Alcoa Wheels

[SWH]

This past weekend we took a short trip in our 2017 AI and I noticed that at highway speeds the steering wheel was vibrating noticeably. Since we are going on a much longer trip this coming weekend I decided to get it checked out - balance front tires probably, check alignment just in case. So took it to the Mercedes dealer in town that services Sprinters, thinking I would hang out for an hour while they did their thing...

Well, not so simple. First he told me that they have seen issues with Alcoa wheels on these motor homes before and they would need to get a PO from the Airstream dealer since the wheels are not Mercedes OEM. I decided to get a ride back to work because I didn't want to wait on all this. Four hours later he calls back to tell me that they can't complete the job that day because the wheel weights they used to re-balance the front tires were hitting the brake calipers (!?) and they needed to get thinner wheel weights and needed to keep it overnight. Ughh, okay.

Mid-next morning he calls back again and tells me they can't get the thinner wheel weights and I would just need to come pick it up and find a local tire store that can handle it!

I was pretty miffed at the poor customer service, but I picked it up and took it to a local tire shop and they were able to balance the front wheels while I waited - and indeed the vibration is now gone.

But that wasn't quite the end. When it was ready to go the technician comes in with a bag containing all of the chrome lug nut caps from the front wheels telling me that they won't stay on anymore. Sure enough when you place them over the lug nuts, they are loose. I can't for the life of me figure out why - do you need to squeeze them in some way to get them to stay on?? Were they damaged when removed? For now they are still in the bag and we'll take our trip with exposed lug nuts, and planning to have our Airstream dealer take a look when I have it in for another small warranty issue.

Just crazy to me that getting two tires balanced became such a mini-ordeal.

Anyone had any similar difficulties with getting the Alcoa wheels balanced and/or putting the decorative lug nut caps back on?

[c21]

Originally Posted by SWH

This past weekend we took a short trip in our 2017 AI and I noticed that at highway speeds the steering wheel was vibrating noticeably. Since we are going on a much longer trip this coming weekend I decided to get it checked out - balance front tires probably, check alignment just in case. So took it to the Mercedes dealer in town that services Sprinters, thinking I would hang out for an hour while they did their thing...

Well, not so simple. First he told me that they have seen issues with Alcoa wheels on these motor homes before and they would need to get a PO from the Airstream dealer since the wheels are not Mercedes OEM. I decided to get a ride back to work because I didn't want to wait on all this. Four hours later he calls back to tell me that they can't complete the job that day because the wheel weights they used to re-balance the front tires were hitting the brake calipers (!?) and they needed to get thinner wheel weights and needed to keep it overnight. Ughh, okay.

Mid-next morning he calls back again and tells me they can't get the thinner wheel weights and I would just need to come pick it up and find a local tire store that can handle it!

I was pretty miffed at the poor customer service, but I picked it up and took it to a local tire shop and they were able to balance the front wheels while I waited - and indeed the vibration is now gone.

But that wasn't quite the end. When it was ready to go the technician comes in with a bag containing all of the chrome lug nut caps from the front wheels telling me that they won't stay on anymore. Sure enough when you place them over the lug nuts, they are loose. I can't for the life of me figure out why - do you need to squeeze them in some way to get them to stay on?? Were they damaged when removed? For now they are still in the bag and we'll take our trip with exposed lug nuts, and planning to have our Airstream dealer take a look when I have it in for another small warranty issue.

Just crazy to me that getting two tires balanced became such a mini-ordeal.

Anyone had any similar difficulties with getting the Alcoa wheels balanced and/or putting the decorative lug nut caps back on?

If you haven't done so already, I would have the front end aligned and the rear duals balanced. Seems like most AI's come out of alignment and all 6 wheels out of balance.

[dapolrbear]

Originally Posted by SWH

This past weekend we took a short trip in our 2017 AI and I noticed that at highway speeds the steering wheel was vibrating noticeably. Since we are going on a much longer trip this coming weekend I decided to get it checked out - balance front tires probably, check alignment just in case. So took it to the Mercedes dealer in town that services Sprinters, thinking I would hang out for an hour while they did their thing...

Well, not so simple. First he told me that they have seen issues with Alcoa wheels on these motor homes before and they would need to get a PO from the Airstream dealer since the wheels are not Mercedes OEM. I decided to get a ride back to work because I didn't want to wait on all this. Four hours later he calls back to tell me that they can't complete the job that day because the wheel weights they used to re-balance the front tires were hitting the brake calipers (!?) and they needed to get thinner wheel weights and needed to keep it overnight. Ughh, okay.

Mid-next morning he calls back again and tells me they can't get the thinner wheel weights and I would just need to come pick it up and find a local tire store that can handle it!

