Vibration or rubbing after new wheels: what to check first

Write down exactly when the problem happens before anyone touches the car. A vibration that appears at a particular road speed points somewhere different from one that appears only when braking. A rub that happens on full lock in a car park has a different cause from a rub over a speed bump with passengers in the back.

• Speed: at what speed does the vibration start, peak and fade?
• Where you feel it: through the steering wheel, the seat or the brake pedal?
• Conditions: braking, accelerating, cornering, or steady cruising?
• Rubbing: on lock, over bumps, under load, or all the time?
• Which corner: front, rear, one side or both?

A steady vibration that appears in a band, often somewhere between 50 and 70 mph, is most often balance. New tyres need balancing on the new wheels, and a weight can fall off in the first few miles. Ask for a road-force or high-speed balance if a standard balance has not cured it, because it can also detect a tyre or wheel that is out of round.

The next most common cause on aftermarket wheels is centring. Many aftermarket wheels have a larger centre bore than the car's hub so that one wheel can fit several cars. Without the correct hub-centric ring, the wheel is centred only by the nut or bolt seats, and a small error in tightening can leave it slightly off centre. That shows up as a vibration that balancing alone will not fix.

Fastener seats matter too. Factory wheels and aftermarket wheels often use different seat shapes: conical (60 degree), ball (radius) or flat with a washer. Using the original nuts or bolts on a wheel that needs a different seat means the fastener only touches part of the wheel. It can feel tight and still work loose. Check the wheel maker's specification and use matching hardware.

• Find the right hub-centric ring size
• Hub-centric rings explained

A rub on full steering lock usually means the tyre is touching the inner arch liner, the chassis leg or a suspension part as it turns. It often appears after fitting a wider tyre or a wheel with a lower offset, because the tyre now sweeps a bigger arc. A rub over bumps or with passengers means the tyre meets the arch lip or liner as the suspension compresses.

Work out how much the setup actually moved. If the old wheel was 8 inches wide at ET45 and the new one is 9 inches at ET35, the outer edge has moved about 22.7 mm outwards and the inner edge about 2.7 mm inwards. A wider tyre adds more on top of that. Knowing the real change makes it much easier to judge whether a small fix will do or whether the combination is simply too big.

• Look for shiny marks or rubber dust on liners, arch lips and suspension parts to find the contact point.
• Check the tyre is the size you ordered; tyre models of the same nominal size vary in width.
• Check ride height and alignment, especially after lowering: camber and toe change the tyre's position.
• Turn the wheel lock to lock with the car on the ground and look at each extreme.

• Compare old and new wheel and tyre positions
• Rolling versus pulling arches

If the fix list keeps growing, step back. A wheel and tyre combination that needs liners cut, arches rolled, extra camber and spacers to stop rubbing may be the wrong combination for how the car is used. Changing the tyre size or the wheel offset can be cheaper and safer than modifying the car around it.

• Wheel spacers: safety and sizing
• How lowering affects wheel fitment

Measure before buying. Record your current wheel width, offset and tyre size, measure the gaps on the inside and outside of each tyre, and compare the new setup against them. Check the wheel's centre bore and seat type, and order the right rings and hardware with the wheels rather than after they arrive.

Keep a record of what you fitted: wheel part number, size, offset, tyre model, ring size and fastener specification. When the wheels come off for tyres or brakes, the next technician can put everything back the way it was designed to go.

• Check your car's fitment guide
• Wheel offset explained