Steering wheel shaking during braking over 70mph

[95se]

I have a '95 se that has z32 30mm aluminum calipers with heavy throttle slotted/dimpled drilled rotors on the front w/ss lines and stock brakes on the rear. I have ABS/VLSD. I am having a problem with the steering wheel shaking during braking over 70mph. The steering wheel would shake at 65+ sometimes when not braking and sometimes during. I had the tires balance and a 4 wheel alignment and the shaking went away when not braking but it is still shaking during braking over 70. I also noticed that there is a clicking noise in the steering wheel, though, the steering feels the same as before. I think the car is still pulling to the left which it was before the alingment. I had the right front tension rod bracket replaced because I bottomed out on it or sometime a yr ago when I hit a curb hard on the left side. The place that worked on it said the car was fine just that one part was bent. After they did the alignment/balance they said the car drove good which was 2 wks ago. So I am not sure what to do now. The car defitnely drives better but I still have the vibration during braking at high speed.

[chibo]

Check your tierods, my car does this and it's because the passenger side tierod balljoint is warn out. If I jack the car up I can wiggle the passenger side back and forth a bit.

[95se]

why wouldn't it shake when I am not braking and only do it during braking if the tie rods where the problem. I have never experienced this in any other cars I've driven before which have all been domestics.

[breakindrifts]

Tensiod rod bushing, its probably squishy and mushed. Check it. And are you rotors still new? They could be warping

[fliprayzin240sx]

Check wheel bearings too and see if theyre done for. Jack the car and try to shake the wheel. If it wiggles left and right, then tie rod bushings are done. If it wiggles up and down, bearings are saying bye-bye...

[AllenRPS13]

i got the same problem as well, check the rotors. but my problem gone after changing the brake pads... dunno why tho... good luck

[thx247]

I had the same problem in a old 89. The TC rod bushings were completely shot and let the car wander and shake at 60mph and over. When braking the car would often choose a side to brake harder on, making the car steer left or right when you got on them hard.

[Rickrak77]

If the car pulls left and shakes during braking, it's gonna be either warped rotors or a tire separating.

My money is on the tire separating, with a tire that's coming apart it'll get a little better if you balance it, but it will still be out of round.

You said you hit a curb? Try putting your spare on in place of the tire you hit the curb with and see if it still does it.

[95se]

The front rotors have been on for 3-4 yrs. I don't brake hard and I know I have plenty of pad left in front and back. The car pulls to the left in general like the alignment is still out, though, its not a bad pull. When I brake at over 70mph the steering wheel just shakes but there is no pulling side to side. When I hit the curb a yr ago I bottomed out on the front at a dip then when into a curb on the left side. The left front tire had a small bulge in the sidewall. I was told not to worry about it by the place I got the tires at and my automotive shop didn't even notice it. They didn't think I hit the curb very hard. They noticed that the right front tension rod brkt was bent on the flange but didn't have to be replaced. They checked the alignment and said it pulled to the left a little and said the caster was out on the right front and I had to get adjustable tension rods to fix it which I never bought because the bracket was bent on that side so I figured i should replace that first then maybe that would cure the alignment issue. So anyway I let it go till this January and took it in to get the bracket replaced. I told them about the vibration which was occuring at highway speed most of the time whether or not i was braking, though, it seemed to be a little worse during braking. So my automotive place said that it was probably a balance issue, they had just got a new balance machine and would do a balance and alignment. Now the car still seems to pull to the left and the vibration is gone at highway speed but is there as soon as I step on the brake over 70mph. The left rear has seemed a little low since I hit the curb as well but they don't notice that either. So even if the alignment is ok maybe it leaning is causing it to pull to the left a little. just my guess.

[NemeGuero]

I would suggest brakes. If it only happens when you apply brakes, then its rotors.

Maybe you got them too hot, and then they got wet. It happens. You can't and don't always account for all the possible variables.

Have them turned and see what's up.

[thx247]

dude get another shop. Dont worry about a bulging tire? lol

[g6civcx]

Okay, my money is 100% on the slotted and cross-drilled brake discs. I'm not knocking HeavyThrottle, but slotting and drilling into the disc after manufacturing is asking for cracking and warping. It has to be done during casting as part of the manufacturing process (the edges need to be cured with the rest of the disc surface).

And depending on the type of warpage, turning the discs may not get rid of it. It sounds like you have classic symptoms of heat warpage. It's not noticeable until the discs come up to operating temperature. Then you start seeing vibration under braking at highway speeds. It doesn't do this when it's cold. So you won't notice it all the time.

Turning the discs will only get rid of out-of-round warpage and make the mating surfaces to the disc flat. Sometimes you can tell if it's heat warped when it shows shades of purple/blue/faint red.


If you do determine it's the discs, I recommend Brembo solid and vented discs. No slots or drills unless you get them directly from Brembo like that. Any other vendor is going to be cutting them with a drill press. Again, I'm not knocking Heavy Throttle, but I don't know if they warranty the work against cracking and warping. You can get slotted and/or drilled discs from them as long as you know what you're buying.

I also recommend you getting new brake pads since labour will be free (you have to take the pads off to get to the disc any way). Hawk HPS is a good one. Comes with all new shims so it should save you some trouble.

[randyjordan]

only things i can think of right now are:

alignment

warped rotors

shot bushings

check pads maybe?

[Nan Desu Ka?!]

+1 for warped rotors or alignment. Check those first as they are the cheapest/worst case scenario.

[Rickrak77]

Dude, a bulge on the sidewall means the tire is coming apart and that will NEVER get better, only worse.

Bad alignment and a little brake shimmy are more annoying than dangerous, that tire comes apart at 70 and it'll take a good chunk of fender with it.

The shop you got the tire from probably didn't want to warranty the tire. But a new tire will cost a whole lot less than a quarter panel and new tire.

[locodrftr]

uhh caster is straight line stability, its ok if its a little off, as long as camber and total toe are correct, all that shouldn't cause that shake,it would either be a wheel balance issue or something might be loose in the suspension like knuckle to stut bolts, just do a nut and bolt on all the front suspension and see if that helps. otherwise its probably bearings. but bearings make a noise when u turn left to right or right to left, best way to check is drive like a drunk and listen, or lift the wheel and tire up and check for play

[locodrftr]

also check and make sure caliper is sliding smoothly when u apply brakes, also check how the brake pad are wearing down if both pads are like || this then its ok but if one is worn down like this|\ then something is wrong,could also be caliper not pushing on pads evenly. hope i helped in some way, good luck

[ESone3]

Vibration = warped rotors.

I did a slotted rotor/green stuff pads and 3 months later they were warpped and I had to replace everything I bought. Higher speeds/hard braking increase temp which cause warping. Z32 brakes may make you stop better, but cheap rotors will warp.

[g6civcx]

Originally Posted by ESone3

Vibration = warped rotors.

I did a slotted rotor/green stuff pads and 3 months later they were warpped and I had to replace everything I bought. Higher speeds/hard braking increase temp which cause warping. Z32 brakes may make you stop better, but cheap rotors will warp.

+1, but it's not so much that cheap discs will warp. It's actually more expensive to get Brembo blanks and cutting them up than if you just bought them as blanks. The blanks will outlast the slotted/drilled when done with a drill press.