I was pretty miffed at the poor customer service, but I picked it up and took it to a local tire shop and they were able to balance the front wheels while I waited - and indeed the vibration is now gone.

But that wasn't quite the end. When it was ready to go the technician comes in with a bag containing all of the chrome lug nut caps from the front wheels telling me that they won't stay on anymore. Sure enough when you place them over the lug nuts, they are loose. I can't for the life of me figure out why - do you need to squeeze them in some way to get them to stay on?? Were they damaged when removed? For now they are still in the bag and we'll take our trip with exposed lug nuts, and planning to have our Airstream dealer take a look when I have it in for another small warranty issue.

Just crazy to me that getting two tires balanced became such a mini-ordeal.

Anyone had any similar difficulties with getting the Alcoa wheels balanced and/or putting the decorative lug nut caps back on?

The dealer did not remove the covers prior to removing the lug nuts, they're stretched out now. My MB dealer did the same to mine and they paid for replacements. They do not know how to balance Alcoa wheels and I had to get them re balanced at a local tire shop. Did your vibration completely go away?

[SWH]

Originally Posted by dapolrbear

The dealer did not remove the covers prior to removing the lug nuts, they're stretched out now. My MB dealer did the same to mine and they paid for replacements. They do not know how to balance Alcoa wheels and I had to get them re balanced at a local tire shop. Did your vibration completely go away?

That would explain it. Thanks. I'm guessing the tire shop did it since they were on there when I took it to them from the MB dealer. I'd say the vibration is about 80% gone - not perfect, but much better. When we get back from our trip (leaving tonight) maybe I should go ahead and have a competent tire shop check alignment and balance rear as well. And I guess I'll order some lug nut covers from my AS dealer...

[UKDUDE]

If the AI is left standing for any length of time, the tires will develop a slight flat spot which will initially feel like a balance problem. You may have to drive it for a couple hours for it to smooth out. Quite normal.
The lug nuts need a special tool to remove without damaging.

[SWH]

Originally Posted by UKDUDE

If the AI is left standing for any length of time, the tires will develop a slight flat spot which will initially feel like a balance problem. You may have to drive it for a couple hours for it to smooth out. Quite normal.
The lug nuts need a special tool to remove without damaging.

Thanks. Our issue was not a flat spot. We've been driving it pretty regularly, and the issue didn't go away after about 7 hours of driving over two days. I would have never guessed the lug nuts were anything out of the ordinary!

[dapolrbear]

Originally Posted by SWH

That would explain it. Thanks. I'm guessing the tire shop did it since they were on there when I took it to them from the MB dealer. I'd say the vibration is about 80% gone - not perfect, but much better. When we get back from our trip (leaving tonight) maybe I should go ahead and have a competent tire shop check alignment and balance rear as well. And I guess I'll order some lug nut covers from my AS dealer...

FYI I ordered the lug nut covers here:

http://www.phoenixusa.com/p-11184-sp39.aspx

Cover pullers:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Boxster1971]

The lug nut covers like those on our Interstates are very common on heavy trucks with Alcoa and other alloy wheels. We are just not used to them on vans.

[don000]

Beware of venturing beyond the narrow competencies of Mercedes dealers. On our G500 truck a clamp joining two sections of the exhaust fell off. Two different dealers could not find the joint or clamp in their parts book, so offered as the only solution prematurely replacing the entire exhaust system for $7k+. The local Midas shop fabricated a solution for $128.

Sometimes vibration can be caused by a lack of concentricity in the wheel/tire assembly. Really good tire shops offer tire shaving to cure this.

[73shark]

If the covers were damaged by the MB dealer, then some or all of them would have fallen off before getting to the tire shop. Several of mine came off and after getting new ones under warranty, I tested all of them and the loose ones were treated to a piece of masking tape on two or three flats. Never lost another one. Of course I removed them whenever any work involving wheels was going to be done.

Moral: check all lug covers, even new ones, for tite fit.

[Titus]

The local tire shop has never had trouble balancing the wheels, but they could not attach the alignment 'clamps' to the rim. (Or maybe they didn't want to try for fear of scratching them.) But they say that they have recently installed a new alignment rack that can handle them. But once I took their advice and increased the pressure that I run on the original Continentals the severe outside wear on the fronts has stopped. I will get 40,000 miles out of the original tires, and had I run higher pressure from the start I probably could have got 50k. As good or better than I have got from OEM tires on my recent passenger cars!

[FlyFishinRVr]

Originally Posted by Titus

But once I took their advice and increased the pressure that I run on the original Continentals the severe outside wear on the fronts has stopped.

Care to share what that magic number is?

