Steering Wheel Shake

Hello,

I have a 14’ Limited (102K) with a few Mods and my steering wheel rapidly shakes/shimmys about 1/4” left to right when you hit the brakes around 55-60mph. If you are going slower around 35-40 and brake it doesn’t do it. You do not feel this in the brake peddle only the steering wheel and front end in general. I know issues can come with Mods but mine are pretty minor and it’s very annoying…and also doesn’t feel super safe if you have to suddenly brake at higher speed.

Wasn’t sure this could be rotors as they are only a year old and I’d think you feel a warped rotor at any speed?

Any ideas are appreciated.

CooperDiscoverer ATP II
275 /60 R20 (brand new)

Fuel Rebel 20” wheels with the least amount of offset.

Brand new Bilstein 5100 set on middle position and new upper mounts.

Fresh alignment after tires/struts

I had this problem with my old Falken tires and thought they were the issue but the new ones actually do it worse.

 

I’d probably have the tires road force balanced. If no resolution, I’d probably look at the rotors and brake pads to see if it resolves the issue.

Also, I always redo the lug nuts when I get home with my torque wrench after going to tire shops. These rotors are bad about warping with overtorque and shops are notorious for that.

 

Lightly warped rotors can cause that to happen at high speeds but not low speeds.

Since the brakes are pretty new, I’d consider having your rotors turned. If it fixes it then comes back down the road, I’d consider different brake rotors. Also, new doesn’t mean not warped, crap happens. A year ago I replaced the front brakes on my 1 year old, 12k mile, Tacoma as it would do this. It just takes bad rotors or one overheating to do it, pretty common.

It could also be steering rack bushings, especially if you’re running large tires.

 

Do people still turn rotors? I thought that was a lost art.

 

My buddy still does. He is a small shop that specializes in tires, brakes and suspension.
It is hardly worth it because rotors are cheap.
Word of warning.... don't buy the super cheap Chinese rotors.

 

Shimmy in steering wheel when braking usually front rotors. Do you get any shimmy driving low and highway speeds , or only when braking ??

 

Thanks for the input. I’m definitely leaning towards slightly warped rotors since it only does this when braking at high speed of about 55+. I assumed you would feel rotors at any speed or in the pedal, but it seems if only slightly warped and the brake hydraulics absorbing and pushback against the caliper pistons (no pedal feel) this likely yields the wheel shake. I will have them checked this weekend.

 

Mine does it at higher speeds, but from the rears. It sat for 2 weeks this spring and pads stuck to the rotors and rust.. When the pads wear out is when I'll change them.. BTW, how do you like the Cooper tires ?

 

I just did my rotors not that long ago. I had no shimmy normal driving but slowing from higher speeds or sudden/harder/towing stop I could feel it.

If it turns out it is the rotors, I know a lot of people will tell you to go with OE or cryo rotors but I've been REAL happy with the powerstop z36 matched with their ceramic pads. I dont feel like it stops any better or worse than stock but the zinc plating with the drilled/slotted will keep me from having warping and rust issues longer than factory. My truck sits outside from time to time and I used to get surface rust from the OE rotors. I havent had any yet with the zinc plating.

 

This seems to have worked for me:

My brakes would pulse on long steep grades out West, which would cause a bit of steering wheel shake. This is normal because the rotors get really hot in a non-uniform way. The way I understand it is if you come to a complete stop and sit on your brakes (like at an off-ramp stoplight) these hot spots can retain material (dust, brake pad material, etc), creating buildup which makes it seem like your rotors are warped even after they cool down.

After reading a bunch about rotors and thinking there’s no way I should have to replace mine at ~53k miles, I found some info about this and ended up trying a couple of bedding procedures (60mph-10mph HARD) to clean off the buildup.

And wouldn't you know it? My pulsing went away.

 

Great suggestion about the bedding process, I hadn’t thought of this but it’s an obvious thing to try for cheap. Just takes finding a good stretch of road to be able to do it without people around.

 

Thanks again. I think I’m going to try the Power Stop kit. Maybe the vented design will keep heat down and the rotors and pads are $250 which is the same or less than decent ones in an auto parts store.

I will try the bedding process just for the hell of it though.

@agrestic1 I like the Cooper tires. Certainly can’t complain. I think they ride a bit better and more quiet than my Falken Wildpeaks. I drive 500mi round trip to my lake house often and they seemed rated well for road noise and semi aggressive look.

 

Sounds like warped rotors, or it could even be wheels weren't put on right, a buddy had that happen on a lexus.