17's, Directionals..wobble?

rannox · Post by **rannox** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 4:37 pm

So about a month ago, i blew out a tire that was low and got pinched by a curb.

I was low on cash, and found 2 17s (think there konig gtr's or something like that). with tires (225/40/r17's) for $50 on craigslist.

Checked em out, litle curb damage, but other than that, they looked fine.

When i was putting em on, i noticed that one rim had an r, and the other an l. But the tires (which were different brands btw), were facing the wrong direction if i had them matching L to the left and R to the right.

So figured it wouldnt be that bad, and just put em on (so the rim that said L was on the right).

Had em on the front, and the car would shake horribly at anyhting past 50mph.

so i put em on the back, and it seemed to fix the problem.

Just wondering what would have caused the wobble. Are they out of round? possibly bent, or cus they were much bigger than the tires in the back? Or was it just that the rims werent matched to the side they said they should be on? or possibly the tires being different brands...

i dunno, i couldnt figure it out, so i had to ask.

03_SXT · Post by **03_SXT** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 7:44 pm

The markings of L and R were on the tire correct?

If you put a directional tire on the wrong way, it will do weird things. There is a great story about how the tread can rip off, leaving you with a screwed up tire, and f'ed up rim...

They will shake because the tread design is made to go the other direction, and when it rains, you will have very little grip with that wrong facing tire, as all the water will build up under that tire, no direct the water out and away from the tire patch...

Get some proper tires on there, that is the only thing between the car and road...

~Amit

rannox · Post by **rannox** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 8:46 pm

no the rims said L and R, i knew about the directional tire thing, so i made sure they were facing the right direction.

Its just for the left tire to be rotating in the correct direction, it had to be on the rim that said R.

just wondering if thats what caused the wobble or what.

03_SXT · Post by **03_SXT** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:13 pm

If the rim itself said L and R then I would account that for the bad vibrations... Get them on the proper side to see if that helps... if not then they might need balancing...

~Amit

SlvrACR · Post by **SlvrACR** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:43 pm

Most only say that so you have them facing the same way. The actual barrel of the wheel is prob out of round.

rannox · Post by **rannox** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:04 pm

^ thats what i was guessing, since there were only 50$, and for a set of 4 used ones i useually see em for 500+

And they came off of a 240sx that im pretty suer was used for drifting.

latief · Post by **latief** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:15 pm

it does not matter what the direction of the rim is, it is either out-of round (bent) or you have balance issues.....but if the tire is in the wrong direction, it could cause some problems yet most likely premature wear, or noise, vibration means something with your wheel balance is not right ..................

rannox · Post by **rannox** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:23 pm

thanks for the help guys.

At least i got to find out i like 5 spokes on a neon