Tire Balance Off...But At Low Speeds?
 

I have been experiencing something strange lately. I am getting a steady "whum, whum, whum" sound that correlates with the speed. I have also discovered that the car will shake as though the tires are out of balance but at around 28 mph. Feels almost like it rocks the car from side to side.

Mechanics said the tire has some uneven wear, but subtle enough that it would be noticed at high speeds. Replaced both wheel bearings. I am thinking a balance and rotate but the speeds relating to the vibration just don't seem to add up...I have only ever experienced off balance vibration at higher speeds.

All this after finally getting the shoddy suspension job corrected. It has been aligned and drives straight as an arrow flies.

I had that problem, but in my case, it was my tie rods.

IDK if you fixed your issue or not but that could be a lead in the right direction.

From my experience its not uncommon for weights to fall of, causing an off balanced tire, but I have never experienced a wobble at low speeds, only at higher speeds.

It may be that a belt in the tire may have shifted. My blazer had the same problem. At low speeds it was like wobble that rocked the truck side to side, and at high speeds I felt very little or next to nothing. New set of tires, and everything was fine.

iv experience bad tire belts that cause that. a tierod end and a out of balanced tire usually cause a vibration or shaking at highway speeds... usually.

i have the exact same problem right now. it's really annoying... except mine is pulling very hard right too. (assuming it's the front right) like if i let go of the wheel, i'm going in a ditch, almost instantly. makes the car drive like a p.o.s.

wombat have you had an alignment recently?

All of the above could be possible. Having it in the shop working on the suspension I imagine they would have let me know if the tie rods were starting to go.

The belt and weights seem like strong possibilities: I hit a construction road edge EXTREMELY hard with the tire that did not have a mount and set at a stiff shock setting. Could have easily lost the weight and the bubble could indicate belt damage. Guess I better take it to a tire shop.

Pisses me off I spent five hundred dollars for new wheel bearings though...

thats what happens when you just throw parts at it...

you hit a pot hole eh? that adds a the possibility of a bent wheel too which will transfer to the tires. the fact that you have a "whum whum whum" noise says to me its deffinitly something relating to wheel and tire (the part contacting the the road making the noise). if you wanted to do some stuff for free, rotate your front tires to the rear and see if the noise follows. if it does then you know its the wheels/tires. then if you cannot find an issue with the wheels and tires visually, rotate one side at a time and see if the noise goes back to the front (this will indicate which wheel and tire).

If there is a bubble on the tire then the tire is separated, needs replaced.

yeah, i had one done just three months ago. but it seems to be getting worse. i also get the whum whum noise. and my car feels like its being shaken at lower speeds. but when i speed up it yanks me right. almost like the caliper is locked up.

If you don't want to start throwing parts at it, it may just be cheaper to take it to a reputable shop pay them a small fee to diagnose it, and go from there. There's just so much it could be, it may just be easier.

I would think that bad tire balance would be more noticeable at highway speeds. At least that's how it's been for all my cars.

Did you at least check the lug nut torque?

How many miles are on the car?

138k i haven't checked the lug nut torque. i'm positive its not the balance. it still pulls me right even around 5mph. the only thing i could think of would be the wheel bearing.

it ended up being my tire. the belt went. changed the tires, MASSIVE difference haha.

Uneven tire wear. Rotated the worn ones to the back, noise disappeared from the front. Wish I could have saved the money replacing the wheel bearings...