new QA1s and still wobble - need help please

[Blas]

That red bushing in the photo of the AVO below from JW313 does not appear to be standard issue. It looks like the bushing had 2 additional red inserts added to it somewhere in time. Probably due to failure (elongation) of the original bushing. The failure commonly seen on these shocks is the bushing collapsing and the steel ring surrounding the bushing making contact with the A-Arm - leading to a weld or bushing ring failure on the shock and a corner suspension collapse. AVO's shocks on early SPF chassis due date back quite a few years now. The bushings can be replaced if you are so inclined. But since you would need to remove the shocks to replace the bushings and the availability of new ot "take-off" Bilsteins, replacement units make sence. More a matter of age than of bad design anywhere. 12+ years on shocks on a performance car? NO..... 12+ years on a bottle of Scotch? OK.......

[JW313]

I did find (surprisingly) several dealer with the Hunter GSP9700 road force balancer. These guys make a killing business here - I guess, the have a patent on that.

Anyways. to make a long story short. I have one wheel in the front, that is completely out of whack. It is vertically unbalanced and uneven - not sure how to call that in English. The outside of the wheel runs ok, but the inside bounces at leas 2-3mm. That of course is worse at 40psi than at 20 psi. The machine likes 40psi to take better measurements. We tried it with wheel only option and wheel an tyre - and the hunter machine threw a big red screen "ALERT ALERT".

We turned the tire about 4 times (each 90 degrees) on the wheel - but with an unbalanced wheel, the effort was hopeless.

How is this possible ? Looks like a brandnew Halibrand knock-off 15inch wheel.

We did what we could and added almost 4 ounces of weights (inside an outside) to bring it to 0 during normal balancing (without the big roll that simulates the road force action).

But the wheels back, brought down the pressure to 21psi and turned the suspension (QA1) down to 4 clicks from loose.

The steering wobble is almost gone. I can still feel it a bit at around 70mph. However, I did not fix the issue but just covered it up with soft setups.

So - road force balancing is a good thing. Helps to see issues that a normal wheel balancer couldnt.

Now, I need a new wheel. I hope, I can still find a wheel with the same color as they made it in 98 . Do you have any ideas where to look for one ?

Thanks guys

Jürgen

[FreeSpirit]

Followed this thread. Glad you listened to the smart ones about the gsp9700. Sounds like you found some knowledgeable people. Log who they are on this forum and stick to the shops with the right eguipment.

[JW313]

Just wanted to follow up on my root cause research of my vibration issues.

We did the road force balancing and noticed that one wheel was way out of balance. Luckily, I found a new wheel from Trigo (thanks for the quick and friendly service) and the vibrations are almost gone. The Avon tires don't seem to be the "roundest" tires out there - the diff in necessary balancing weights with and without tires is 80 gramms and it makes a hugh difference when turning the tires on the wheel in 90 degrees steps.

Now - I do have a "shimmy" movement (not near as intense) from the front end at around 70-85mph. I've been reading up on the R/T ball joints and will probably go that route, hoping to be in the right direction.

Thanks

Jürgen

[Tommy]

I'm glad its getting better. ... I stumbled on this pretty good short video about fixing a shimmy problem. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLqF7A3SAXE"]Click here[/ame].

[JW313]

Originally Posted by Blas

That red bushing in the photo of the AVO below from JW313 does not appear to be standard issue. It looks like the bushing had 2 additional red inserts added to it somewhere in time. Probably due to failure (elongation) of the original bushing. The failure commonly seen on these shocks is the bushing collapsing and the steel ring surrounding the bushing making contact with the A-Arm - leading to a weld or bushing ring failure on the shock and a corner suspension collapse. AVO's shocks on early SPF chassis due date back quite a few years now. The bushings can be replaced if you are so inclined. But since you would need to remove the shocks to replace the bushings and the availability of new ot "take-off" Bilsteins, replacement units make sence. More a matter of age than of bad design anywhere. 12+ years on shocks on a performance car? NO..... 12+ years on a bottle of Scotch? OK.......

This might be an optical illusion - the bright red rubber is the part that was covered up from the washer and the darker one was exposed to the outside. I do believe it is the standard setup.

And yes - I did already touch the A-Arm. Pretty scary stuff, I have to admit, especially since I was on the Autobahn with it bouncing and clonking all over the road ... boy of boy

Laters

Jürgen