I just wanted to share a happy ending (no jokes please 
) that may help other Colorado (or other brand for that matter) owners that find themselves with similar symptoms/histories.
Symptom:
Vibration at highway speeds, worse at about 60-65 mph.
This ordeal began when I installed other wheels onto my ’09 Colorado. I got a great deal on some Toyota OEM wheels, which have the same bolt pattern, so I jumped at the opportunity.
I looked around for some good used tires, and found some that came off a BMW X3 (Pirelli Scorpion 235/55R17). I installed them without any trouble, and was pleased that, when I balanced them, they required minimal weight (to balance), and “ran” nice and true.
I mounted them onto the car, and for the next many months, dealt with the (unexpected) vibration as stated above. I second guessed myself, so went back to check balance – they were unchanged. Incidentally, I balanced them using the adapter that mounts the wheels onto the machine using the lugnut holes (versus the center hub/hole). They were also “road force” balanced with minimal improvement. After reading other’s posts, I started to wonder if the driveshaft might be out of balance, but never removed it to check because I’m pretty frugal and didn’t feel a rush to go out and spend the money. During these months, I also replaced the two front tires with other Pirelli Scorpions with no improvement. I vowed to never purchase these tires again (deciding that they would be replaced with Michelins).
Anyway, the fix:
After spending quite a bit of time reading about hub-centric versus lug-centric wheels, I felt compelled to go ahead and try some hub/centering rings. Much has been written about this, yet there is still much disagreement here – I’ll leave that discussion to the experts. Anyway, being frugal, I made some out of aluminum (100mm ID, 106mm OD) during my lunch hour. Problem solved!!!
I dined the next day with a mechanical engineer friend of mine so we could discuss why the rings solved the vibration. Two primary theories:
1. the lugs/lugholes, although close, are not coaxial (on the same theoretical center axis as the hub), so they caused the wheel to actually revolve eccentrically when mounted onto the truck. Keep in mind, this is very possible since the rear axles and the front brake rotors (and their centering hubs/feature) are produced on a lathe, whereas the lug holes are most likely produced on a mill.
2. the wheel lugholes and center hub (bore) may be coaxial, but the wheel/tire begins to oscillate/move around during vehicle movement, perhaps due to resonant frequency (or other cause). Incidentally, this is one of the reasons why tire manufacturers vary the size of the blocks/lugs on tires. Incidentally, I used the Toyota lugnuts with the Toyota wheels since they have a fairly precise fit/interface with the Toyota wheels (versus conical seats for the OEM steel Colorado wheels/lugnuts).
What I don’t yet understand, though, is why this did not occur with the factory wheel (yet maybe it did, but MUCH less pronounced), because even though the clearance/space/gap is much smaller between the hubs and the OEM steel wheel, it is still present. Perhaps the larger the gap, the less the “control” and thus the larger the oscillation/movement.
Anyhow, the bottom line: hub-centric rings finally produced vibration-free, smooth driving, and restored my confidence in Pirelli Scorpions (will definitely replace these with other Scorpions – great traction)!
Take care fellow Colorado/Canyon owners, and thanks for reading!
Greg
) that may help other Colorado (or other brand for that matter) owners that find themselves with similar symptoms/histories.Symptom:
Vibration at highway speeds, worse at about 60-65 mph.
This ordeal began when I installed other wheels onto my ’09 Colorado. I got a great deal on some Toyota OEM wheels, which have the same bolt pattern, so I jumped at the opportunity.
I looked around for some good used tires, and found some that came off a BMW X3 (Pirelli Scorpion 235/55R17). I installed them without any trouble, and was pleased that, when I balanced them, they required minimal weight (to balance), and “ran” nice and true.
I mounted them onto the car, and for the next many months, dealt with the (unexpected) vibration as stated above. I second guessed myself, so went back to check balance – they were unchanged. Incidentally, I balanced them using the adapter that mounts the wheels onto the machine using the lugnut holes (versus the center hub/hole). They were also “road force” balanced with minimal improvement. After reading other’s posts, I started to wonder if the driveshaft might be out of balance, but never removed it to check because I’m pretty frugal and didn’t feel a rush to go out and spend the money. During these months, I also replaced the two front tires with other Pirelli Scorpions with no improvement. I vowed to never purchase these tires again (deciding that they would be replaced with Michelins).
Anyway, the fix:
After spending quite a bit of time reading about hub-centric versus lug-centric wheels, I felt compelled to go ahead and try some hub/centering rings. Much has been written about this, yet there is still much disagreement here – I’ll leave that discussion to the experts. Anyway, being frugal, I made some out of aluminum (100mm ID, 106mm OD) during my lunch hour. Problem solved!!!
I dined the next day with a mechanical engineer friend of mine so we could discuss why the rings solved the vibration. Two primary theories:
1. the lugs/lugholes, although close, are not coaxial (on the same theoretical center axis as the hub), so they caused the wheel to actually revolve eccentrically when mounted onto the truck. Keep in mind, this is very possible since the rear axles and the front brake rotors (and their centering hubs/feature) are produced on a lathe, whereas the lug holes are most likely produced on a mill.
2. the wheel lugholes and center hub (bore) may be coaxial, but the wheel/tire begins to oscillate/move around during vehicle movement, perhaps due to resonant frequency (or other cause). Incidentally, this is one of the reasons why tire manufacturers vary the size of the blocks/lugs on tires. Incidentally, I used the Toyota lugnuts with the Toyota wheels since they have a fairly precise fit/interface with the Toyota wheels (versus conical seats for the OEM steel Colorado wheels/lugnuts).
What I don’t yet understand, though, is why this did not occur with the factory wheel (yet maybe it did, but MUCH less pronounced), because even though the clearance/space/gap is much smaller between the hubs and the OEM steel wheel, it is still present. Perhaps the larger the gap, the less the “control” and thus the larger the oscillation/movement.
Anyhow, the bottom line: hub-centric rings finally produced vibration-free, smooth driving, and restored my confidence in Pirelli Scorpions (will definitely replace these with other Scorpions – great traction)!
Take care fellow Colorado/Canyon owners, and thanks for reading!
Greg
