Steering wheel shimmy

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

I’m looking for help/suggestions on tracking down the source of this issue. It has been going on since I’ve had the car. I’m pretty fed up with it so I brought it into a shop today to have them investigate, but they weren’t able to find the problem.

The steering wheel has a slight shimmy/vibration in a few conditions:
Cruising @ 70-75mph
Braking between 60-75mph

Things that have been checked:
alignment
wheel balance
tires were roadforce balanced today
brake rotor runout(rotors have been changed recently)

A little info on the car:
07 RS4
JHM 380mm rotors
OEM wheels
tires are PSS 275/30/19. wear pattern looks even.

#2

Bent or cracked wheel?
Running spacers? if so maybe that
wheel bearing or axle?

Just throwing out a few ideas

#3

~ Check the inner bushing for all of the control arms to make sure they’re all good.
~ Check for a leaky or shot strut
~ Check for loose bolts in the suspension.

#4

Have you tried swapping rear wheels to the front?

I’ve been chasing a 70+ mph shimmy for two summers on my set of summer wheels. I finally got it tolerable by balancing the wheels twice and rotating tires one at a time and finding the best two for the front. The wheels themselves are perfectly true and my winter set are perfectly smooth so I’ve decided tires are my problem.

#5

It looks like you have a good list to start with question and searching on the car wise.

Ill add a few questions to try and further help track this down.
Is this something that will go away if you turn slightly.
if when your breaking and the shimmy starts will the shimmy go away at 60 or stay with you
Any noises going over bumps at slow speeds

#6

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, looks like I’m going to spend some time on my back this weekend.

I need to do some more testing to see if it goes away when turning slightly.
The shimmy goes away braking under 60mph.
No noises going over bumps at slow speeds.

#7

I will be following this thread. I have the same issue for almost 3 years now. I gave up for the most part and just live with it. What I’ve done:

  • taken to shop, given them free range to find it. $500 and 2 days later no resolution other than a fixed frozen alignment bolt in the rear end. No change in the vibration.
  • tire balance (too many to count)
  • tire roadforce balance (too many to count)
  • new axles
  • new wheels (and checked spacers with new ones multiple times, old wheels were stock)
  • new tires, probably 4-5 sets now
  • new control arms
  • new wheel bearings
  • suspension/mount bolts checked
  • new rotors
  • alignments (too many to count)
  • new motor mounts, snub mount

Sometimes temperature changes it (worse for first 5-6 miles of the trip). It is smooth as glass under about 50-55mph. Some days are worse than others. Not RPM dependent, or turning dependent. So many times I think I’ve found a correlation but then the correlation randomly disappears. I don’t have the dual mass flywheel. No other noises, creaks, groans, whether on smooth roads or bumps or whatever.

Only things left:

  • new struts (but they seem good, car doesn’t bounce or clunk or anything
  • drive shaft carrier bearing?
  • demon exorcism
#8

I can’t edit apparently, but I do not have the issue when braking, i.e. braking does not make it any worse (or better) for me.

I’ve also pulled my motor and trans and put everything back in and it is the exact same.

But anyway, I feel your pain. Maybe this thread will bring up some new ideas…

#9

I vote for demon exorcism!! Unfortunately, I do not have the qualifications to perform that.

#10

justin: the shimmy effect is reduced but not eliminated when slightly turning

#11

Is it dependent on what way you turn. So its more eliminated if you slightly turn right then left

#12

I need to do more testing, but so far it feels like a slight left turn eliminates the shimmy more so than a slight right turn.

Also, the shimmy under braking @ 60-75mph only happens during LIGHT braking.

found this on my way home :slight_smile:

https://i.imgur.com/0MFl7Qb.jpg

#13

I fixed this issue by changing the tires today. No more steering shimmy or vibration at any speed or while braking. I guess it was a bad balance?

The old set was not road-force balanced when originally mounted, but the front two were road-force balanced a few months ago. Maybe the vibration was caused by the rear tires?

I also went back to the OE size 255/35/19. Old tires were 275/30/19 - could that have been the problem?

#14

That would make sense if the tires had a flat spot in them or they were warped. But didnt you say you rotated the tires. And still got it.

#15

One point that hasn’t been brought up is the hubs, get out a wire wheel or brush and clean off all the corrosion on the hub face. The extruded portion that makes the wheels hub centric should be cleaned really well also.

#16

Yeah I actually plan on doing this when I put on my spacers and studs next week.

#17

It seems like they are already fixed but it would be interesting to see what you find when you clean off the hub. It would be interesting to see if the wheels being out like that did any damage or created a groove

#18

So after a track day this problem is back with a vengeance.

Cruising at 70-80mph includes a very noticeable steering wheel vibration. I’m not getting any vibration or steering wheel shimmy during braking though, which is a relief.

A few guesses:
Uneven tread wear caused by a bias towards right hand turns at that track
Alignment - shouldn’t be off but worth checking again
All my wheels are fucken bennnnt
Fuck my life
Help

#19

If the wheels got hot enough you might have thrown a few wheel weights.

#20

This.

Tape down your wheel weights next time.