Steering Wheel/oil Tune Ups

[jackhop]

my car has been through hell and back, it seems...i got 4 new tires on it, every thing was fine, and the steering wheel started to shake...so, i asked around and everyone told me to get my wheels balanced...so, i did...thought it would be the solution and it ended up not being it...so, i finally went to goodyear after going to s&s tire and ntb...the guy told me the other mechanics didnt balance them right and he said that the problem was coming from the rims and that they should probably be replaced...he didnt say anything about them being bent, but he put the rim and the tire on the rotating machine and placed a pen on the rim to show that the pen was bouncing off and not stabilized...im just really confused...just want to know what i should do to get this problem solved...this as well as my car seems to be sluggish at times, i dont know if it's b/c i need an oil change soon, i might be past due...if that would change much of the performance on the car. id appreciate any help. thanks.

[bartkat]

my car has been through hell and back, it seems...i got 4 new tires on it, every thing was fine, and the steering wheel started to shake...so, i asked around and everyone told me to get my wheels balanced...so, i did...thought it would be the solution and it ended up not being it...so, i finally went to goodyear after going to s&s tire and ntb...the guy told me the other mechanics didnt balance them right and he said that the problem was coming from the rims and that they should probably be replaced...he didnt say anything about them being bent, but he put the rim and the tire on the rotating machine and placed a pen on the rim to show that the pen was bouncing off and not stabilized...im just really confused...just want to know what i should do to get this problem solved...this as well as my car seems to be sluggish at times, i dont know if it's b/c i need an oil change soon, i might be past due...if that would change much of the performance on the car.  id appreciate any help.  thanks.

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If the wheel is bent, then you should be able to see that while it's turning on the balance machine. If the tire/wheel is out of round, a good tire shop should have a guage that can measure that and see if it's out of spec. Also maybe, dismount the tires and just spin the wheels on the machine and see if it's the wheels or the tires.

[Benjamminz_IS]

my car has been through hell and back, it seems...i got 4 new tires on it, every thing was fine, and the steering wheel started to shake...so, i asked around and everyone told me to get my wheels balanced...so, i did...thought it would be the solution and it ended up not being it...so, i finally went to goodyear after going to s&s tire and ntb...the guy told me the other mechanics didnt balance them right and he said that the problem was coming from the rims and that they should probably be replaced...he didnt say anything about them being bent, but he put the rim and the tire on the rotating machine and placed a pen on the rim to show that the pen was bouncing off and not stabilized...im just really confused...just want to know what i should do to get this problem solved...this as well as my car seems to be sluggish at times, i dont know if it's b/c i need an oil change soon, i might be past due...if that would change much of the performance on the car.  id appreciate any help.  thanks.

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first things to check on the "sluggish" issue...

1. air filter

2. spark plugs

3. buy a gallon of denatured alcohol and put it in the tank before filling up next time, or you can buy a very good fuel injector cleaner/octane booster additive... just be sure you put it in BEFORE filling up...

oil changes will rarely affect performance noticeably... so long as you aren't WAY past due... and if you can, have someone do an oil system flush and start putting in amsoil(best synthetic on the market) in both your engine and transmission. before doing this though make sure that there are no signs of oil buildup on the engine... as this is a sign that your gaskets are worn out... and as soon as you run synthetic in it you WILL start LEAKING oil as it will clean all the gunk out like you wouldn't believe... i made that mistake on a 97 thunderbird... hah...