Steering wheel shaking

[C598LS1]

My C5's streeing wheel shakes when hitting speeds above 70mph. I was thikning it needs a front end alignment, but I am not sure if thats really the case, which is why i posted here. A little backgroudn on the car.....its a 98, with 6100 miles on it....garage kept, stored. It doesnt get driven a whole lot b/c I'm in another state for the time being, and I dont have a garage to keep it in here. What could be the problem? Could it be the tires from sitting so long, or that it needs an alignement? You can feel the steering wheel shake side to side while holding it....its not a BAD shake like a jerking....but it definetly shoudl feel smoother than this. Thanks for any info.

 

[cruzer99]

Check the tire balance. Alignment will make the car pull right or left and wear out tires. Balance make the car vibrate and/or steering wheel shake. Also if your car sits for long periods the tire can get a temp flat spot which will cause a shake but shoud go away once the tires warm up.

 

[C598LS1]

I think the car does pull a bit, but I need to verify that again....maybe I should just get an alignment and tire balance at once? Where should i take the car....to the dealership or elsewhere? I dont want it to get mutilated. The car does sit for longer periods, since for the time being, I'm out of town for months on end. I wish I had more of an opportunity to drive the vehicle more.

 

[VAmagred01]

Just as "cruzer82" mentioned, it's more than likely your balance or your tires have developed a flat spot from sitting too long. If the steering wheel shakes side-to-side, one or both of your front tires needs rebalancing. If it shakes up and down then one or both of your rears needs rebalancing. If your car is going to sit for sometime, back it out of the garage (or have someone do it for you) and reposition it at least once or twice a month.

Hope this helps,
Kenny

 

[cruzer99]

My personal preference is to take it to a frontend/tire shop that specialize in what you want done and what type of car.
But that's just me.......

 

[C598LS1]

Thanks for the input guys. I will get them rebalanced and see what happens...but should I trust the dealership to do it, or should i take it somewhere else?

 

[Gorgon]

Also check your tire pressures. The tires could be a little low on air from sitting for periods of time. Because these tires are soft to begin with temporary flat spots will develop that should work their way out as the tire warms up as said before. If the pressure in the tires is low this will accentuate these flat spots.

As to the pulling, the tires on these cars are wide and will track in road ruts easier than thinner tires. This will make it feel like there is an alignment problem when there possibley isn't.

To be safe though I would do both an alignment and balance if the alignment hasn't been done in a while. A four-wheel alignment should run around $80, extra for a balance. A small price to pay to save the lives of these expensive tires.

Leon

 

[Tuna]

Just a thought - if the tires are 'flat spotting' from sitting for a long time, they should round themselves out after warming up - 10 minutes of driving, maybe less.

Or do you get this vibration all the time, even after an appropriate warm up time?

 

[C598LS1]

I drove the car all day this past Sunday. The steering wheel was vibrating side to side with speeds in excess of 70mph. This also happened a couple weeks before that, when I took it out on the NJ Turnpike to "excercise" and got her to 110mph. The tire pressure is right where it should be.

 

[Tuna]

Then it's time to see your friendly tire and alignment shop. I'm betting that you've lost a wheel weight or 2.

 

[cruzer99]

Yea.......and stay out of Jersey.........:L :L

 

[C598LS1]

Then it's time to see your friendly tire and alignment shop. I'm betting that you've lost a wheel weight or 2.

I guess I'll be doing that then real soon....but what if I didnt loose any wheel weights? Sorry for the ignorance, I just want to make sure I keep the car in its prime mechanical/structural condition

Yea.......and stay out of Jersey.........

LMAO!!! Yea, its hard to....since I was born and raised there...PA is alot calmer, people are nicer and more honest, and its not as congested and dirty......but its a love/hate relationship....Jersey has the beaches, the social hangouts, and things to DO....and the city is next door, 45min from where North Brunswick.

Either way, I have a guy up here in PA that has a really good rep for doing the job right the first time at a tire/alignment shop. I could always drive the car up here and have him to the whole thing....he did my daily driver 86 Trans Am and since then, the tires never wore, and the car has been straight...I cant stress enough how many shops in NJ that i've been to that didnt thouroghly go through like this guy did. And he works at an A&A Auto Parts Store garage. I'd prefer to do the work in NJ if i could, but like most of us Vette owners, I'm extremely meticulous with the car, and very very very cautious and careful. I trust virtually no one with my vehicles....especially the C5. Anyway, thanks for the help and if anyone has any more suggestions, beilieve me, I wouldnt mind. Thanks.

 

[Gorgon]

If you spend any time driving in Jersey with the Vette that's the problem. Those Jersey Circles can be a bear on alignments. :L

Leon

 

[C598LS1]

Those Jersey Circles can be a bear on alignments.

LMAO

 

[torchred]

I just replaced my wheels with Z06 replicas and after having Big-O put them on I was getting horrible steering wheel shakes (left to right)... needless to say, the wheels were way out of balance. The second tire shop I took it to said Big-O only did a static balance which balances the wheel with the other wheel on the same side of the car. They redid the balance with a dynamic balance to balance side to side or across (can't remember what he said exactly) and my vibration disappeared. I was only seeing the steering wheel vibration from like 70 MPH to 90 MPH then it would get better, after the balance there is no more vibration.

Matt

 

[C598LS1]

There is a "god" of sorts up here in PA that I know of that does front end alignments/balancing....I will be taking it to him to do the work, because I really cant trust any other shop. He did my 86 Trans Am, and since then, I havent had any problems with it.