Larger Tires or Stronger Sidewall? -------- (DW Related)
10-12-2011, 03:23 PM
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Larger Tires or Stronger Sidewall? -------- (DW Related)
Because of DW, I have to replace my ball joints. I ordered them and they're on their way. Also on the way is a track bar brace to prevent any possible ovaling. Once I install my newly needed ball joints, I am going to correct the caster on my Jeep (3.5" lift). I would do the caster now but the measurement won't be precise if the ball joints are bad....
Anyway, assuming the new ball joints, caster adjustment, and track bar brace (I have the teraflex monster forged), do not settle my wheel shimmy, which leads to DW on rare occassions.... Think tires can be a culprit?
On my 2" BB I had no problems. Ran BFG A/T 33x12.50 tires. Once I put the coil lift on, DW emerged. Now it's primarily just a wheel shimmy after upgrading to a beefy track bar. I'm sure I have damaged components because of it, hence the ball joints. Anyway, I've heard that the stronger sidewall of tires may help wheel shimmy and DW issues as they are heavier. I've also heard that going bigger than 33's may be a necessity because the larger tires help with the amount of play/flex in the higher lift. I don't know. This tire thing confuses me. So....
Question:
1) Can tires be a culprit of a DW problem? If so, how come?
2) Although I am still running my same tires from my BB, on my new lift, can they still be a probable cause of the wheel shimmy and sometimes rare DW? If so, how come?
3) What's the solution if tires are playing a part in my wheel shimmy and DW issues? When upgrading is it the side of the tire and/or the sidewall rating that will help correct the issue?
Thanks!
PS: For those who don't know, I've dealt with DW before. I know what it feels like. Right now I'm just getting wheel shimmies. One of them did almost go into DW, but I lowered my JK's speed. And, in general, I'm sure the issues now are just from damaged components and bad caster from beforehand. But, I do need new tires soon as mine are balding and so I'm looking into new ones. Either BFG A/T 295/75/R16 or 35x11.50R15.
Again, Thank you!
Anyway, assuming the new ball joints, caster adjustment, and track bar brace (I have the teraflex monster forged), do not settle my wheel shimmy, which leads to DW on rare occassions.... Think tires can be a culprit?
On my 2" BB I had no problems. Ran BFG A/T 33x12.50 tires. Once I put the coil lift on, DW emerged. Now it's primarily just a wheel shimmy after upgrading to a beefy track bar. I'm sure I have damaged components because of it, hence the ball joints. Anyway, I've heard that the stronger sidewall of tires may help wheel shimmy and DW issues as they are heavier. I've also heard that going bigger than 33's may be a necessity because the larger tires help with the amount of play/flex in the higher lift. I don't know. This tire thing confuses me. So....
Question:
1) Can tires be a culprit of a DW problem? If so, how come?
2) Although I am still running my same tires from my BB, on my new lift, can they still be a probable cause of the wheel shimmy and sometimes rare DW? If so, how come?
3) What's the solution if tires are playing a part in my wheel shimmy and DW issues? When upgrading is it the side of the tire and/or the sidewall rating that will help correct the issue?
Thanks!
PS: For those who don't know, I've dealt with DW before. I know what it feels like. Right now I'm just getting wheel shimmies. One of them did almost go into DW, but I lowered my JK's speed. And, in general, I'm sure the issues now are just from damaged components and bad caster from beforehand. But, I do need new tires soon as mine are balding and so I'm looking into new ones. Either BFG A/T 295/75/R16 or 35x11.50R15.
Again, Thank you!
10-12-2011, 03:56 PM
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My dw
My dw started just after i rotated my tires. My tires that were on the rear were really worn and cupping and i moved them to the front to get more wear out of the other tires. Dw started right after my rotate. Found out track bar bolts were lose and steering stablizier was bad so got those fixed and still had a small shake in the steering wheel so had the tires balanced and found out my worn tires are really out of balance. So moved them to the back again and the shake in the steering wheel went away. So until i can afford new tires they will still on the back. If you have dw concerns search for planman he has some good write ups on the issue.
10-12-2011, 04:08 PM
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My dw started just after i rotated my tires. My tires that were on the rear were really worn and cupping and i moved them to the front to get more wear out of the other tires. Dw started right after my rotate. Found out track bar bolts were lose and steering stablizier was bad so got those fixed and still had a small shake in the steering wheel so had the tires balanced and found out my worn tires are really out of balance. So moved them to the back again and the shake in the steering wheel went away. So until i can afford new tires they will still on the back. If you have dw concerns search for planman he has some good write ups on the issue.
Drag link and trackbar are perfectly parallel. Really no reason for a flip. So if these fixtures don't help, then because I need new tires in the future, I'm really trying to dig up some info on how tires can be a culprit of DW? Especially how they can be from a 2"BB to a 3.5" lift change?
Again, thanks!
10-12-2011, 11:00 PM
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RN M OVR,
Your tires would not be a source of DW, but they can be a trigger, or they can cause non-DW shimmies/wobbles when unbalanced or if they have a bad wear pattern.
Tire tread compounds tend to be softer at the lug edges and get harder as they wear down. This is one reason that mud terrain tires get louder as they wear down. It is also the reason why feathered, cupped, and/or uneven treadwear can cause shimmy or wobble problems.
I have a local acquaintance who chased his tail with DW on his JK until he finally inspected and fixed everything at once. Afterwards, he still had a speed dependent shimmy/wobble that was pretty bad. When I finally had a chance to look closely at the rig, I could see that the tires were severely feathered from wobbles and a bad alignment. The variation of softer and harder rubber compounds from the feathered lugs were the source of his remaining problem. He bought new tires, and the problem went away.
Read the DW thread linked in my signature. It explains DW.
If you maintain your rig and re-torque your front trackbar and control arm bolts at every oil change interval and after every major offroading trip, you dramatically reduce the probability that you would ever experience DW.
If you want to reduce the probability even more, you could replace your trackbar bolts with grade 8, 9/16" bolts.
Your tires would not be a source of DW, but they can be a trigger, or they can cause non-DW shimmies/wobbles when unbalanced or if they have a bad wear pattern.
Tire tread compounds tend to be softer at the lug edges and get harder as they wear down. This is one reason that mud terrain tires get louder as they wear down. It is also the reason why feathered, cupped, and/or uneven treadwear can cause shimmy or wobble problems.
I have a local acquaintance who chased his tail with DW on his JK until he finally inspected and fixed everything at once. Afterwards, he still had a speed dependent shimmy/wobble that was pretty bad. When I finally had a chance to look closely at the rig, I could see that the tires were severely feathered from wobbles and a bad alignment. The variation of softer and harder rubber compounds from the feathered lugs were the source of his remaining problem. He bought new tires, and the problem went away.
Read the DW thread linked in my signature. It explains DW.
If you maintain your rig and re-torque your front trackbar and control arm bolts at every oil change interval and after every major offroading trip, you dramatically reduce the probability that you would ever experience DW.
If you want to reduce the probability even more, you could replace your trackbar bolts with grade 8, 9/16" bolts.
The alignment shop will do my caster, but they said I should wait until I repair my ball joints, which I plan to do this weekend. With a 3.5" lift on 33" tires, what should my new caster roughly read out to?
Thanks once again!