96 850 Turbo

when i test drove the car, on the highway, had no vibrations. i got home, swapped the wheels out for some i had on a previous 850 wagon. now there is a heavy vibration on the highway, between about 45mph and 110mph (after 110, the airflow lifts the body off the suspension enough the vibrations arent felt - like piloting a boat ).

obviously, it must be the wheels. i took the car to get the wheels balanced, and because of the wheel type, they must be 'stick on' or 'static' weights, as in they're on the inside of the rim, since theres no lip on the wheel to attach standard weights. the guy told me both driver side wheels were way off. re-balanced.

not a problem.

however, i get on the highway again (i have a 30min commute to work, at 80mph), the vibration is still there, and might be worse.

question 1) will continued driving with this heavy vibration in the entire dash / steering wheel cause other problems? maybe wearing down the bearings unusually fast, or warping rotors, whatever - ive never really delt with this problem past wheel balancing

question 2) wtf is causing it?

there doesnt seem to be a lighter/heavier vibration with turning or weight distribution, with the highway curves anyways. its not the road, as it a freshly redone stretch.

 

Why not try re-swapping to the original wheels?

My guess is that one of the rims is bent. Did you have the wheels road-force balanced? I bet they weren't. That would tell you if the rim is bent. Standard Balancing alone won't help with a bent wheel. - AB

 

Does the rims have the Center ring in them to make sure the rims are centered on the hub?

 

B1mmer, i never heard of it, thx for the info

tech, i dont think they do, now that i think of it - never thought of it being off center, but it makes sense. i know i have to hold the wheel up off the ground and put the bolt in, then adjust for the others, like rotating the wheel to line up the rest. actually, im almost positive thats it.

i'll put the factory wheels back on - i hope i still have the alignment pin from the rotors >.<


if thats the problem:

a) how would i center the wheel before its mounted? a jack or something? or is there someplace that sells center rings, as ive never heard of a wheel needing one

b) if its not done immediately, would there be bearing / axle / joint damage from the vibrations? i work 51 hours this week, my offtime is spent sleeping / eating - hard to find a spare hour with the wife, let alone car work

 

Most tire shops sell them.
I would try to fix ASAP. It might also make the Dash Tabs break from all the vibration.