Newly installed KO3's - Rebalanced, Still Shaking

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S

surf945

Joined
Apr 27, 2022
Threads
2
Messages
7
Location
Providence, RI
I recently had KO3s 275/70R16s installed. After an initial return to tire shop due to steering wheel vibration they rebalanced (found one out of balance after regular driving for a weekend)
Steering rack is replaced, and control arms are also replaced - is this still a tire issue or is this just expected behavior? I assume I am going back to the tire shop correct?

Thanks all
 
whodoe said:
sounds like a shop issue, they may not be skilled enough to deal with a wonky tire, specially if they dont have road force balancing. i would bail on the ko3's and just get some toyos.
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interesting - i think they road force balanced, but not 100% sure. Why Toyo?
 
My KO3s needed road force balancing. The last set I had of KO2s also did not balance well.

You can Google which shops have a road force machine. You have to tell them to use it and sometimes pay extra. It's a good bit more work for the tire tech than a regular spin.

CHeck how much weight they used on each tire and make sure the two with the least weight are up front.
 
Don't just ask for road force, but also what limits they use before the tech will match mount. A lot of road force shops just slap on weights when they should match mount. Ask for the reading before and after. I've never had a shop not give me a before and after reading, but you have to ask for it.
 
I'm not a fan of the BFG All-Terrain tires.

I had a set I could never keep balanced. I thought it was a mechanical issue so I replaced more driveline parts than I care to mention. The shake it caused was most noticeable at highway speeds. Normally 65+, not bad around town but it was irritating on long interstate highway runs.

When it was time to replace them I tried the BFGs one more time. I thought maybe it was a bad set of tires, everyone praises these tires I certainly couldn't get another bad tire/set of tires.

Nope, the new tires shook at highway speeds too. The shop I purchased from offered to rebalance them, I declined because of my previous experience and took advantage of the 60-day satisfaction guarantee BFG offered.

I replaced them with General Grabber A/TX, they have been great. I'd highly recommend them.
 
My 285-75-17 KO3's needed road balancing too, still aren't perfect but 95% better than a regular balance. Didn't have any issues with 32" and 33" KO2's. Will probably jump to a different brand next time.
 
Running stock sized KO3s on my ‘98 and it rides smooth as silk. I had an alignment done prior and also had the wheel bearings repacked. Honestly drives like it came off the showroom floor. I ran KO2s on my 2014 Sequoia and they never properly balanced, which I cured by going to Toyos. BFG appears to have fixed the balancing issue in my experience as I run the KO3 on my 2025 Tundra Limited as well with great results. I’d recommend another trip to the tire shop.
 
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trdcorolla said:
I just went to an America's Tire. They did mark the tire and moved the tire, but I should have gone to a mom/pop shop with a Hunter Machine.
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Thank you. I have a 2014 LX570 and put on MR703's with 285/70 R17 KO3's and it drives smooth under 50mph. When I get to 60 and above, steering wheel shakes and sometimes cabin shakes. Took it to two different well know off-road shops here so far and both did their balancing and told me everything is in spec. However, the shaking is still persistent, even after a roadforce balance. I will check out America's Tire.
 
placidboi said:
Thank you. I have a 2014 LX570 and put on MR703's with 285/70 R17 KO3's and it drives smooth under 50mph. When I get to 60 and above, steering wheel shakes and sometimes cabin shakes. Took it to two different well know off-road shops here so far and both did their balancing and told me everything is in spec. However, the shaking is still persistent, even after a roadforce balance. I will check out America's Tire.
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Are you running the factory lug centric wheels? If you are, ask them to balance it with a pin plate (Haweka) lug centric wheels have a tendency not to center on most balancers also a good operator would know what to do in situations where wheel/tire is having balance issues. Look up Haweka plate on YT. I run the same size tires on my wife's 4th Gen. 4runner and had that issue in the beginning.
 
vipergrhd said:
Are you running the factory lug centric wheels? If you are, ask them to balance it with a pin plate (Haweka) lug centric wheels have a tendency not to center on most balancers also a good operator would know what to do in situations where wheel/tire is having balance issues. Look up Haweka plate on YT. I run the same size tires on my wife's 4th Gen. 4runner and had that issue in the beginning.
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Hello vipergrhd,
The Method MR703 are hub centric.
 
I had this problem every time I got new tires for my Miata. The suspension was so delicate that it transmitted every sprung weight imperfection. The issue with balancing is that on a traditional machine it is theoretically possible to balance a square tire. "Road force" applies a roller to the surface of the tire during balancing so that ride quality can be dialed in.

It's odd that this is occurring with bigger and gnarlier tires, though. I have lost entire weights on LC wheels and did not feel a difference. A road force balance should expose whether there is a tire defect that is causing the vibration. Discount Tire has the right machines.
 
placidboi said:
Hello vipergrhd,
The Method MR703 are hub centric.
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Did you have a hub centric ring on your rims? I know most after market wheels use them to center rims.
 
vipergrhd said:
Did you have a hub centric ring on your rims? I know most after market wheels use them to center rims.
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I know I am in the wrong forum, but I am piggy backing off the thread to ask about location of a shop that does road-force balancing, so forgive me.

I am in a 2014 LX570 and the hub bore is 110.1 mm. The Method MR703 is hub centric, listed with 110.5mm hub bore. Shop I purchased them told me none needed.
 
placidboi said:
I know I am in the wrong forum, but I am piggy backing off the thread to ask about location of a shop that does road-force balancing, so forgive me.

I am in a 2014 LX570 and the hub bore is 110.1 mm. The Method MR703 is hub centric, listed with 110.5mm hub bore. Shop I purchased them told me none needed.
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Here you go. Find Hunter Equipment | Hunter Engineering Company® - https://www.hunter.com/find-equipment/?
just put in your Zip and it will find a shop near you.
 
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