I know. What drug am I takin'? Seriously, I have done about everything to balance my front wheels and tires. I have new 15 x 8 unilug traditional SS cragars with 235 60 tires. I have had them balanced on the car. At first they run real smooth but after about 25 miles I get a front end shake at 65 or so and then it drives out of it beyond 70 mph. Could my wheel bearings appear ok but not really be ok? Any ideas for me to check out would be appreciated.

are they loosening up
how are all the front end parts
I had a set of cragers that did the same thing a few years ago
I got sick of it and got corvette rally wheels
good luck

grab the top of the tire and try to move it in and out to see if there is play in the bearings

Are they new tires? If the carcass is separating from the tread you will get the shakes,big time. I just had a set of Continental radials (80000 warranty)adjusted for separation.

My bearings appear tight and I've got nice Michilin XGpilot tires. An switch of wheels sounds like a good test. Cragars are lug-centric but the weights don't appear excessive. Thanks for the ideas.

Unilug wheels are about the worst design ever. It is impossible to get a good balance on wheels that that don't center. I used to do the on-car balncing for the Firestone dealer in town, it doesn't matter how good a job gets done if the wheels are allowed to move at all the balance is shot.

Get rid of the unijunk wheels.

I have a suggestion that might help if you haven't already tried...Find a shop with a balancer that does radial force variation balance.
It finds the heavy spot on the tire and rim and allows the installer to mount the tire on the best possible spot on the rim. More often than not it makes a substantial diffence. Wont help if the rims are moving though but will at least give you the best balance out there.

Well...did you figure out what the shakes were from? :confused:

Originally posted by Rapid Robert:
I just had a set of Continental radials (80000 warranty)adjusted for separation. 2 continental tires just recently separated on my girlfriend's car. They were mostly worn out anyway, and were on the car when we bought it. The car never handled very good, and always pulled to one side like the alignment was off. Then one day it started shaking BAD, so I replaced the front tires and rotated the rears up to the front. Same thing 2 weeks later. I now have new tires on it, and it drives straight as an arrow.

Sounds like Continental has some problems that need fixing :eek:

I had 55000 miles on my Continentals, rotated at 6000 miles,every other oil change, I can't complain since these are on my truck and pull my car every weekend thru the summer. They lasted pretty good for a 4 ply tire.

There are known issues with Continental radials, some were recalled on Lincoln Nav's and other Fords that used them. For info, check www.recalls.gov (http://www.recalls.gov)

Most likely the problem lies in the Cragar Mags. Still looking for some straight wheels to replace them especially for the "test"