Wavy rear tires... second set.

Holy Cow, B Roberts, you have been thru a lot with this issue, and I applaud your patience.

I have just read this entire post with great interest and concern. I’d like to share a couple of thoughts I had while reading.

1] The fact that you have so many days, years, miles, sets of tires, etc., you have fantastic baseline data for comparisons.

2] When replacing tires, have they been of several different makes and types or – per chance – all the same manufacturer?

3] On the rear hubs, did the periodic rotational resistance (PRR) go away with the alignment (or for any other reason)? In other words, do you still have PRR?

4] In my mind, a bent axle would not produce wobble.

5] Jack the rear wheels off of the ground, rotate them one at a time, and check them for run out (wobble). In this test, If a (or both) rear wheels have wobble, put those wheels on the front hubs and check them for wobble up front. Suggestion: Before removing the front wheels, check them for wobble on the front hubs. In every case, you can temporally mark the “high spot†with a piece of tape or a Sharpie.

6] If the wobble follows the wheel, the run out is quite likely in the wheel. My understanding is the run out spec on OEM wheels is around 0.050†(OMG!)

7] (In my mind) It is very possible that the hubs could have wobble that in turn, causes the wheel to wobble. In that case, the wobble would not follow a wheel rotation. This is what I suspect, in your case.

8] Hopefully not, but if your dilemma continues into the future and you are seeing newly developing “cup wear†(?), you might try this: Without rotating the wheels front to back, or to any other location, try removing and replacing the wheel on the same hub but with a different rotation - in other words, skip a lug or two and reinstall the wheel. If you have wobble in a hub, that should move any tire wear to a new spot on the tire.

9] At this point, if it were me, I be taking notes for reference. You could get quite elaborate by giving everything a name. For example: Hubs = LF, RF, LR, RR; Wheels = Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Delta; Lugs = A, B, C, D, E; Lug holes in the wheel = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

10] By the way, I assumed that when you rotated tires front to rear, you left the tires on the wheels and rotated them, as well. If not, that would change everything!

11] 'Sacrificial Anode' is hilarious!

I would look for run out in the rear hubs (wobble). Maybe someone can give us the spec on this.

Who knows? What if the crane operator created a hard landing on the two rear wheels, just enough to knock the hubs out of spec? It could happen.

Good luck

MrBill

 

Sorry about the bold font; I'm still learning.

 

All of the above could be checked easily by riding behind the car and looking at the wheel closely. OP says he already did that but may have been more concerned with tracking then any other issue.

And there is no axle out back. Just torsional suspension. Independent hubs.

Run out on the wheel itself would show up immed. when he got the wheels balanced. Plus its rare without the wheels being in an accident. Hub run out is possible but both sides?
Find a tire shop that balances the wheel on the car and that will quickly show itself there too. I'm still with the shocks given where he lives and the mileage. He's way way overdue.

And where was this car supposed to be lifted by a crane?

 

I wouldn't have bought the RS-As. They came on my 02 Maxima and they squealed easily in turns. Many folks on maxima.org think they suck. My friend joked that those tires would squeal when you just think about turning.

Yeah, the stock Integrities aren't very good. I don't have them anymore and now my Prius handles noticeably better.

 

1] The kind and amount of run out I am refering to will be seen at close inspection, not from 30 or 50 feet away and while riding in another vehicle.

2] What ever locates and secures the hubs could be bent or mis-aligned, but that would not cause the wheels to wobble.

3] Maybe at the factory? Maybe on the ship? Maybe on the dock? Maybe on the truck?

 

I've been around for many years and I seldom see any wheels balanced on the car anymore. That proceedure could be easily missed.

Hey, just a thought. If any hub were to be sleightly bent, then an alignment readout would very and be dependant on a wheels exact rotational position, no?

There's another can of worms!

 

In addition to everything else, it appears that both of these tire had been a little under-inflated, no?

 

10/4 on the PSI's, B.

In my long post the other day, I wondered if all the tires were (or mostly) of the same manufacture. This may be unfounded or unfair, but I find that I am doubting the quality of these tires, somehow.

 

10/4

 

Belt squirm and delamination. You need a thrust alignment.

 

Belt squirm, yes. What is a thrust alignment - end play?

 

Thrust alignment is an alignment of all four wheels relative to each other. The rear wheels are aligned to the front.