There are a few reasons why your steering wheel shakes when you drive fast, but they all tend to be mechanical problems so you really need to get it checked out. It could be that your tyres are not balanced, or your suspension could be shot.
Having your tyres balanced is essential if they are out of balance, they put stress onto the shock absorbers, the bearings and other parts of the wheel. Balancing them usually means taking your car to the experts because if it is done wrong you can cause untold damage, but if you know quite a bit about cars and have the basic equipment, you can balance your own tyres.
You will need a wheel balancer, some chalk, wheel weights and some duct tape.
First of all, remove any wheel weights that are already on the wheel; they make it harder to balance the tyre. Insert the shaft of the wheel balancer through the wheel hub and secure it into place. Although the wheel doesn’t need to be exactly in the centre of the balancer, try and get it as close as you can.
Gently spin the wheel; you will see that the heaviest part of the wheel is pulled to the bottom and the lightest will return to the top. Let it settle into that position and then mark the lightest part of the tyre with your chalk. Keep spinning to make sure that you have marked the correct place.
When you are sure, attach the wheel weights to the spot just below where you have marked. This should address the imbalance.
You now need to move the wheel so that the weights are in the three o’clock position. When you release the wheel, you will be able to see by the direction in which it rolls whether you have added too much weight, or not enough. If it rolls clockwise so that the weight ends up at the bottom, there’s too much weight; if it rolls back to the top, there isn’t enough.
You need to keep adding or taking away weight until the weights that you have added stay in the 3 o’clock position without rolling either way.
When you are certain that it is right, you can make sure that the wheel weights are really secure by using duct tape. You can then put the wheel back onto the car, making sure that all the lug nuts are secure.
Having your tyres balanced is essential if they are out of balance, they put stress onto the shock absorbers, the bearings and other parts of the wheel. Balancing them usually means taking your car to the experts because if it is done wrong you can cause untold damage, but if you know quite a bit about cars and have the basic equipment, you can balance your own tyres.
You will need a wheel balancer, some chalk, wheel weights and some duct tape.
First of all, remove any wheel weights that are already on the wheel; they make it harder to balance the tyre. Insert the shaft of the wheel balancer through the wheel hub and secure it into place. Although the wheel doesn’t need to be exactly in the centre of the balancer, try and get it as close as you can.
Gently spin the wheel; you will see that the heaviest part of the wheel is pulled to the bottom and the lightest will return to the top. Let it settle into that position and then mark the lightest part of the tyre with your chalk. Keep spinning to make sure that you have marked the correct place.
When you are sure, attach the wheel weights to the spot just below where you have marked. This should address the imbalance.
You now need to move the wheel so that the weights are in the three o’clock position. When you release the wheel, you will be able to see by the direction in which it rolls whether you have added too much weight, or not enough. If it rolls clockwise so that the weight ends up at the bottom, there’s too much weight; if it rolls back to the top, there isn’t enough.
You need to keep adding or taking away weight until the weights that you have added stay in the 3 o’clock position without rolling either way.
When you are certain that it is right, you can make sure that the wheel weights are really secure by using duct tape. You can then put the wheel back onto the car, making sure that all the lug nuts are secure.
