Steering wheel vibration that the dealer can’t fix

After a weekend of driving it I’ve realized a couple things.

1. the tires are definitely cupped. I’m now getting a rumble in the seat from the bad tires that went on the back.

2. I think my alignment is slightly off. I really played with it on a super flat and straight road. It ever so slightly pulls to the left. My guess is it’s been that way for a while which is what cupped them

 

Hit post too fast!

I’m going to find a good alignment shop and then likely get new tires.

I’m on stock 20’s. Any recos? I like KO2’s….

 

KO2s get louder as they wear.
Do you really need an E-rated tire?

I replaced my KO2s with these in a 275/60/20.
SL rated instead of E, yet still has the look of an AT tire.
It rides smoother the KO2s..
Been very happy with them.

Goodyear Wrangler UltraTerrain AT | Discount Tire

 

Love my Ko2's They run smooth with 40 psi and have a very long life.

 

Tire balance. Cant stand to drive at 60mph for steering wheel shaking but 55 is fine. Sometimes doesnt happen or not as bad some days.
4Runners are bad for it. Took multiple trips to tire shop but eventually got it fixed at different shop from before.

Balance is sort of like alignments. The machine shows green so tech says it's good. Being in spec doesn't always mean good and a lot of them don't understand that.

Also, KO2 known to be especially bad with 4Runner crowd. Shop has to get it just right.

 

Do American tires have alignment??? Idk I heard they have road force balance, it’s hard to find a shop that have both of those machines

 

Talked to my Indy mechanic this afternoon. Taking the truck there Thurs for an alignment.

He said the Bridgestone Duellers I have are notorious for cupping. He said most of his customers only get 25-30k miles out of them.

He recommends Toyo AT3 to all his Tundra customers. Says they last forever, aren’t too loud and look good.

Anyone running them?

 

I run BFG KO2 cause the shop only have the ko2 available with the size I want…

 

KO2s in that size are D rated

 

I'm running Toyo AT3's 275/70/18 I like them a lot...

 

Ok, E or D rated, whatever..

The SL rated are a smoother ride..
Thanks for the tire rating research..

 

Anything is better then E rated tires…

 

Toyo, Wildpeaks will likely perform better than the KO2. K02s get hard with some age, generally harder to balance than some of the other brands, not great with wet traction. K02s do well however in desert climate/terrain.

Lots of good AT tires out there that perform well in all conditions, have 50+ mileage warranties so unless you are set n BFG (which is fine) I would consider other brands.

FWIW, I have also had issues with Bridgestone, will never purchase them again. Have run BFG on many vehicles over the years but the current tires are not as good as the original BFG ATs. Toyo, Nitto, Cooper, Falken have some nice aggressive ATs that work well on a daily driver.

 

I've got about 20,000 miles on a set of Nokians, so far only issue is I'm getting some noise but not a big deal for me..the original Bridgestone tires wore out early as usual, 2nd set was Michelin, disappointed, now the Nokian...

 

I would stay away from D and E-rated tires if you are already worried about vibration. Heavier tires are even less friendly balance-wise on a 1/2 ton truck.

I was unhappy with the moderate vibrations that started on my D rated KO2s, so I went to some E rated Michelin AT2s. That was a mistake, shaking in the wheel was unbearable. Tread pattern is important, but tire construction and weight seems to be more important among AT tires.

Several rebalances and an alignment later - I went back to my 20" TRD Sport takeoffs (your wheels) with a set of P rated tires Yokohama AT G015s. The vibration is mostly manageable now. It got much better after having the tires spin balanced once more after the initial installation. I am of the opinion that tires stretch and settle in the first few hundred miles.

My latest attempt to cure my vibration was installing new steering rack bushings. The steering wheel feels much more isolated from the road now, which seems to help with vibration. The bushings that Toyota uses essentially allow left to right movement of the rack - the opinion I am forming is that the allowable play translates itself to the steering wheel. This is just a theory. Mine was getting worse and then the new rack bushings seem to have stopped the shaking an oscillating.

I'm also curious about the needle bearing in the diff. I've read that causes vibrations. There is considerable play in the CV on the driver's side right at the differential.

The rest of my front end is nice and tight - ball joints, tie rods, etc.

Edit: Here is my thread - https://www.tundras.com/threads/steering-wheel-shake-a-story-with-pictures.111170/page-1

 

Got my truck back from my Indy today with a set of Falken Rubitrek ATs on it.

Turns out there was a band loose inside one of the tires which was causing the vibrations. When the dealer moved the bad tire to the back it made the seat vibrate.

Indy told me it happens a good amount with the OEM Duellers.

He also did an alignment while I had it there.

Only drove it home the 15 miles but drives like a dream. Love the look of the tires too.

 

Looks noice

 

Glad you found a solution. I wish I could get mine 100%. Did you stay factory size or go to a 60 series?