I have a 2002 Protege5. I recently hit a piece of wood in the road (I think it was a 4x4) and needless to say it tore my car up. It hit on the driver side front and back wheels - the front alloy cracked halfway around the inside perimeter and the back one bent enough that it wouldn't hold air.

Since I was in the middle of nowhere I had limited wheel options and ended up with 4 new 16" Proline alloys from Pep Boys and 4 new Falken ZE-329s (same size as factory.)

I had an alignment done at that time too. Ever since, there is a shake that's noticable at 65 but downright annoying at 75+. Two independent mechanic shops swear there's nothing bent or otherwise out of order. One suggested the Falkens ride especially hard and what I think is a shake is just a stiff ride. You can feel it more in the wheel but in the seat a bit too.

I just don't buy it. I know my car, I know I'm not crazy, and I know what it's supposed to feel like - and it didn't shake on the expressway before.

I'm starting to run out of ideas. Is it possible those wheels and my car just don't agree? Or that there's a flaw in one or more wheels that nobody noticed while balancing them? Is it possible this would all go away if I got some factory wheels for the car? Or could it be something else, like a driveshaft, bearing, suspension component that the mechanics didn't see or test?

THANKS for any ideas anyone can offer.

 

it could be a rough tire take it to a tire shop and have them balance them and see it that is the problem

 

They were balanced when they were put on, and again by another shop when I thought maybe the first didn't do it right.

Though it feels like a tire balance issue, it doesn't appear to be.

 

It's only a guess on my part, but perhaps the left driveshaft/ linkage got bent.
Try getting up to shaking speed and applying just a touch of brake to see if you can feel anything through the pedal (barefooted if necessary. Your brakes under pressure are more directly coupled to the wheel than is the case for the chassis).

 

You should also have your tires checked to see if one (or more) is out of round. This would cause the same sort of vibration as an out of balance wheel. Not every tire shop has the equipment needed to test whether your tire is out of round. Tread separation can also cause this type of vibration. It would be unusual, but not impossible for a new tire to have such a defect.

 

tire may have thrown a belt. I've had this situation happen and I couldn't believe it until bad tire replaced . All are possible since 4 x 4 can do some damage. Let us know what you did ti correct the prob.