W201 steering wheel shimmy - new tires

[sbourg]

The old tires were Michelin MXV4-Energy, or some such, and with enough treadwear that I am sure they applied some preload to the bushings. There was no shimmy through the steering wheel.

The old tires were a non-stock 195/65HR15 size, and the new I had installed friday are Kumho Ecsta HP4 716 in 195/60HR15, stock rims. With the new tires, steering is lighter and the car doesn't wander on crowned roads, but some vibration/shimmy sets in above 50 mph, and starts lessening above 70 - gone by 80 mph.

My hope is that the tires were not well-balanced, and rebalancing will solve the issue. I know, though, that some seem to solve the problem by replacing the steering damper. Would this be recommended by 105k mi? The idler bushings were replaced, and no looseness noted in the front suspension/steering. Any thoughts?

Steve