[ikeaguirre14]

i just put on some 13" knock off wire wheels (deep dish) on my 82 buick century (fwd). it had stock 14" wheels. the problems ive noticed is that my car now swerves to the left when i press on the breaks. also when im breaking the car starts to shake, not much but more than before. what could be the cause. thanks for any replies.

 

[Max Keith]

shakey situation

Two possible things come to mind here. First pull of the wheel on the offending side and see if there has been a groove or the paint is peeled off on the brake side of the wheel. If this is the case, it means your caliper is hitting the inside of the wheel. If so, then you need some spacers between your wheel and the hub. Otherwise, it sounds like time to overhaul the brakes and have the rotors turned while you are at it.

 

[ikeaguirre14]

thanks ill go check it out. could it be because they are deep dish they kinda stick out past the fender. they look kinda \weird.

 

[Max Keith]

wheels

Having your wheels sticking out past the fender wells, or "Stink Bug" stance as we call it, shouldnt have any effect on causing your vehicle to pull to one side or the other during breaking, unless you have a weak front spring and the fender is coming down on top of the tire and contacting it. That still wouldnt account for the shimmy, which is indicative of a warped or washboarded rotor, needing to be turned down.

My suspicions are that you are in dire need of a brake job more than anything else.

 

[ikeaguirre14]

hello thanks guys, i did check the brake pads and there still some pad left before the little metal piece on the pad is even close to touching. i used them spring clamps u buy to lower ur car, could that be it. also i have no powersteering maybe that could be it. please help

 

[Max Keith]

brakes

Your vehicle pulling to one side or another means you have a brake that is working harder than the other side. Having good pads isnt the issue. Its caliper related. Either you need to bleed your brakes or else the caliper on your right side isnt clamping, meaning it could be sticking as well. If a rear brake is the problem, you still have to bleed the slave cylinders, and it could also mean that the left rear drum brake is adjusted tighter than is your right.

 

[jimfulco]

When you use shorter tires, it can cause the center of the tire contact patch to be too far outboard of the point where a line marked by the upper & lower ball joints (this line is the "kingpin axis") intersects the ground. This can cause the steering to pull to whichever side is farther outboard under braking.

 

[ikeaguirre14]

is there anyway to correct this. i think im gonna buy some stadard sized wheels. but if theres a cure ide love to hear it. again thanks all for your quick and informative replys.