am thinking. You can feel the road surface through the steering wheel more, that’s for sure.

 

[serbiansizzle]

For those of you following, just a quick update.

Discount Tire has been good to work with; they have been able to get me in quickly to troubleshoot the issues, but I am still having issues at high speeds with the cabin shaking.

Thus far, this is what we've done:

• Monday: rebalanced the wheels and tires on Monday - this did reduce the issue slightly
• took a look at the tires again they confirmed that they are balanced. Next up was replacing the lug nuts
• The problem still persisted where there is a buzzing feeling in the steering wheel at lower speeds, and the cabin shakes at higher speeds. The person at DT said that it may just be related to the tires themselves - we ordered some Falken Wildpeak to see if this issue persists. Tires should be here tomorrow (5/21)
• If the tires don't fix it, I did order some hub-centric rings for the Lexus to see if that will fix the problem, as these wheels, similar to Methods are lug-centric wheels.
• Last stop would be to order another set of wheels - may look at some Methods next.
• If that doesn't fix it, then we are going back to stock for a while : (

 

[jclaffee]

This is just weird. I'd think that going from 18s to 17s would, if anything, have the opposit effect and make the ride smoother. Unless the OEM tires are some really strange custom spec to hide the truck's ride issues. But that doesn't seem plausible.

Please keep us posted.

 

[serbiansizzle]

This is just weird. I'd think that going from 18s to 17s would, if anything, have the opposit effect and make the ride smoother. Unless the OEM tires are some really strange custom spec to hide the truck's ride issues. But that doesn't seem plausible.

Please keep us posted.

Agreed. Something certainly isn’t adding up. A lot of examples of Landcruisers and GXs upgrading wheels and tires, even going 35s, and the most common complaints is additional tire noise and decrease in mpg.

 

[nonamex]

Very strange to hear about your issues. Vibration can occur when a suspension has been modified but not when just tires and wheels have been changed. I'm guessing it might be the wheels that are causing the vibration. Guess you'll find out soon enough.

 

[nartmot]

Was it a road force balance or just a regular balance? Its generally recommended to get an alignment after changing tires as it will prolong the life of your tires. Changing the offset of your wheels significantly can also necessitate alignment due to the increase scrub radius. I think at a minimum get your alignment checked and then report back.

 

[nonamex]

I agree that an alignment is needed at this point. My ride was terrible after changing the suspension. Only after an alignment did it ride like OEM.

 

[incognito.gx]

This is just weird. I'd think that going from 18s to 17s would, if anything, have the opposit effect and make the ride smoother. Unless the OEM tires are some really strange custom spec to hide the truck's ride issues. But that doesn't seem plausible.

Please keep us posted.

Aren’t these a custom Passenger (P rated) version of the Toyo Open Country AT3s though? If anything they should ride softer

 

[serbiansizzle]

Was it a road force balance or just a regular balance? It’s generally recommended to get an alignment after changing tires as it will prolong the life of your tires. Changing the offset of your wheels significantly can also necessitate alignment due to the increase scrub radius. I think at a minimum get your alignment checked and then report back.

It was road forced balanced. The offset is more aggressive. The wheels are a +18.

 

[serbiansizzle]

Aren’t these a custom Passenger (P rated) version of the Toyo Open Country AT3s though? If anything they should ride softer

The OEMs make less noise but i don’t think there is a discernible difference between the OEM and SL rated tire in the ride quality. At least it wasn’t noticeable to me around town the when vibration was more subdued.

 

[nartmot]

It was road forced balanced. The offset is more aggressive. The wheels are a +18.

Yeap. Get that alignment before throwing any more money at the problem dude. A lot cheaper than new wheels, and/or new tires.

 

[serbiansizzle]

Very strange to hear about your issues. Vibration can occur when a suspension has been modified but not when just tires and wheels have been changed. I'm guessing it might be the wheels that are causing the vibration. Guess you'll find out soon enough.

Yeap. Get that alignment before throwing any more money at the problem dude. A lot cheaper than new wheels, and/or new tires.

Sounds good. Made an alignment appointment for Friday.