virtualm Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Hi Guys, First post, great - what a downer. I've been having steering vibration on and off for 2 years in my 2009 Saab 9-3 TTID, originally it was blamed on the Continental tyres (225/45/18), then I swapped all for for Michelin PS2's and all was good for a year, then I replaced with Michelin Pilot Super sport and was getting a very slight vibration over 70mph, which I lived with. Now this weekend, I've swapped my tyres over to Continental TS830p (215/55/16), I had all 4 wheels balanced and they were fine, this morning I've been getting random steering vibration over 60mph, on some roads it is perfect without a problem, on most it was really quiet annoying. The other thing to bear in mind is, in the last 12 months my front brake discs have been replaced twice, garages blaming the problem on the n/s disc being warped. I've also been getting random steering vibration when braking from high speeds. I've had everything checked, suspension, calipers the lot, 2 garages say nothing is wrong. I've had the alignment checked last week and garage said it was fine. Can anybody help please? I'm at my wits end, I think I need the on-car balancing done to rule out the balancing. I live near Chester but am prepared to travel anywhere and pay good money for a quiet life. Otherwise I'm going to ditch the car next year. Thanks guys.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Welcome to wim A few questions..... 1: Are you on OEM wheels 2: Was there a time when everything was ok and then vibration. If yes what happened in-between? 3: Is there any handling issues, namely random pulling left/ right 4: Is there any noise from the engine engine bay like a clicking behind the dash near the steering wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtualm Posted November 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Hi Tony, Thanks for quick response. 1) They are OEM wheels, but they are off a Saab 9-5. Even the original wheels which are OEM 18" have been giving me steering vibrations over 70mph 2) It was vibrating when I first bought the car which had Conti's on it, I then changed to Michelin PS/2 and it was great for a year, then swapped to Michelin Super sport and have had random vibrations. 3) No random pulling to left and right at all. 4) No noise from engine bay at all. No clicking behind dash. As I've started to become obsessed with this I have noticed it is road dependent. This morning I was cruising at 75mph on a 2 hour journey and some roads were fine, otthers were awful. I've been back to my tyre balancer 6 times in the last 3 months, they have the latest hunter equipment. I trust them as they balance Aston Martins, they are really helpful and it's becoming embarrassing as I dont think they can help any more. The last time I was with them for over an hour as they road forced every tyre and the problem still didnt get any better. Surely the problem cant be wheel or tyre related as I'm getting the same symptoms with my summer 18's as well as my winter 16's? I did also drive a Loan Saab 9-3 TTID earlier this year with Conti's on it (same 18's as my summers) and that also suffered from steering vibration over 70mph.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Ok that's cleared a few points...... First up is it reads like wheel balance despite all the times you've had it checked/ done. There's a major flaw in the way wheels are mounted on the balancer and that's the fact the wheels centre hole is cosmetically central! We use this system to mount the wheel by the stud holes This measures the balance in the same mounting configuration as the wheel experiences........ Sad to confess but the French deduced this years ago by making solid centre wheels on most range of cars forcing tyre shops to use a studded mounting method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtualm Posted November 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Thanks Tony, appreciate your time. Any idea why it's fine on some roads and not others? Are some cars more sensitive than others. I've never owned a car that is so sensitive to wheel balancing. I'll try and find a garage that has quick plates, and a beer over to you if this fixes it. Shame your 200miles away :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 I think you'll find different road surfaces amplify/ suppress the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtualm Posted November 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 It's a real pain trying to get somebody to balance with plates, I'm working in Sheffield this week so tried a local garage today... they just think I'm thick and say "oh let's try the normal way first"..or "it's not french why do you need to do that", it's frustrating as I think I know more about balancing and some oiks I've dealt with this week (sorry guys, you know what I mean....) So I gave in and let a garage rebalance the fronts, same problem, and then I asked them to balance the back tyres and rotate front to back. Now I'm only getting vibration at 80mph which is fine for the time being. So I guess the problem is balancing related and I still cant find a decent garage who will listen to me. What is wrong with people, I'm quiet happy to throw money at this if it fixes the problem! Cheers for your time as well Tony. Do you recommend anybody in the Northwest where I live? Do you know if Demon Tweeks have good kit in Wrexham? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 I know it's very frustrating that you have to explain to them all the time........ I'm not sure about DT, but it's worth giving them a call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtualm Posted December 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Hi Tony, So I went to my local trusted garage who balanced all 4 tyres and the weights were about about 120g across the 4 tyres. They have the latest hunter GPS9700 and did a full road force on all 4 tyres. I did ask them to use the plates but they said the centre bore was the best way to balance tyres...comment? I then took the car for a spin and the problem was still there. They swapped fronts to backs and problem is still there. So tonight, I took the car for a spin from cold and kept off the brakes and used the engine to slow the car down. I stopped after 20 minutes of driving and the n/s disc was warm to touch, the o/s disc was cold. Am I onto something with my steering vibration / warped discs? I'm wondering if the problem is related to the caliper. I'm also on my 3rd set of front discs & pads in 12 months. I tell you what though, I'm fed up of this as I cant get anybody local to help find the actual problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickT Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Did you note if the pads were worm down more on the side where you said it was hotter? If they had the (haweka) plates bit didn't use them then why bother? I can imagine that the machines aren't calibrated often either......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Hi Tony, So I went to my local trusted garage who balanced all 4 tyres and the weights were about about 120g across the 4 tyres. They have the latest hunter GPS9700 and did a full road force on all 4 tyres. I did ask them to use the plates but they said the centre bore was the best way to balance tyres...comment? I then took the car for a spin and the problem was still there. They swapped fronts to backs and problem is still there. So tonight, I took the car for a spin from cold and kept off the brakes and used the engine to slow the car down. I stopped after 20 minutes of driving and the n/s disc was warm to touch, the o/s disc was cold. Am I onto something with my steering vibration / warped discs? I'm wondering if the problem is related to the caliper. I'm also on my 3rd set of front discs & pads in 12 months. I tell you what though, I'm fed up of this as I cant get anybody local to help find the actual problem. First up they are talking bollocks about the centre hole but that seems beside the point now. A brake bind will definitely cause vibration. The bind needs to be tested when the brakes are hot but as a clue have a look at the disc and see if it's blued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtualm Posted December 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Cheers Tony, disc isnt blue but definitely warm to touch compared to the n/s. Car is booked into a Saab garage on Wednesday so I hope they find something this time. I'm hoping it's not warped so I dont have to waste yet more money on new discs & pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 I would think the pads are shot that side but who knows for sure until inspected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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