sunshineskyler

Hey guys I recently had my wheels re-powdercoated because the paint had started to chip and was causing slow air leaks in my tires. After the place re-did the wheels 3 times to (almost) get it right, there are still issues with the quality but what I'm really concerned about is that I have an erie amount of steering wheel shake when I cruise past 65mph. It comes and it goes between the steering wheel and through the car/my seat depending on the road/speed/angle. It was really bad when I got it back back from the wheel shop but I had them all re-balanced at Discount Tire and it helped, but there definitely still is shaking.

I also have spacers, so the only things I can think of trying is checking to see that they're all torqued down to 80lbs, and making sure the center bores on all the wheels don't have any paint overspray that may be causing the wheels to not be sitting flush with the spacers.

Anyone else have any thoughts on whats causing it? I'm honestly hoping I don't have to deal with the company more than I have to but if they ****ed up any of my wheels and I've got some wheel runout going on I'm going to have a serious problem or they're going to buy me a set of Vossens lol. I tried emailing the dealership but they were no help. They asked if I had the vibration while braking, if it was wheels they couldn't help, and if it was wheel bearings it would make a rumbling sound.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

There was another member not too long ago that had the exact scenario w/ freshly powdercoated wheels. The powdercoating is a very hard shell finish and any uneven buildup around the wheel mating surface can create an off-kilter mount resulting in vibration.
Powdercoating is a bit tough to sand since it's hard but also brittle and can come off in chips rather than just smoothing it down. I'd take off the wheel(s) that you expect to be causing this and really check the mount surface area
for any high points in the paint. If you find some I'd contact the powdercoat shop and see what they recommend for smoothing it down before just attacking the stuff w/ sandpaper.
G/L and post back what you find out for anyone that may have these issues down the road.
Thanks!

Paratrooper

iTrader: (3)

Re balance the wheels, double check the spacers for center and proper torque. What I would do.

Gio37

iTrader: (1)

I would make sure that none of the powdercoat got on the wheel hub spacer contact area.

g/l

GetYourWheels

iTrader: (5)

+1

That is the most likely reason. Make sure the mounting surfaces and centerbore are clear of powdercoat.

If thats not it, it is also possible that the wheel came out of round if it was baked for too long or at the wrong temperature.

sunshineskyler

So I took my car in to Sears today to get the spacers re-torqued and for them to check the center bores out. After talking to an employee and two mechanics, they impact-wrenched away at my wheels and spacers for about an hour, and came back inconclusive to the steering wheel shake (I'm not surprised). First, should I be concerned about my spacers now on top of everything else? I told them to torque them down to 80lbs in the star pattern, the only part they missed was the 'be gentle and use a torque wrench because my smooth ride depends on it' They also told me that my alignment was a bit off. Could that be causing the steering wheel shake? I have yet to get it back to 65mph so I can't determine if the shake is any less severe or not.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Are your spacers hubcentric? Hopefully they are, as flat spacers are much more vibration prone than hubcentrics. Sorry to hear about them bringing out the impact ratchet. I've gotten to the point where I just put my car on jack stands and do my own rotations and wheel mounts. Hopefully the techs used proper torque and care when working on your wheels
If your vibration persists check the mounting surface and hub bores for excess paint or anything uneven.
There's a couple DIY fixes for spacer vibration, just google that one.

sunshineskyler

Well after an alignment and a rebalance on a Road Force balance, no luck. Steering wheel shake still occurred between 65-75mph. Took it back to Discount Tire today and re-explained my situation for them to come to the conclusion that they forgot to sand/buff down the powdercoat in the center bore/centering ring area (possibly only the fronts too?). They showed me the paint had already begun to chip where it was too tight of a fit(that's what she said). After the DT visit, the issue is gone now! I'll probably go back and recheck and sand the center bores myself and set the torque specs to the spacers and wheels myself, but problem solved! It's always the tiniest thing..

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Glad you found the culprit, that's a couple members so far that have had that happen to freshly powdercoated vehicles so it's helpful info for those that may have a similar issue. Hopefully the area where it's chipping won't continue chipping out. I'd try to sand down the edge of the chips so it's not as prone to continue shipping right there.