Mike 944

Hi guys,
Can someone tell me if it is normal that my steering wheel gets a little shaky when I start going over 80 km/hr? I began by checking the pressure in my tires, and they are all fine. I put 34psi up front and 38 psi in back. The tires are a little old, and yes, maybe the car could use an allignment, but is there anything else that would cause this? Just looking for some ideas.
Thanks
Mike
1984 944

Skip

Could be many things, though since you mention the tires and alignment, seems to be the best place to start. At least get the tires spin balanced and checked for round.

There's been a couple of lengthly discussions lately about this, you may some of the archived info very pertinent to your situation once you rule out the tires and alignment.

Good cheap start is to "kick-the-tires"... shake the wheels and look for play, have a look around the front end stuff for anything out of sorts.

Good Luck!

Mike 944

Thanks Skip,
Sorry didn't even think about checking the archives like an idiot......sun is getting to my head

Tabor

Mike. Just so you know. The 1983-85 cars are known for this. They have a sensitive front suspension, but it is still not normal.

It is often bad tyres. But you should also check to see if your wheels are true and your wheel bearings are good.

After that it can be a bunch of stuff.

Dave

If it started suddenly, it could be that a weight came off a wheel, in which case you only need to have the wheel rebalanced. I've had this happen a few times, stick on weights just don't stick like they used to.

JohnK944T

Mike-

I have been dealing with the same issue. I found out I had a bent rim.. I have 17" rims and the inside lip was bent from hitting a pothole. I never would have looked on the inside of the rim. Once the rim was straightened 80% of the issue was gone. I have a flat spot on my tire and hope that new tires will fix the issue for good. Best of Luck.
JohnK

Mike 944

Well, I'm taking to an allignment place next week...and have started looking around for some tires.
What do you guys recommend as a cheap, yet good tire. Keep in mind I gotta change my syncros in september, so I don't want to fork too much into the car.
Any suggestions?
Would any of you guys consider buying used tires?
Thanks
Mike

Adam Richman

After driving on Kumho Ecsta 712 WR's for the last three months, I can't think of a better tire choice for the street (and I have taken to the track on them for three sessions - two wet, one dry with better than expected results). If you can luck into a Bridgestone Potenza RE-71 (no longer in production) that would replace the Kumho choice but otherwise . . .

Dave

Bridgestone no longer makes the RE-71, because they replaced it with the RE-730. The 730 is at least as good as the 71 on dry surfaces, and runs circles around it wet.
I strongly recommend them.

Adam Richman

Good point (although I don't think they are nearly as grippy in the dry as an RE-71). I was looking at it from a price perspective and the Kumho when I was shopping a couple of months ago was $40/tire less than the 730. Between a good friend of mine and I (both do a number of DE's) we think the Ecsta is every bit as good as the 730. He's actually running shaved 712's as track tires now.

spidey

the Bridgestones (730's) are great(225 & 245 16's), so much better than the Pirellis I had previously especially in the wet. Good bang for your buck I would recommend them to anyone for street use.