Brand New Rims are Wobbly - is it normal?

K

Karl Markiewicz

New Member
G'day all,
I got a brand new set of 15" x 8" Sunraysia Rims with 31" Hankook Mud Tyres fitted about a week ago.
I went on my first longer drive with them the other day and someone driving behind me said my rear-left wheel was wobbling from side to side. I didn't notice any vibration really, not any more than usual in my 35-year-old Hilux.
After jacking the rear up you could clearly see the rim is wobbling, so I put my brand new spare on and checked it. The spare was much better, but I wouldn't consider it perfect.
I called the supplier of the Rim and they said that it's common for steel rims to have a slight wobble to them. After insisting they replace the wobbly wheel, they said they have some new spare rims lying around and he said he tested them and they are "not too bad".

What I want to know is: am I getting ripped off here? Or is a slight side-to-side wobble nothing to worry about on a steel rim?
I am just concerned that the wobble will wear the tyres more and put stress on my bearings and etc.

Thanks for the help!
Karl.
 
CaptainBanana

CaptainBanana

Well-Known Member
Karl Markiewicz said:
G'day all,
I got a brand new set of 15" x 8" Sunraysia Rims with 31" Hankook Mud Tyres fitted about a week ago.
I went on my first longer drive with them the other day and someone driving behind me said my rear-left wheel was wobbling from side to side. I didn't notice any vibration really, not any more than usual in my 35-year-old Hilux.
After jacking the rear up you could clearly see the rim is wobbling, so I put my brand new spare on and checked it. The spare was much better, but I wouldn't consider it perfect.
I called the supplier of the Rim and they said that it's common for steel rims to have a slight wobble to them. After insisting they replace the wobbly wheel, they said they have some new spare rims lying around and he said he tested them and they are "not too bad".

What I want to know is: am I getting ripped off here? Or is a slight side-to-side wobble nothing to worry about on a steel rim?
I am just concerned that the wobble will wear the tyres more and put stress on my bearings and etc.

Thanks for the help!
Karl.
Click to expand...


You shouldn't be able to clearly see a rim out of round. Check if they are seated properly on the hub if hub centric but other than that I'd want a new rim, just because you don't feel it on the rear axle doesn't mean it won't be an issue later.

I used hub centric Csa branded steelies rather than cheap Chinese jobs and so far they're perfect.
 
Chatty

Chatty

Well-Known Member
Any wobble in any rim is unacceptable, especially for a new rim.
Demand replacement of any rims that are not perfect - threaten to call in the ACCC if they don't want to behave.
 
mac_man_luke

mac_man_luke

Well-Known Member
Can be problematic with steel rims, sometimes it takes trying a few to get good ones especially with the cheaper brands.
What brand are the rims?
Also worth checking everything is good with the hub etc
 
K

Karl Markiewicz

New Member
CaptainBanana said:
You shouldn't be able to clearly see a rim out of round. Check if they are seated properly on the hub if hub centric but other than that I'd want a new rim, just because you don't feel it on the rear axle doesn't mean it won't be an issue later.

I used hub centric Csa branded steelies rather than cheap Chinese jobs and so far they're perfect.
Click to expand...
Okay, true. So you think if I can visibly see a wobble (even a tiny one) when I jack up the car and spin the wheels I should get them replaced?
They are technically balanced and don't vibrate.
 
K

Karl Markiewicz

New Member
mac_man_luke said:
Can be problematic with steel rims, sometimes it takes trying a few to get good ones especially with the cheaper brands.
What brand are the rims?
Also worth checking everything is good with the hub etc
Click to expand...
Ahh yeah, true. Well they are going to check all my rims, I just hope they don't think a small wobble is acceptable.
They are Infinity rims.
 
CaptainBanana

CaptainBanana

Well-Known Member
Karl Markiewicz said:
Okay, true. So you think if I can visibly see a wobble (even a tiny one) when I jack up the car and spin the wheels I should get them replaced?
They are technically balanced and don't vibrate.
Click to expand...

Out of balance on a rear axle doesn't really show up through the car when driving so they're not really balanced. Unlike alloy wheels steel wheels also tend to be sensitive to over tightening which every peanut does with their 3/4 inch drive rattle gun maxed out at 145psi .... I'd remove and refit them by hand first and if they are seated square and still wobble then it's a problem..
 
