Need Help! Bigger Tires?

[DragBean]

I got to raise the front end up still and make sure the tires don't have a jacked up sway (as in I jacked the car p and free spun the wheel and could see a visible sway).

Both reaer ends had this, 1/8 to 1/2 lateral sway result in significant vibes at 60 yo 75 mph. And the tires were abnormally hot upon just checking.

So i'm thinking if I fix everything I should achieve record mpgs with the DragBean (especially since the new tires were Noise reducing and narrower width).

[DragBean]

Thisis unfortunately turning into a money pit instead of a saving mond.

Maybe because the rims from the self installation bent them.

Or maybe beause I did not use a torque wrench to mount my wheels.
...
All I know is I have to fix this so I can prove that narrower tires and bigger tires to reduce drivetrain RPMS works...

[aardvarcus]

I don't think the lack of using a torque wrench would have warped your rims. Not many people actually use a torque wrench to install the wheels. Most shops just throw the impact to them. I like to finish mine by hand with a socked/ratchet, then drive the car forward and backwards a bit, and then re-tighten them.

You mentioned you mounted your wheels and tires yourself, but did you have them balanced? I usually take my loose wheels and tires to a tire shop and have them mount and balance them for me. Usually they don't charge as much if you bring them in loose and if you take the old tires with you.

Don't get frustrated by the setbacks, use them as a learning experience. Ninety percent of everything I know about cars is related to a prior bad experience and my desire to get things fixed correctly. I know that is easier to say after the fact than in the moment, but we have all been there.

[DragBean]

So I've figured out if you got a warped hub and put good rims on the warped hub, it will warp the rims.

While I was driving on a long 700 mile round trip for work I stopped at a junkyard real quick and pick two good wheels for $20. I spun the wheels on the back hub of the car I picked them from and they had no whirl or anything.

After about 50 miles of driving with the new wheels the vibrations came back.

The same thing happens if you put bad rims on a good hub.

I'm kinda assuming the brake drums are bad too.

Basically any warp is contagious.

I havn't tried rotating the wheels 1 or 2 lug nuts on their perspective hubs yet, maybe that would hopefully fix the problem, but I think I have to replace everything to realistically fix the problem. (I can probably get the brake drums turned though).

So now I'm dealing with basically two badly warped hubs in the back, 4 bent rims (including the two picked ones), one of my front tires got slashed, the lug nut on one of the front hubs gaulded and snapped off, and so now I'm going to have to replace that too.

I think the best way to deal with this is to just replace all 4 bearing, hub, and rim assemblies with picked parts and hope the picked parts are good.

The car already has almost 250K miles on it, so the other thing to do would be just to drive it until it gets really bad or the engine dies. This option is a little more dangerous because the handling is not going to be right.

Another question is, how much worse gas mileage do you get from warped hubs? I'm getting about 35 mpg right now, down from 40 with the wider tires. Hopefully it doesn't get worse. I'm pretty certain the warped hubs and tires can be blamed for this nearly 15% drop.

[CapriRacer]

DragBean,

First, you need to find out who has a Hunter GSP9700 Road Force balancer - and make sure they know how to measure a bare wheel.

Second, I don't think a warped hub will CAUSE a warped wheel, but a warped hub will wear a tire irregularly - which will behave like a warped wheel.

[Piotrsko]

my $0.02 FWIW: #1 tires don't get hot unless they are driven hard or for long trips at low pressures, or the vehicle is driving sideways.

#2 take off the wheels and MEASURE hub wobble on ALL the hubs. for this purpose, any measurement method will do as long as it is consistent. straight stiff sticks, last word gauges...... whatever. I can't see how all 4 can be thrashed unless you off road A LOT, or slam into curbs daily accident or not. if they all measure the same, your measurement system is garbage. 0.060" or 3mm is kinda OK for now, specifications should be about half that at the rim edge.

#3 if the hubs wobble, you either have bad bearings or warped hub. NOT TO WORRY. bad bearings you'll hear, bent hub can be shimmed temporarily for testing

which ever hub is the least wobble, mount the rims and check wobble one at a time. 3 lug nuts should be sufficient but use all 5. Torque them tight. if they are all consistent see #2 above.

Take the rim off and rotate it about 180 degrees. if the wobble got better, mark this position for later. if the wobble got worse, you have a bent rim which is very possible. measure best wobble write done that number. standard 1/2 inch Home Depot washers are either 0.060" or 0.030. stack the appropriate thickness on the hub at the point of least wobble. install and tighten down the wheel. wobble should mostly go away. If it got worse, mount washers on other side of hub studs 180 degrees from where they were.

report these findings. we'll go from there. it is a PITA, but will give usable data .

[DragBean]

No noticeable improvements besides for one occasion when I was transporting 400 lbs in the car on the highway and I got one of the best tanks ever.
Maybe the slight lift the wheels did negated any gains the transmission might have had?