Replacing OE tires on SS

[ssuvette]

I have had a strong tire vibration since I bought my SS in December. I have had my dealer balance the tires twice with no improvement. They Suggested doing a "Radial Force Balance" to get a better picture of what if anything was wrong. Now here is where it gets above my head but maybe it will mean something to you guys. I had just put a brand new OE tire on the rear (nail in side wall) the day before we sent it out. The other dealer sd that 32lbs of radial force was the threshhold for a good tire. The new tire had 76lbs of radial force all the others were much higher (I don't have the numbers yet).

Results are GM is buying a whole new set on tires. I told my Service Manager that I would prefer not to have the same brand tires since even the brand new one was bad. He got the Michelin 4x4 Diamaris approved by GM and should have them in a week.

Anyone else have a simular problem?

What do you guys think the residual effect of all that shaking will be on my SS it has 4,000+ miles on it.:grouphug:

Daniel

[OurZoo]

Sorry to hear about that. At least your dealer and GM are taking care of ya. I doubt that your SS suffered any damage. These trucks are made to take a beating or two. Maybe not 4k miles though? :undecided

[Envoy Fan]

Michelins should be a much better tire. GM paid for all of these?

You can't get any better than radial force balancing. Not all facilities have the Hunter GSP9700 that does this job.

http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/4159T/index.htm

[ssuvette]

Michelins should be a much better tire. GM paid for all of these?

You can't get any better than radial force balancing. Not all facilities have the Hunter GSP9700 that does this job.

http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/4159T/index.htm


So far GM is paying under warranty. The tire that had a nail in the side wall was covered by the tire and wheel extended warranty I purchased.

[03slt_soccal]

what psi have you been running in the goodyears?
:iagree: 4k with vibration shouldn't have done anything
michelins are nice until you have to relace them out of your pocket

[ssuvette]

what psi have you been running in the goodyears?
:iagree: 4k with vibration shouldn't have done anything
michelins are nice until you have to relace them out of your pocket


33 psi all around. I looked on tirerack and it's only $54/tire more. If it performs better than the Goodyear has then I'm in.

[03slt_soccal]

they should work good for you good like keep us posted on the ride when you get them:yes:

[Gord]

I was looking at those tires, they look incredible. I hope you're far south though, I believe they're only rated as a summer tire.

Let us know how you like them, I plan to put them on once the RS-A's wear out and I pick up a set of knobby winter tires on 17's.

[GMtech45]

Michelins should be a much better tire. GM paid for all of these?

You can't get any better than radial force balancing. Not all facilities have the Hunter GSP9700 that does this job.

http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/4159T/index.htm

our shop has that one coming friday! wahooo!!!:thumbsup:

[cakiki]

so a 17 will fit on the ss

[ScarabEpic22]

so a 17 will fit on the ss
Yes, the 16" TB rims will not, but anything bigger or the same as a 17" rim will fit.

[Tractor]

Does anyone know whats the widest tire you can fit on the SS rims?

[TBSSTony]

Does anyone know whats the widest tire you can fit on the SS rims?

At only 8" wide, even a 275 will give some bulge to the sidewall. Personally, I like that on a truck and plan to do just that. A 275/45/20 should look better and won't throw the speedo off.

[blautens]

My TBSS (which was just peachy new) is starting to experience a little steering wheel shake, too. I'm taking it to a local tire dealer who has a GSP9700 to take a whack at them. The local Chevy dealer has a GSP9700, too, but what a hassle to get in and out of the dealer...I'd rather pay a reasonable fee and get in and out quick. 2000 miles for me.

The tires seem okay traction wise to me, but the same OEM Eagle RSA tire (admittedly 18 inchers) on my RX330 blows, and is generally acknowledged as an awful tire (and at 15K miles, they're just about shot). I can't wait to change them.

I think you're smart to go with the Michelins. And lucky to have GM pay for them. Does ANYONE have a positive experience with OEM tires? I can't remember a new car I've owned where I wasn't itching to replace the stock rubber with decent tires for one reason or another.

[TBSS]

Does anyone know whats the widest tire you can fit on the SS rims?
A 255/50-20 is kind of pushing it; I wouldn't put anything more than a 265/50-20 on the SS's 8" wide rim.

[ssuvette]

Just to give you an update. We just got the Michelin tires in today. We have an appointment in the :am to have them mounted and balanced on the GSP9700.

I will let you know how they feel when we get them on.

Daniel R

[fredg369]

I thought I felt a little vibration too on the highway the other night....The stearing wheel did not shake,more like someone loosened all the lugs on the front tires...was it that kind of feeling or did you feel it in the stearing wheel to?

[TBSSTony]

A 255/50-20 is kind of pushing it; I wouldn't put anything more than a 265/50-20 on the SS's 8" wide rim.

Why? Reason I ask is that while lounging on the couch a few Saturday's ago one of the car shows actually mounted a 275/45 on an 8" rim. Looked great. Any particular reason you're not a fan?

[ssuvette]

I thought I felt a little vibration too on the highway the other night....The stearing wheel did not shake,more like someone loosened all the lugs on the front tires...was it that kind of feeling or did you feel it in the stearing wheel to?


No my problem was a constant shake throughout the entire vehicle (including the steering wheel and seats).

