Tire balancing issues!!!

I recently went to Toyota and had some stock sized KO2's put on the black TRD rims. It shook like crazy when I left the dealership, they tried to say it was because of the aggressiveness of the tires but I had them recheck it and they ended up rebalancing all 4 tires. I still have a heavy shake in the steering wheel and it can almost make me nauseous from all of the shaking that starts at like 20-30 MPH. My question is how rough should I expect the truck to ride when on stock sized KO2's. Should there even be any shake at all? I'm debating taking it to another place to rebalance and then billing Toyota for it but I don't want to waste time and money if its normal for it to ride that bad. Trying to attach a video but it wont let me.

 

Likely just needs a good road force balance at a reputable shop. Ideally one that works with AT/ MT tires fairly often.

I don't trust stealerships... Not even for alignments or tire balancing.

 

Thanks, yeah, seems like what I am going to have to do.

 

Go to discount tire. They are the only ones that have the right setup to do the road force balancing. You have to explain to them though the issue and then the techs will set it up right. Do expect a little vibe on new tires but they will eventually even out.

 

Appreciate it. Thankfully there isn't one of those too far from my house.

 

Agreed. I didn't even go back to Toyota dealership when my brand new TRD Pro had alignment and tire balance issues. IMO Toyota dealerships near my house don't have skilled techs.

 

Yeah, to be honest, they never should have let it leave the dealership the way it was.

 

I would change to a different tire brand if i were you. Every set of BF Goodrich's KO2's I ever had no one could get balanced right

 

Might be too late for all of that, so I hope that isn't the case lol

 

Atleast in my case Discount Tire near my house balance below BFG KO2 tires perfectly.

2017 4Runner SR5-
BFG KO2 265/70R17 Load C


2018 4Runner TRD ORP-
BFG KO2 265/70R17 Load C
BFG KO2 275/70R17 Load E
BFG KO2 285/70R17 Load C

 

You need to use a good shop. My KO2's had a little shimmy from Discount tire. I took it to an off-road shop and they got them perfect.

 

Thanks, I'm gonna set an appointment with them ASAP.

 

I definitely have a few off-road shops that are closer than Discount Tire. I just want them done right lol

 

It seems like a lot of people have had good luck with Discount Tire, so maybe my experience was a fluke. As long as the can road force balance them, they should be fine.

It doesn't help much that 4Runners seem to be very sensitive to out of balance tires.

 

You arent lying lol I could reset an etch-a-sketch just by driving down the road.

 

@Sean M. if you want it done right, have your shop follow this guide. Especially important is having them take note of the run-out numbers after they've followed this procedure. If the run-out numbers are higher than 20 then it's a bad tire(s). Go back to the shop you bought the tires and have them replace the bad one(s).

https://www.4runners.com/threads/the-official-guide-to-balancing-your-tires.28872/

 

Not all Discount Tires are created equal, I will never return to the one near me. My Wildpeak AT3's shook horribly and I took them back in and they tried to claim they were fine. I said go drive it and tell me that. They came back and said two tires required a "minor weight adjustment". I said how much was needed? "Only 4 ounces, so not much." Dude, that's a quarter of a pound, go back and tear down the tire and rotate it. Ended up having them redone at a local shop and have had no problems since. Hopefully you get yours squared away, I know its aggravating with the shake/vibration.

 

I haven't balanced any of my tires in over 20 years. 340k miles on my Ram 2500 with 35" tires and 70K miles on my 5th Gen with 285s. Zero weights on any of them.
I make sure the yellow dot is lined up to the valve stem and install ceramic beads, 8oz. in the 35s and 6oz. in the 285s.

 

My father in law got K02's on his F150 and they would not balance. The shop put on another set with the same issues. He ended up going with another brand and had no issues.

 

Sounds like bad tires or bad balance from the tech. I have Falken WP AT3 285/70/17s with 45000 on them and they did not shake new or now. I also drive 30 miles on the PA turnpike between 75-80 mph and its smooth.

That dealership is full of crap about the issue being ATs.

also, yellow dot goes to valve stem. Others may disagree, but Ive never had balance or wear issues doing it that way.

 

6oz per tire? Thats way too much. My 285s have 1.00-1.50 oz per wheel.

 

Way too much??? Nope, not at all, it's just right.
https://www.innovativebalancing.com/BigTirechart.htm

 

I have had 5 sets of KO2's on Tundras, Tacomas, and my last 4R and they have all balanced just fine and were perfectly smooth riding on the road. My friend owns a small two bay tire shop in my town and explained to me at length why 99% of the issues in balancing AT/MT tires stem from human error....e.g. a lack of training and/or expertise

EDIT: +1 on aligning the yellow dot with the valve stem

 

sorry didnt know you were running LTs

 

The shimmy issue with KO2s is fairly common, there are several old threads here discussing it. Some people swear it's an issue with the vehicle, but it is indeed the tire balance causing the shimmy. You may have to try another shop until you find someone who can get them balanced.

 

You do know that the KO2 has been discontinued or soon will be once the current inventory is gone right ?

 

Good point. Check the mfg date on the tire.

 

Do KO2's even have a yellow dot? Mine don't.

 

I'm running KO3s with TRD Pro wheels and I'm having the balance issue with these too.