Hi All
Since having my tyres changed to AT2 all round, I seem to have an intermittent wheel wobble issue through the front wheels which I have now had rebalanced twice, thinking that was the issue, but I now have noticed that it seems to rectify itself when driving for a while - say over 20 mins - at over 50 MPH.
I was advised by my local dealer (who are pretty good generally) that they have only come across this issue with tyres fitted to Jags on their sales forecourt, where the cars had stood for a while and created a 'flat spot' on the tyre rubber which throws the balance of the wheel out until the tyres have warmed up a bit (eg on a 20-30min run) allowing the tyres to retake their original shape. This would seem to make some sense as it suits the way that my D3 is used, ie it stands in the drive for ages and only gets short runs most of the time. When it has had a decent run the wheel wobble seems to vanish.
Has anyone else come across this?
1st Aug 2011 5:21 pm
wilsonmg
Member Since: 16 Apr 2008
Location: Wigan
Posts: 335
prob a brake calliper sticking or EPB binding a little... thats my gues anyway Still miss my D3
1st Aug 2011 5:27 pm
John Salter
Member Since: 24 Nov 2009
Location: Swindon
Posts: 38
I do not get any problems with my D3, but I get the problem with my Morgan, exactly the same as your symptoms. If I leave the car standing for a couple of weeks, the first few miles have to be driven carefully, below 40 mph ish, to prevent serious wheel wobble. After a few miles everything returns to normal. I have started to jack the car partially off the ground when out of use, to prevent the flat spotting, which has cured the problem.
2nd Aug 2011 9:02 am
amazing
Member Since: 05 Mar 2011
Location: chengdu
Posts: 1542
on my old 101 with bargrips if I parked up when they were very hot after a long run, the next morning they would have big flat spots that cleared after a while. If parked up after a short run no problem,so a hot tyre left is at a greater risk IMOA
On my old mans cosworth he got a new set of tyres and had them balanced several times had new shocks roll bar bushes etc. but still wobble/vibration issue. when I jacked it up to have a look I just jacked the wheels slighly off the ground and rotated them..then they stopped as they hit the floor..the new pirelli tyres had a 4mm oval shape...back to the tyre dealer for a new set. something to check maybeIt is better to have and not need it then need and not have it.
As a trial my wife and I have now swopped cars - the D3 is usually hers - so wasnt getting used that much and was only ever for short journeys. Since I am now using the D3 on a regular basis the problem seems to have not returned, so I am pretty sure this is some form of flat spotting problem. I think it is made worse by the fact that my driveway is pretty wonky as I live on a steep hill (by Sufflok standards), so the front nearside wheel always sits much higher than the others and the tyre gets a bit more 'squashed' than the others when it is standing. We now also park it in a different place so that it is more level to try and avoid that too.
The brakes/wheel bearings etc have all been checked, so we have already ruled that out - well as far as you sensibly can!
Could pea gravel stuck in the tread cause problems too? My driveway is gravel and the tyres are pretty gnarly, but I would have thought stones would flick out pretty quickly when you get shifting down the road so have always ignored that.
2nd Aug 2011 11:00 am
CMG
Member Since: 12 Jul 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 956
I'd say not, but if there's a lot of it in the tread, it could. Only of the pebble sticks further out than the rubber on the tire...17 Discovery 5 HSE Si6, Fuji White on brown | 07 LR3 SE 4.4 Java Black on Alpaca
Club V8/Club OCD
2nd Aug 2011 12:45 pm
sarumlight
Member Since: 07 Nov 2008
Location: Off the Plain
Posts: 1592
I get this with ATRs too. As long as the wobble goes away in a few miles nothing to worry about.
Interesting that you park on a sideslope too. Our drive is like that and I hadn't thought about it making the flat-spotting worse but it makes sense.
This forums is great for this kind of thing, as I had been struggling to find out what the problem was for nearly 18 months now and couldnt find anyone who had had the same problems.
I know the problem isnt just related to Discos, but is reassuring to know that we arent alone, and it may save other people constantly having their wheels balanced - which is what I was doing. Unfortunately my wheel balancing place is only a short distance, so the wheels were always rebalanced with the flat spots on as the tyres hadnt warmed up on the way there, so they always needed re-doing whenever I visited. The flat spots were just moving around the wheel depending on how/where you park.
Interesting to see that it doesnt seem to impact on many people though. Fortunately!
It seems wonky driveway plus infrequent use = wobbly wheels!
At least it gives me a good excuse to use the D3 more than I otherwise would...
I have just checked the tyre pressures and wound them up a bit to the 'fully loaded' pressure. I usually put in whatever bar is marked on the drivers door tag for single driver loading, but its a good point as I am not sure if that is right for AT2's (?) and having a bit more should certainly help to stop the flat spotting.
I have never seen those 'driveway dish' things before, but it at least acknowledges that the tyre flatting problem is real!
So far just moving the car off of the wonky slope and using it a bit more frequently seems to have solved the problem, but I will keep an eye on how it goes.
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