Hey all, just curious. When I bought my Escape at around 60K miles it had a fresh set of Hankook Dynapro HT tires and alignment from the Ford dealer.
Now at about 110K I bought a new set of Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires and had them installed by a local shop and asked them to do an alignment as well... The only reason I asked for an alignment is I noticed the old front tires were not wearing evenly. Inner was more worn that outer. Keep in mind I NEVER rotated those tires (ThEy RoTaTe WhEn I dRiVe) and NEVER had the alignment checked in the 60K miles I've owned this vehicle and it has NOT had an easy life. It's been off-roaded in ways it should never have been, driven at speeds on and off paved roads, over bumps, curbs, medians... don't ask so I figured an alignment would be good.
Anyway, before the alignment I had no trouble driving this car at high speeds with one hand and keeping it perfectly centered in the lane. After the fresh tires and alignment I have to pay a lot more attention and it feels a lot more squirrely than it did before.
I don't think it's a tire issue - these Vredestein tires are AMAZING. Sooooo much better than the Hankooks were on day one let alone after 60K miles LOL. Smooth, quiet, amazing traction and handling. And now that I actually do have traction again, when I floor it, I get torque steer, because, well, FWD sucks. Before I had minimal torque steer because the Hankooks would just lose traction and hop. LOL.
Now at about 110K I bought a new set of Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires and had them installed by a local shop and asked them to do an alignment as well... The only reason I asked for an alignment is I noticed the old front tires were not wearing evenly. Inner was more worn that outer. Keep in mind I NEVER rotated those tires (ThEy RoTaTe WhEn I dRiVe) and NEVER had the alignment checked in the 60K miles I've owned this vehicle and it has NOT had an easy life. It's been off-roaded in ways it should never have been, driven at speeds on and off paved roads, over bumps, curbs, medians... don't ask so I figured an alignment would be good.
Anyway, before the alignment I had no trouble driving this car at high speeds with one hand and keeping it perfectly centered in the lane. After the fresh tires and alignment I have to pay a lot more attention and it feels a lot more squirrely than it did before.
I don't think it's a tire issue - these Vredestein tires are AMAZING. Sooooo much better than the Hankooks were on day one let alone after 60K miles LOL. Smooth, quiet, amazing traction and handling. And now that I actually do have traction again, when I floor it, I get torque steer, because, well, FWD sucks. Before I had minimal torque steer because the Hankooks would just lose traction and hop. LOL.