[Titus]

Mercedes says 61 psi - which I did religiously for the first 20,000 miles. Had tires rotated and tire shop guy said to run the max cold pressure on the sidewall - 80 psi. (He thought uneven wear looked to be due to low pressure and not mis-alignment. I did 80 psi for 5000 miles, with no uneven front tire wear. Ride seemed perhaps a bit more harsh, so I backed off to 75 psi. Have run 75 psi for the last 10,000 miles - and front tires still wear evenly.
I plan to change to Michelin tires after our next 4000 mile trip (at 40,000 miles in total) - and will have to learn anew what pressure they like. I plan to have the AI weighed and see what the Michelin tables say for recommended pressure. I will start at that pressure for my next learning curve.

I know that some on the forum say 75-80 is too much, but I am happy with the results.

[FlyFishinRVr]

Originally Posted by Titus

I know that some on the forum say 75-80 is too much, but I am happy with the results.

Good info, thanks much.

I think what this tells me is to err on the high side, which I've been doing, and treat 60 like the minimum cold pressure.

[73shark]

After I had mine aligned w/ the camber set as close to zero as the spec allowed, the excessive wear on the outside rib ceased. YMMV

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Titus

Mercedes says 61 psi - which I did religiously for the first 20,000 miles. Had tires rotated and tire shop guy said to run the max cold pressure on the sidewall - 80 psi. (He thought uneven wear looked to be due to low pressure and not mis-alignment. I did 80 psi for 5000 miles, with no uneven front tire wear. Ride seemed perhaps a bit more harsh, so I backed off to 75 psi. Have run 75 psi for the last 10,000 miles - and front tires still wear evenly.
I plan to change to Michelin tires after our next 4000 mile trip (at 40,000 miles in total) - and will have to learn anew what pressure they like. I plan to have the AI weighed and see what the Michelin tables say for recommended pressure. I will start at that pressure for my next learning curve.

I know that some on the forum say 75-80 is too much, but I am happy with the results.

Thanks for the tip. I run mine at 60 psi and I noticed they are wearing on outer edges like they are under inflated, even though I'm running them above the Michelin recommendation for my axle weight. I'll try 70-75 to even out the wear.

[whitegs]

Originally Posted by c21bill

If you haven't done so already, I would have the front end aligned and the rear duals balanced. Seems like most AI's come out of alignment and all 6 wheels out of balance.

I too have noticed wheel vibration at 70 mph with my brand new 2018 Tommy Bahama. It gets worse if the highway is a bit rough but even on smooth newly paved roadways, there is a slight shimmy.

Where is the best place to get the wheels balanced and the front end aligned. It sounds like the Mercedes dealer is not the place to go.

Richard

[WillieJ]

Originally Posted by Titus

Mercedes says 61 psi - which I did religiously for the first 20,000 miles. Had tires rotated and tire shop guy said to run the max cold pressure on the sidewall - 80 psi. (He thought uneven wear looked to be due to low pressure and not mis-alignment. I did 80 psi for 5000 miles, with no uneven front tire wear. Ride seemed perhaps a bit more harsh, so I backed off to 75 psi. Have run 75 psi for the last 10,000 miles - and front tires still wear evenly.
I plan to change to Michelin tires after our next 4000 mile trip (at 40,000 miles in total) - and will have to learn anew what pressure they like. I plan to have the AI weighed and see what the Michelin tables say for recommended pressure. I will start at that pressure for my next learning curve.

I know that some on the forum say 75-80 is too much, but I am happy with the results.

Are you still running the rear tires at 61 or did you find a better pressure there too?

I also noticed front tire outside edge wear on our recent 11000 mile trip and had the tires rotated to even the wear out mid-trip. But running at 61 psi I noticed edge wear again and it looked like underinflation wear, but I'm no expert, so I left it at 61 psi for the duration of the trip. I'll try higher pressure in the front tires as you suggest.

Michelins will be next for me too after the OEM Continentals are done.

[Rig Rat]

Since your near Athens, it's not to far of a drive for you to Columbus, so I'd recommend Bee Line Aligning Service, 1030 Harmon Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43223
614-443-7681.

I had our '15' aligned and tires balanced & rotated there after unusual wear on the front after 15k miles. I had them rotate the spare tire into the mix and put the most worn tire as the spare.

I also upped the tire pressure to 70 psi and after another 15k miles, the tires are wearing just fine!

Mark

Originally Posted by whitegs

I too have noticed wheel vibration at 70 mph with my brand new 2018 Tommy Bahama. It gets worse if the highway is a bit rough but even on smooth newly paved roadways, there is a slight shimmy.

Where is the best place to get the wheels balanced and the front end aligned. It sounds like the Mercedes dealer is not the place to go.

Richard