Wheel wobble

[dom_e]

I've recently purchased a nice set of alloy wheels, which are the correct fitment for the bongo (67.1 bore, 114.3 stud dia, 7j, 40 offset). They do use a spigot ring. They arrived, were fitted, but I got wheel wobble from 55mph up. So, I took them to a tyre fitting garage who re balanced them and explained that they balance wheels on the outside and inside of the rim (using the stick on weights). The problem persisted, so I took them back....still persisting.

Could I be missing anything? 3 times to balance sounds wrong to me!

[mikeWalsall]

Have you tried to rotate the wheels .. front to back .. are you sure the wheels are locating onto the hub spigots and not relying on the studs .. wheel bearings OK .. wear in suspension parts ??

[Gasy]

We had a wheel once which would not balance
So after 3 try I said will have to be a new tyre then
When he went to take tyre off it was half full of water
Put it back on and balanced fine then
Must of used a dodgy air compressed some where

[teenmal]

Providing suspension/ steering components ok, you could go for ""On Car Wheel Balancing...balance the wheels on the car""

You could also try a swap from front to rear as a test.

[rita]

I've recently purchased a nice set of alloy wheels, which are the correct fitment for the bongo (67.1 bore, 114.3 stud dia, 7j, 40 offset). They do use a spigot ring. They arrived, were fitted, but I got wheel wobble from 55mph up. So, I took them to a tyre fitting garage who re balanced them and explained that they balance wheels on the outside and inside of the rim (using the stick on weights). The problem persisted, so I took them back....still persisting.

Could I be missing anything? 3 times to balance sounds wrong to me!

I don't understand why you are using spigot rings on these wheel if they are the correct centre bore.

Maybe I am missing something.

[stuc]

If it is wheel balancing you should be able to drive through the wobble, it will go off as you increase speed as long as a wheel isn't buckled or something. If it gets worse as you go faster that would suggest wheel fitment or other problems. Obviously be careful when driving it faster if it's getting worse.
It sounds to me as if they may not know how to balance them correctly. I have just balanced mine yesterday and couldn't get them to balance correctly until I realised someone had been on the machine previous to me and had changed some settings. I set it correctly and balanced first time requiring 15g on the inside of the rim.

[dom_e]

Thanks for the replies so far. The wheels I have are Dezent RE http://www.alloywheels.com/6.5x16_Inch_ ... heels_Only

I imagine, like most after market wheels, the bore is large enough to accommodate most vehicles, then the spigot rings are used to reduce the diameter. I ordered the correct size and fit for the Bongo, which included plastic clip in (presumably spigot rings) pieces for the inside of the rims.

I haven't tried a swap from front to rear, but is that not just moving the problem (albeit reducing the issue, but not resolving completely)?

Interesting story about the water in the tyre. A possible I guess.

It may be worth noting that I've never had a problem with previous wheels and the issue started straight after fitting the new ones. So far as I can tell, wheel bearings and suspension are fine (just flew through the MOT where I asked the garage to test the suspension since the ride's not exactly silky smooth.

It's back at the tyre place /garage now (a reputable place) and I've left it with them for a few hours to try and resolve the issue.

[dom_e]

Based on what you suggest, Stuc I'm thinking it may be a fit issue. It's fine up to about 50 in a straight line, then the wobble increases as you get to around 60-65 (I don't drive much faster than that normally).

[mikeWalsall]

The idea of swapping the wheels around is to see if the problem disapears when you do ..

If it does it indecates a wheel / tyre / balance problem as oposed to bushes / bearings / suspension ....

[roosmith]

Obviously it shouldn't happen on brand new wheels but I get a slight wobble at 55 and I've been told the wheel is slightly buckled. They've balanced them as best they can but I won't get rid of it, I just need a new set of wheels.

It can't be outside of the realms of possibilities that a new set would have a fault in them. Have the tyre place checked they're not buckled?

[dom_e]

The latest attempt at balancing seems to have done a much better job, but I've not done a road test up to 70 yet. Fingers crossed! The garage check everything this time and concluded that if if it wasn't correct this time, they'd check for dampness inside the tyres.

[Mark Norton]

I had the same ongoing problem until by chance I drove past a Bongo dealer whilst on holiday in Cornwall, a quick U turn and after a wait the mechanics had a look.
I have RX8 alloys with 235/50 R18 tyres. The wheels were not balanced well enough even though I had them balanced twice before at two different reputable garages. The tyres were under inflated, contributing to the problem. I now run 42 front 46 psi rear. Wheel nut torque is important, 147 N.m.
Many thanks to the mechanics, can't remember the name of the garage, wheel wobble now gone.

[stuc]

Quote I now run 42 front 46 psi rear. Wheel nut torque is important, 147 N.m.

That sounds very tight to me, obviously if it works it's good but can you get them off ok at the side of the road?

[Mark Norton]

It's the recommended torque from Mazda. Mazda bulletin No: 02-002/04 for the Mazda RX8 alloy wheels.

[Simon Jones]

Chances of finding Bongo in online database is slim, but this is a useful guide:

http://www.puretyre.co.uk/mazda-tyre-pressures/

For Mazda MPV (similar size / weight), its 128 Nm. For RX8 (your wheels) its 103. If it were me, I'd be doing some more research to check if 147 Nm is correct. That torque figure does sound rather high especially for alloy wheels. As an example, VW Crafter (massive great van) uses 240Nm for steel but 180 for alloy.