Re: Milano wheel shimmy & centering rings

[Nizam Zambri <nizam@domain.elided>]

Alan -

What kind of tires are you using?  I have come across tires that, over 
time, develop a shimmy before becoming downright undriveable.  This 
includes expensive, "ultra high performance" tires that have made their 
way on one of my Alfas.

I've had pretty good luck with Dunlop SP8000's and SP9000's but I've had 
rather crummy experience with Bridgestone RE71, and the successor, RE730.  
Both the latter would be smooth on install but as they got older, they got 
less and less smooth until they became incredibly annoying.  No amount of 
balancing on Hunter's top-of-the-line GSP9700 balancing machine could get 
rid of the vibration.  They usually came back within a few weeks.

Oh, in case you didn't know, the Hunter GSP9700 series is the most 
advanced consumer-grade balancing machine (you can also see it in the 
SpeedTV Touring Car Championship being lugged around from racetrack to 
racetrack), and will get rid of most balance problems.  They're a little 
more expensive to use but work great.  See http://www.gsp9700.com/ for a 
dealer near you.  The machine can tell if the wheel is out of round, or if 
the tire is out of round.

Other good tires for staying round through their lives are Toyo Proxes 
T-1S, Michelin Pilot SX MXX3 (don't have experience with the new Pilot 
SX-GT), and Bridgestone Potenza S-03.  I have some shimmy problems with my 
current "touring tire", the Goodyear Eagle RS-A's, but they're comfy for 
long distances.  Grip is not that great, but is very quiet.

Nizam
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