Ugh - well i put the b7 wheels on my car and it started to vibrate around 70-75mph, so I started the hunt for the cause.

They were balanced when put onto the car from local tuner shop first. Then I noticed the vibration. Took it to get aligned thinking that it could help ( when i know in reality it wouldn't do the trick ) and they told me they couldnt do it due to play in the bad tie rod end. Ok, so i replaced the TRE's. Got it aligned yesterday, which helped the vibration a little bit, but it's still present.

Should I get them re-balanced after the alignment? Could an alignment throw off the balance of the wheels? 2 of the 4 tires are brand new, the other two are fairly new also. Rims are NOT bent either.

Also, when i did the tie rod ends, there was 0 play in the control arms. The spindle was pretty solid.

any thoughts?

 

the only things I can tell you are probably things you already know

quattro is VERY sensitive to slight differences in the wheels/tires. any corner that is slightly out of balance, difference in tread wear/pattern CAN possibly cause issues.

as a general rule, if you feel the vibration in your hands/through the steering wheel your problem is on the front axle. if you feel the vibration in your backside the problem is on rear axle.

good luck

 

Good info!

Unfortunately - i can feel it from both sides. I hope it's a balance issue, i think its a balance issue. New tires, straight OEM wheels. They are 235/45/17 though which is not the stock width on that car. Mechanic said that shouldnt really change anything except that the car may pull to either side as a result of added surface area feeling the natural crown of the road.

 

^ Just to make sure, you are running same size tires all around right?

I'd just get the wheels re-balanced as it's fairly cheap to do so. I know some places even offer lifetime balancing.

 

cmann - they are all the same size.

I spoke to one wheel and tire place, they said I can try "force balancing" the tires which would cost me 25$ per tire. Although that would not guarantee me a fix. anyone have experience with this?

also, i may try to switch out the front wheels with the rear wheels. see if there is any change in vibration.

 

i assume the tire place means "Road Force" balancing. it might help. it will also tell you if one (or more) of your tires are bad. just because they look ok on the outside doesn't mean that they aren't messed up on the inside (one of mine is out, won't road force balance. been that way for about 15K miles. no major issues but I do get some vibration at highway speed)

 

I have the same problem and tried switching out rims/tires, new wheel bearings, alignment a while ago, etc.

This weekend I'm changing out the control arms and tie rod ends. Hoping this finally solves the issue.

 

yeah i would get them balanced somewhere else. they could have given them to some new kid to balance for practice for all you know. or someone could have made a mistake. if another place sais they are balanced fine than you can rule this out

 

update:

I got them re balanced at a different place. The tech there said that 3 of the 4 wheels were REALLY off balance. two of them were out by 2.5oz!!!

soo problem fixed - thing rides great now!

Sidenote: Pretty upset with the local tuner shop in the Providence RI area. They only do vw/audi ( some subie ) and i've had tons of work done there. Makes me nervous about previous work they have done. I am not going to call them and ask for money back, even though they charged 20 bucks a wheel to be balanced. I am just going to let them know that they fucked up in a polite, none douchebaggy way.

or should i be really POed. The hassel is way worse than the money spent

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

^ 20 bucks per wheel just for balancing? I paid 20 bucks for all 4. And that place also offers lifetime balancing if you bought the tire(s) from them.