well, well, well- i finally got the problem solved! one of the tires was out of round on the front. thanks to all who responded. several of you hit the nail on the head and everyone had some good suggestions. i first took her in and had the tires balanced. didn't help a bit even though the tire shop said they were out. tried another place and they noticed one of the tires was out of round, but it didn't look like the tread was. i bought 2 new tires for the front to the tune of $300 for both. so looks like i now have the best of both worlds. the narrower tires are what i wanted all along, and the shimmey is gone. it steers with a little less effort in parking lots. it has always ran straight asa astring and the steering box has very little play, so it drives even better. thanks to everyone and i holp this may help someone else. hr