K

Karl Markiewicz

New Member
CaptainBanana said:
Out of balance on a rear axle doesn't really show up through the car when driving so they're not really balanced. Unlike alloy wheels steel wheels also tend to be sensitive to over tightening which every peanut does with their 3/4 inch drive rattle gun maxed out at 145psi .... I'd remove and refit them by hand first and if they are seated square and still wobble then it's a problem..
Click to expand...
Ahh yeah true.
Nah, yeah, I never use rattle gun. Just use a tyre iron by hand.
I pulled the really wobbly rim off and put a ruler against the hub and span it and it was pretty much perfect, so something is definitely up with the rim.
My concern is, by how he sounded on the phone, he wasn't really confident these "new rims" that he is going to use aren't perfect either. He said he isn't getting new stock in for a whole month, so don't know if I should just tell him i'll wait, or if I should see if these "new rims" are actually OK.
 
D

Deleted member 69390

Guest
I have a light 4wd Landrover truck that had new tyres on it - all good except one tyre was wearing at twice the rate as the others even when on the back. One day someone following me said the wheel had a big buckle in it - not noticeable when on the front or the rear from the driving position.

The reason the tyre was wearing at twice the rate was that in addition to the normal wear as the tyre rotated it was also being pulled sideways a fair bit and being dragged across the tarmac with each rotation of the tyre.

So if you stay with your buckled rims you will also pay for it with substantial additional tyre where on those wheels.
 
K

Karl Markiewicz

New Member
Synchro said:
I have a light 4wd Landrover truck that had new tyres on it - all good except one tyre was wearing at twice the rate as the others even when on the back. One day someone following me said the wheel had a big buckle in it - not noticeable when on the front or the rear from the driving position.

The reason the tyre was wearing at twice the rate was that in addition to the normal wear as the tyre rotated it was also being pulled sideways a fair bit and being dragged across the tarmac with each rotation of the tyre.

So if you stay with your buckled rims you will also pay for it with substantial additional tyre where on those wheels.
Click to expand...
I thought the exact same thing, and surely it isn't good for your bearings and etc.
When they inspect the rims I will try and tell them I am not settling for anything more than 1 or 2 mm of sideways movement.
 
dno67

dno67

Well-Known Member
I had a shimmy in my patrol after rotating wheels once, (ROH steel) turns out the raised centre of the wheel was deflecting as l'd been lazy and smashed them on with the rattle gun. So l'm going to suggest taking some caution when tightening steel wheels as l was able to rectify the wobble after some scratching my head wondering
what had happened to cause it in the first place.
 
K

Karl Markiewicz

New Member
dno67 said:
I had a shimmy in my patrol after rotating wheels once, (ROH steel) turns out the raised centre of the wheel was deflecting as l'd been lazy and smashed them on with the rattle gun. So l'm going to suggest taking some caution when tightening steel wheels as l was able to rectify the wobble after some scratching my head wondering
what had happened to cause it in the first place.
Click to expand...
Ahh yeah true.
Nothing had happened, I noticed it the second day after getting them fitted from the Tyre Shop. The Rim and Tyres are brand new and they fitted them.
I just swapped the wobbly one with the spare (which has a tiny bit of wobble too) and tightened up with a tyre iron.
 
typhoeus

typhoeus

Well-Known Member
Its a good idea to inspect and clean the drums and hubs with a wire brush too, especially around the edge of the section that sticks thu the centre hole in the rim. if there is any rust, old paint or damage, it may hold the rim out a bit in that spot, causing the run-out
 
peterfermtech

peterfermtech

Well-Known Member
My hilux of a bit more than 35 years ago had a locating pin or bump on the brake drum. If you didn't line them up properly with a hole on the rims they would wobble. I think the standard rims were recessed all around so it didn't matter.
regards
 
peterfermtech

peterfermtech

Well-Known Member
My hilux of a bit more than 35 years ago had a locating pin or bump on the brake drum. If you didn't line them up properly with a hole on the rims they would wobble. I think the standard rims were recessed all around so it didn't matter.
regards
 
K

Karl Markiewicz

New Member
peterfermtech said:
My hilux of a bit more than 35 years ago had a locating pin or bump on the brake drum. If you didn't line them up properly with a hole on the rims they would wobble. I think the standard rims were recessed all around so it didn't matter.
regards
Click to expand...
Ahh really, interesting. I will have to look at that one day.
The wheels were noticeably wobbly when the tyre store put them on the balance machine, so something is wrong anyways haha
 
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