I had the michelins installed yesterday. They feel smoother already, however the dealer broke the tire presure monitor and it was leaking air the whole way home. I had to stop 5 times on the way home and use the tire inflator because the pressure fell below 25psi.

They have it back now (6stops to get it back, did not feel like putting the spare on) and hopefully will fix it. Also they mixed up the TPM so now RF is actually RR and so on.

Tires look great it has a nice rim protector will post pictures as soon as I get it back.

Daniel

[TBSS]

Why? Reason I ask is that while lounging on the couch a few Saturday's ago one of the car shows actually mounted a 275/45 on an 8" rim. Looked great. Any particular reason you're not a fan?
IMO 8" just isn't wide enough for that tire. At a certain point it becomes a safety issue if the rim is not the proper size.

Look at the following sizing chart (pulled a PDF file off of Michelin's site) and you will see what I am talking about. Look at the 20" tires that are 275mm wide and the recommended rim widths for those tires:
Michelin Diamaris Tires (http://www.michelinman.com/assets/pdfs/doc_4x4diamaris.pdf)

You'll see they recommend between 9" and 11" rims for their 275/40-20, while for their 275/45-19 tires they go as low as 8.5" on the low end, and 7.5" rims for their 275/55-17. With smaller wheel diameters there is more latitude, but once you get into 20" territory and lower profile, you need your rim width to be closer to the section/overall width of your tire.

Actually, after looking at Toyo's sizing chart for their Proxes S/T tires, I see they go as low as 7.5" for their 265/50-20 tires:
Toyo Proxes S/T (http://toyo.com/tires/tire_specsheet.cfm?id=6)

So, it looks like you're okay, perhaps I was a bit premature. I'll just say that it's that my preference is to be closer to the mid-range of the recommended wheel width for the tire, to me that is safer.

[ssuvette]

Well I can't get pictures on my member gallery so I'll try this...

Pictures_of_Trailblazer_SS_with_Michelin_4x4_Diama ris (http://www.photoworks.com/albums/pictures.jsp;jsessionid=61834934F6C12F13C5CC796031 FD12BE?id=40104701&cb=PW&svr=web18)

Some pics are dark... If this works, I'll try to get some better ones.

Daniel R

[ssuvette]

new picture link

click_here_to_launch_slide_show (http://www.photoworks.com/share/shareLanding.jsp?shareCode=A7FB562C06F&cb=PW&cp=ems_shr_dpr_25pr_ps2)

[NORCAL SS]

im ordering 295 45 20, im going to try that size before i jump up to a 305 45 20. im widening the wheels to a 9.5

[racerx8]

Norcal are you widening stock rear wheels ? How ?

[NORCAL SS]

found a company that widens cast wheels, billet aluminum etc. ill let out all the info once i get these back and show you guys the work.

[racerx8]

THANKS, look forward to sseing them

[blautens]

new picture link

click_here_to_launch_slide_show (http://www.photoworks.com/share/shareLanding.jsp?shareCode=A7FB562C06F&cb=PW&cp=ems_shr_dpr_25pr_ps2)

They look nice. How do you like them? Is it smoother? I've had mine for 3100 miles now, and the balancing became an issue at 1500 miles or so. I had the dealer (using a GSP 9700) balance them and they found one that was out of spec and replaced it and it's better, but not as good as new.

I can feel it all over too - it's not just in the front. I describe it almost as a "nervous" or slightly lumpy ride. Billiard table smooth roads just shouldn't feel that way.

I had this problem with my last GM car and hated it....so much wasted time.

[Envoy Fan]

They look nice. How do you like them? Is it smoother? I've had mine for 3100 miles now, and the balancing became an issue at 1500 miles or so. I had the dealer (using a GSP 9700) balance them and they found one that was out of spec and replaced it and it's better, but not as good as new.

I can feel it all over too - it's not just in the front. I describe it almost as a "nervous" or slightly lumpy ride. Billiard table smooth roads just shouldn't feel that way.

I had this problem with my last GM car and hated it....so much wasted time.

:offtopic: I have had issues with vibration on different makes. The GSP 9700 is a fantastic piece of equipment. But it is also limited by the operator. We had a minivan with problems. Service dept said tire out of spec per GSP 9700. Took to Goodyear. Rebalance on their GSP 9700 showed a bent aluminum wheel which could visually be seen (egg shaped) when rotated. First operator missed it. Also the GSP 9700 should be zeroed out at each balance. Some operators just put the weights on and don't recheck after the weight installation. They should run the machine one more time to see that the tire wheel combo is completely balanced.

[ssuvette]

I find that the michelins are much smoother/quieter tires. They provide great on center feel and they break loose much more predictable and progressively.

I had my dealer dance around with replacing with same one... finally got them to switch to the Michelins.

[vizsla1822]

Where did you get that license plate frame?

vizsla1822
red jewel tintcoat SS

[Dacomputernerd]

vizsla1822
red jewel tintcoat SS

:eek: Get some pics of your SS up!! The red tintcoat looks HOTT!

[ssuvette]

I ordered it from a website called license.tv You can customize it to say whatever you want... they laser engrave it in black.

http://www.licenseplates.tv/product_info.php/products_id/6059