I just purchased Konig Driver wheels and Continental Extreme Contacts. I went from the 16 inch stock to a 17 inch. The car was only a week old with about 250 miles on it.

I got the car up to 65 and there was a pretty good shake goin' on (seemingly from the front) so I took it back to Discount Tire. They said the wheels weren't balanced properly. (why this wasn't done in the first place it beyond me)

So they claim to fix it, but now, though not nearly as bad, the car has a slight repeatitve shake (seemingly from the rear) that becomes noticable at about 35 and continues to about 50. Above that the repetition is so fast that it kind of just goes away. Seems like it's coming from the rear.

I noticed a couple things. First off, on the right rear wheel are 8 of those little glue on weights. This seems like a lot to me. They are at least 6" long in total. Also noticed that there are 2-3 of these little weights scraped off of the front drivers side. I'm assuming that was the "rebalance" they did initially.

I am worried that the wheels are defective, bent or so unbalanced that they are out of spec. Also, I have a feeling part of the "rebalance" was swapping the rear and front wheels as the shake seemed to go from the front to the rear where it is less noticable.

Anyone have any ideas? Is 8 of those little weights considered a lot? The front right only has 2. The rest ohave 3-4 I think.

Thanks

 

Thanks Dexter. Ironically, the very shop I purchased everything from has one. In fact all Discount Tire Locations (at least locally) seem to. So am I to assume this is what they used to balance the wheel or do I have to specifically request something special? Every time I think I'm being too picky I get up to 45 and it starts again. The smoother the road the worse it is so it has to be the wheels. The car is quieter on smooth roads so I can hear it better and everyone knows if you can hear it clearer you feel it more too.

 

They road forced tested them and found 2 to be "bad" - out of spec and not riding properly. They said this has been an issue with Continental Performance tires. Not wanting to support a company shipping 50% of their product out the door with defects (in my case anyway). I had them order 4 Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S.

Thanks for your help. Now I know to request a road force test when getting tires. And probably a good idea to stick around, as opposed to dropping the car off to make sure they actually perform the test. Hopefully i could figure out whether they were just spin balancing or road forcing.

 

Yes, through Discount Tire. They were cool with me replacing all 4 with a different brand. As I said before, they said they've had ride quality issues with Continental.

 

So here's recap of the entire ordeal

1) Went to Discount Tire (DT) to look at rims and the computer was down

2) Went back to DT and picked out rims and tires (Continental Extreme Contact) placed order.

3) Went back to DT to get everything installed

3) 2 days later returned to DT, due to front end shake at 65. The wheels weren't balanced properly.

4) Next week went back to DT due to continued shimmy. Thanks to Dexter in the tire forum here, knew to have them road force the tires. 2 of the tires were found to be defective. Ordered Pirelli Zero Nero MS. $15 more per tire.

5) Had tires replaced - WHAT A DIFFERENCE! DT repeated that Continental has a lot of quality issues. In fact there was someone else there having his Continentals taken off his pickup because, they too, were defective. I will NEVER buy Continental! I also had them road force all the Pirelli's so there wouldn't be a repeat. Was told all 4 scored much better than the best of the Continentals.

 

Konig Drivers. They're pretty cheap (like $130 a wheel). I just wanted something that was 17". Hopefully I won't bend them and the finish lasts a while. Basically I got new wheels and very good tires for the amount subaru wanted for just wheels.

As for Continentals. It's good to know that some of the tires have no issues. I just can't give my money to a company that, in my case, had a 50% failure rate with the product. Then to hear from the Tire store that they have more quality issues with Continental than any other manufactuer AND to see another guy come in with the same problem while I was there is TOTALLY unacceptable!

 

Quieter than the Extremes. I'm in Ohio so I'll see the whole spectrum of conditions from 95 heat to a foot of snow. Only driven in rain and dry so far. Discount Tire said "Pirelli is a much better company". He was referring to overall quality. Also said all 4 Pirelli's road force tested better than the best Continental I had on the car. I'm happy with them thus far.


I'm sure Continental manages to squeeze out some good tires or they wouldn't be around. I just can't give money to a company that the store that sells the brand even admits are the rotten eggs of the bunch.

 

Yep - all is good.