Odd vibration between 50-55 mph?

It started today, I guess. It was weird. When I hit about 50-55 it started to vibrate. It got pretty bad until I let off the gas, but it also went away when I got to about 65-70. Any ideas?

Maybe a wheel weight fell off. Check to be sure all the lugs are still tight ASAP too.

Hmm... wheel weight is very possible. When my rear tire went flat, my spare was a different size so I had to rotate it to the front. Would front and rear wheels be weighted differently?

I was kind of scared I broke something major, because the car broke loose in the rain today, but I backed off slowly and didn't let it hook hard or anything, so I don't really think that was it.

toomanytoyz wrote:

Maybe a wheel weight fell off. Check to be sure all the lugs are still tight ASAP too.

Also be sure you check your blinker fluid level why you're at it.

If you have been moving tires around,please check all lugnuts NOW!Now do you feel the vibration in the steering
or the seat of your pants?Does it seem to change in intensity when accelerating or at a constant RPM?Always start with the simple things first before you start to worry!
Take Care
Flasheroo

No, I don't feel it when steering, so I think it's the rear wheel.

I'll check the lugs tomorrow when it's light out. Never thought of that. I had to move the tires because I had a rear tire blow, but my spare was a slightly bigger tire than the others so it couldn't go on the posi rear end.

It could be a harmonic between wheel balance and spring rate/shock rate.

Well, lugs are tight. It's been vibrating more and across all speeds. Dad thinks it might have a misfire

I know its a rare thing today but it sounds like a tire bubble probably on the inside of one of your tires.I would check the spare that you just put into use.Since the vibration is getting more severe I bet the bubble is getting larger.The bubble can be hard to spot but I always ran my hand around the sidewall slowly and it will feel like a bump or a knot poking thru the sidewall.If its a bubble and its getting worse you better find it quick cause it will blow out and if you are at speed you can lose control fast.
Take Care
Flasheroo

More info:

Mom threw out the idea of possibly some bad gas (could be) and since I was already on empty I stopped at Chevron (yay techron) and put some gas in. It felt better initially but then started to reappear. I'll wait to see what happens on my next fill up, and in the mean time I'll check the tire(s) and inspect my plugs and wires.

Check your universals too. Bad gas is a myth. Gas has to meet government standards and the companies all make the same thing. The only difference between the brands is the additives.

U-joints? Hmm...

Fred Kiehl wrote:

Check your universals too. Bad gas is a myth. Gas has to meet government standards and the companies all make the same thing. The only difference between the brands is the additives.

Idk, I tend to believe in bad gas as well. My turbocharged VW cant take gas from the local discount chain, i'll either get really bad mpg's, throw a CEL or just have it run like crap. I wouldn't write it off as a myth.

Yeah, I tend to gravitate toward Chevron or Mobil when I can, but I picked that up from dad.

(Though admittedly I've been at BP a lot lately. LOL It's been cheapest >_> Damn broke summer for me.)

Cadet57 wrote:

Idk, I tend to believe in bad gas as well. My turbocharged VW cant take gas from the local discount chain, i'll either get really bad mpg's, throw a CEL or just have it run like crap. I wouldn't write it off as a myth.

The gas is MUCH better than it was just 5 years a go. I pick up ALL gas at the same place, through the same hoses. The only difference is the additives. If the store you go to is a low volume, "Mom and Pop" store, then I can see it going stale, especially with this E-10 crap that they tell us will start to go bad after 30 days. If there is ANY ( and I mean ANY) water in the gas the Ethanol will go nuts and it will phase separate. That's when I go in and remove all the gas from the ground.

[img][/img]

Krzdimond wrote:

Cadet57 wrote:

Idk, I tend to believe in bad gas as well. My turbocharged VW cant take gas from the local discount chain, i'll either get really bad mpg's, throw a CEL or just have it run like crap. I wouldn't write it off as a myth.

The gas is MUCH better than it was just 5 years a go. I pick up ALL gas at the same place, through the same hoses. The only difference is the additives. If the store you go to is a low volume, "Mom and Pop" store, then I can see it going stale, especially with this E-10 crap that they tell us will start to go bad after 30 days. If there is ANY ( and I mean ANY) water in the gas the Ethanol will go nuts and it will phase separate. That's when I go in and remove all the gas from the ground.

This just does not make any sense to me. When did any of you have a bottle of Jack go bad on you, or a bottle of scotch. And these are mostly water. Ethanol is anhydrous, meaning that water has a polar attraction to it and actually keeps it in suspension. Up here we use either ethanol or methanol during the winter to prevent freeze up. The water is absorbed in the alcohol and remains in suspension, effectively lowering the freezing point.

It is only my opinion, but it has to be something else causing these reactions. Alot of work has been done over the past 10 years to clean up pump gas but it only seems that lately we are having problems. It could actually be the quality of the ethanol. The corn ligour plants that produce this stuff are finding that the costs are going out of control so maybe we aren't getting the 190 proof stuff to mix in. That last 20% of distillation is the most costly.

As far as the mileage, all things being equal, E10 has 97% of the bang of gasoline, but has a higher octane rating. The worst we should get is a 3% drop in mileage. The oil companies have used this stuff for years as an octane booster. Its just in the last few years they have been advertising the fact.

Bill

Whatever it is I don't have the same problems when I get gas at the Mobil, Hess or Gulf branded stations. And its definitely not a placebo effect either. The car is definitely not the same when running on the discount chain fuel. It's not just my car either. We had a '00 Explorer that had the same problem. My mother would fill it almost every week on Friday there and she'd be down to half a tank by wed and her commute is only 5 mi each way.