I just bought my first Mazda, a 2005 Mazda3. I love it! Anyways, the previous owner had some almost new winter tires mounted on rims that he said I could have if I wanted. He had them from his previous car, an Acura RSX. I did a quick search and discovered they were both 5x114.3 bolt pattern, and either way they were free, so I took them. The wheels are just black steel wheels, nothing fancy. The diameter is very close and I mounted the two front tires to take the car for a spin to make sure there was no rubbing, etc.

They seemed to mount no problem. But when I took the car for ride I got significant steering wheel shake and it was pulling pretty hard to the right. So I went back and mounted a different wheel on the front right thinking it might be the wheel. Now it drives straight, but still has a LOT of wheel shake, especially around about 25mph or 40 KPH.

Any idea what's going on? Is it a center bore problem? Would spacers resolve the issue? Thanks ahead of time for any input.

 

They are probably just out of balance. You would be surprised how much wheel shake you could get, and with the pulling could either be not the right air pressure or if the guy had an alignment issue it could make your car pull because the tires are not worn correctly