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Bye Bye Wobble!

2K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  alkt 
#1 ·
For what it's worth, this weekend I made my long-anticipated trek to my wife's uncle's Firestone place. The mechanic he had work on my car immediately said "excess camber on the rear left and excess toe in on the rear right." He shimmed it and I had 4 new tires put on in the process. The ride is as smooth as glass and I pray it stays that way. I was going 85 (all traffic was since both I-10 -thanks Katrina- and I-20's traffic are now using I-20).

He put on some cheap tires I've never heard of but hey, I had on Kuhmos anyway. They are Federal SS-535's. They are neat in that they have a bulge around the rim so that if they hit a curb, you don't get curb rash on the alloys. They are much more agressively styled than the Kuhmo Ecsta 711's I had and the ride and handling are transformed. This is the first time since doing up the rear bars that I have had a shimmy free ride and w/ the new tires and proper alignment the car turns in so quick I feel like it's going to tip over.
 
#2 ·
Federal SS 535 tires??

never heard of 'em...
How is their noise ?
and the size.
The alignment should not correct any shimmy, but new tires can - maybe one of the Kuhmos was a bummer....
But this is good news !
 
#7 ·
Well, I showed up and my wife's uncle gave me the opinion he couldn't fix it. But then when he and one of his mechanics got it up on the lift and looked at the hubs, they just said "Oh, that'll just take standard shims!" The mechanic ran to the parts room and came back w/ the shims. I didn't get a good look at them though.

I was just happen they didn't say anything about my clamped together rear bars. :cheesy:

I don't know how they'll be in the wet b/c it's still quite hot here and dry...in my part of the state at least :eek:
 
#9 ·
I had some federal tires on my 95 jeep grand cherokee, and when i got them i had never heard of them either. But they were good tires, not too loud and stopped well in the rain (i had this car in seattle where it rains 96% of the time). As far as quality, they are good tires for the price IMO.
 
#10 ·
bkrell said:
But then when he and one of his mechanics got it up on the lift and looked at the hubs, they just said "Oh, that'll just take standard shims!" The mechanic ran to the parts room and came back w/ the shims.
because the hub bolts onto a flat vertical face, slackening off the hub and sliding appropriate thickness shim is easy on these cars, the alignment tool is expensive though, you can even cut up a beer can and use that as the shim if you wish.
 
#11 ·
bkrell said:
Well, I showed up and my wife's uncle gave me the opinion he couldn't fix it. But then when he and one of his mechanics got it up on the lift and looked at the hubs, they just said "Oh, that'll just take standard shims!" The mechanic ran to the parts room and came back w/ the shims. I didn't get a good look at them though.

Brian ... the all important question for those of us without relatives with garages ...

What would it cost to have this done (providing we find someone who can do it) and how long did it take?
 
#12 ·
Well, I was hoping to get a deal, but I didn't. Even though I was assured I was getting a deal...;oops:


All total I paid $425.00 but that also included 4 new tires. That and the fact that I really believe the guy mounting and balancing the new tires seemed to have been living in another dimension where time moves much slower. I'd never seen someone move so slow. Perhaps I am not used to quality work, though, as he did take several precautions to make sure he didn't damage the wheels. I have a receipt somewhere where it is broken down. I'll try to find it in a sec.
 
#13 ·
Seems the labor for the shims was $55 (I guess 1 hr labor) and the shims themselves were $10. Then I had to pay for alignment (don't know if that was for the rear or for the front) $39.99.

Then, I had 4 tires @ $60 each (funny, someone had told me they'd get them for $30) and mounting and balancing of each tire. Then about $40 in taxes plus $11 for some other parts which I can't make out on the receipt.

So having a relative didn't really help. Although he did get me in and out of their quick and I didn't have to leave my car.
 
#15 ·
I don't know. But, and I've been meaning to get to this, let me tell you: This alignment w/ new tires has made as much of a difference in the handling of my car as any rear bar upgrade did. The car turns so effortlessly now it is unreal. I always feel like I am just barely turning the wheel and it just goes. Whatever was wrong w/ the rear, it must have REALLY screwed up my handling and cornering. It's DRASTIC. It's as if I am driving a different, newer car. I would have never thought suspension geometry could be THAT important for just everyday driving, but... Before, when I got up to 85 mph or so in passing situations, I couldn't wait to bleed off some speed. Now I have to make sure that I have cruise on or I am doing 85 and not even realizing it.
 
#18 ·
bkrell said:
Well, I don't know. I think that the mechanic at the unc's shop just got the manufacturer's specs out of a repair shop manual. I suppose I could call.
You didn't get a print out of the before and after results?
Sorry ... even my local Goodyear gives those out and they are not known for being a suspension specialty shop ...

Grabs coat and hits the street running!:cheesy:
 
#20 ·
Hi all,

Just to share my story here. I bought a set of second hand 17" rims from a fellow SAABer for about 150 quids, respray and repairs costs another 75 quids.

Immediately after i collected my repaired rims, i fitted in Hankook RS2 which burns my wallet for another 270 quids. This 1st shop couldn't balance my wheels properly that's why i'm getting wobble when i ran at 80-90km/h.

But today all the wobble has gone, i went to another shop and they re-balance my wheels and i didn't ask for alignment though. Felt so much better now, smooth all the way:cheesy:

By the way, i'm from KL Malaysia and they don't charge hourly labour here:D
 
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