Wheels failed Road Force Balance. What to replace them with?

[donrleonard]

So we just took our (new to us) 2011 Touareg TDI to get Road Force balanced because we were getting a bit of shimmy in the steering wheel at around 60-70mph. Two of the four wheels failed the road force balance. One tech said it was probably the tires (cursing Pirellis), another said it could be either the wheel or the tires (or both). One of those wheels does have a small gash in it. The Pirellis still have quite a bit of tread left. Trying to figure out what our play is. Get new tires and hope they'll balance? Or just get new tires and wheels to eliminate the possibility of wheel damage. I'm leaning that way. So....

What brand of wheel is considered to be of good quality without breaking the bank? Should we just go OEM and replace the two, or have some fun? I see cheeper ones on tire rack that weigh around 30 lbs, or more expensive ones for 24-26lbs. What is the approx stock wheel weight on an 18" wheel?

 

[meerschm]

You can find a place that will repair and true the wheels. This can be more cost-effective than new wheels.

I have had less than stellar results with aftermarket wheels.

 

[donrleonard]

You can find a place that will repair and true the wheels. This can be more cost-effective than new wheels.

I have had less than stellar results with aftermarket wheels.

Great point. We have a great place in Columbus that does it, I just hadn't connected the dots. Many thanks!

 

[donrleonard]

Good point. I should mention that it just had an alignment.

Tried to use 4WheelOnline. Wasn't smart enough to figure out their tire system. Much easier to search by size, or even vehicle, on tire rack. Not a lot of exciting options on 19 inch rims I must say....

 

[bryanmabbott]

I had 2 bad 19" Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season+ on my Touareg that had a Road force value greater than 35lbs that I had replaced under warranty. It took about 3 attempts from Discount Tire to balance them then I broke down and went to a enthusiast tire shop and got them properly balanced. The tech had all 4 tires indexed but could not get them balanced to his preference. Took a photo of the results and went back to Discount Tire where they reimbursed me for the cost of the balancing at the other place and immediately replaced the two tires. Much better now so long as the wheels get mounted properly so I try to avoid getting my wheels removed. Told myself I would not buy Pirellis again but the the selection for stock size is very slim and the Pirellis are really the only choice in terms of price.

 

[donrleonard]

I had 2 bad 19" Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season+ on my Touareg that had a Road force value greater than 35lbs that I had replaced under warranty. It took about 3 attempts from Discount Tire to balance them then I broke down and went to a enthusiast tire shop and got them properly balanced. The tech had all 4 tires indexed but could not get them balanced to his preference. Took a photo of the results and went back to Discount Tire where they reimbursed me for the cost of the balancing at the other place and immediately replaced the two tires. Much better now so long as the wheels get mounted properly so I try to avoid getting my wheels removed. Told myself I would not buy Pirellis again but the the selection for stock size is very slim and the Pirellis are really the only choice in terms of price.

You understand, Bryan. Brake bolts and torque patterns and road-force balancing Pirellis...

I discovered that my TDI had parked for over a year as part of the diesel gate, which makes me think maybe the tire developed a flat spot.

For the 19s (which we have as well), I'm reading good results from this tire https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...WR9QT5XL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

Might be worth checking out.

 

[Stupendous60]

If they knew how to use the machine-you dismount the tire and the machine can check the bare rim for true.
I would bet money its the tires. Also i find the quality of factory wheels are hard to beat. (I am an ASE Master for 20+years)

 

[donrleonard]

That’s great to know! Definitely worth trying tires first.
It wouldn’t surprise me. That thing sat for more than a year as part of the VW buyback. Those tires probably have flat spots.

 

[Stupendous60]

If you can find a shop/dealer with a tech who knows the machine he can get you a smooth ride. When I worked at shops with roadforce machines I had the smoothest rides in town.....