Car follows grooves in the highway

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I have a 2011 Chevy Malibu LTZ 4cyl with 225/50-18 Goodyear LS2 tires. The problem that I have is that the car loves to follow grooves in the road while traveling at speed (on the freeway, etc). I know that a lot of cars do this to some degree, but it is much more pronounced on this car than anything I’ve ever experienced.

I've heard/read that these OEM tires are not very good, so that may have something to do with it. The door placard calls for 30psi in all 4 tires. I've always kept them at 32psi. Just last night I increased that to 35psi, thinking that the higher pressure may help with the tracking issue. I haven't had a chance to drive on the highway yet, so I'm not sure. I have never had them at the recommended 30psi; that just seems too low to me. The sidewall max is 44psi. Another idea is that it’s the electric power steer assist that is causing this. Many people complain about EPS, but I haven’t read about it causing this specific problem.

The tires seem to be wearing evenly, and the alignment is spot-on for all measurements. The car (and tires) have 17,000 miles on them. The behavior has been the same since I first purchased the car with 13,000 miles on it.

Any ideas or thoughts? Should I in-fact be running the recommended 30psi? The manufacturer should know best, so maybe I need to follow their direction (what a thought!).
 
You should run the recommended PSI.

It's also a function of other suspension system components, and the steering system. You will never totally rid the car of this behavior but Tire Rack does test for this; I suggest consulting their website for some objective testing where they talk this problem.
 
Adding psi will actually make the problem worse. That is probably one of the reasons the oem suggests 30 psi. And 30 certainly isn't too low...it may be at the low end of the oem average but certainly not too low.

At least give it a try at 30 and see how it does.
 
Some tires catch grooves in the road surface much worse than other tires do.

My gf's Fiat 500 was really good on the grooved concrete on the stock Continental ContiProContact's, but as soon as I put the Yokahama snow tires on, it felt like it was all over the place.

Put the stock tires back on in the spring, and its rock solid once again.

Change tires, and your feeling might diminish or go away completely.

BC.
 
The lower the profile of the tire, the worse the tramlining.

Coupled with certain tread patterns and sidewall rigidity, a specific tire can be a monster.
 
My Mustang has 275/40/17 Nexen N3000's (Previous owner was cheap) on Steeda Ultra-lite wheels. The car tracks on grooves in the road like crazy. I replaced the steering rack bushes thinking that was the cause which is common on SN95 Mustangs and it is still there. All the other suspension bushes look good. I have a set of severely flat-spotted Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's from my old mustang (no ABS) on Konig Villians that I might swap out just to eliminate the tracking.

Generally wider tires track worse than narrower ones. My Volvo with Michelin Super Sports has to tracking whatsoever.
 
Put 44 psi in the tires and try them out. Adding air or letting air out is REAL easy so try that first. I have a set of Continental winter tread that are terrible at what U described. IMO take the info U get from Tire Rack with a grain of salt. They steered me wrong more than once with tire choice. If U get them from tire rack, read the worst reviews first, they are the ones worth reading and have the truest info. Most people who write good reviews have too much time on their hands and don't know chit. If somebody gets a bad tire or tire choice, they are more likely going to tell them about it. Something to think about...
 
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Some tires are more inclined to tramlining than are others.
This might improve with higher or lower cold pressures.
You may also have an alignment problem, even though you're seeing even wear.
If you find that it's not a problem that improves with adjustments in cold pressure and that alignment is within specs, try a better tire when these wear out.
I hate to recommend something pretty expensive, but I think that the Michelin Primacy MXV4 is available in your size.
I have a set on one car, and this should be much better than your OEM rubber in every way.
You might also find an owners' board for your ride and see what others like for tires.
 
I'm having the same tramlining issues with my Outback. I'm running the OEM Continental ContiProContacts.

Its really bad. Feels like I'm constantly driving on a grooved roadway.
 
Originally Posted By: Hallmark
The lower the profile of the tire, the worse the tramlining.


I think we have a winner here. My 1999.5 Lightning with the low profiles was terrible for that. The Audi and the Town Car had zero problems (both 70 to 75 profile). The G was more noticeable with the original Dunlops, but the same sized Michelins on there now don't exhibit much of that behaviour.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Hallmark
The lower the profile of the tire, the worse the tramlining.


I think we have a winner here. My 1999.5 Lightning with the low profiles was terrible for that. The Audi and the Town Car had zero problems (both 70 to 75 profile). The G was more noticeable with the original Dunlops, but the same sized Michelins on there now don't exhibit much of that behaviour.

In my experience, the bigger factor affecting tramlining was sidewall stiffness. My old A4 had 225/45/17 summer tires. When I had Bridgestone S-03s on there, the tramlining was unbearable. S-03s are some of the stiffest street tires I've ever seen. When I replaced them with ContiSportContact2 (same size), the tramlining went away.
 
I would try the factory tire pressure first. I have a little GEO tracker ragtop.When I run tire pressure of 32 it wanders in the wheel tracks. When I run the factory recommended 25psi its alot better.A light vehicle and stiff tires dont mix.
 
Tire pressure recommendations are a compromise - not a perfect pressure. Customer comfort is a BIG deciding factor on what those sticker pressures are.
Going 3 lbs over is generally best for wear and handling, with maybe a bit rougher ride.
Those grooves stink. Certain tires are inherently worse than others, and higher pressure can indeed make things worse.
Too much toe out on the front will also make it worse.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
In my experience, the bigger factor affecting tramlining was sidewall stiffness. My old A4 had 225/45/17 summer tires. When I had Bridgestone S-03s on there, the tramlining was unbearable. S-03s are some of the stiffest street tires I've ever seen. When I replaced them with ContiSportContact2 (same size), the tramlining went away.


I would certainly think that sidewall stiffness would be a big issue. After all, in the examples I listed, the "problem" tires were those that were more geared towards performance. 75 profile squishy sidewalls on the Town Car land yacht had no issues whatsoever. The Lightning had to be the worst. They were wide, low profile, and stiff.

For the G, I believe the Dunlops were a little more performance oriented than the Michelins I have on there now.
 
Think about it. The lower the slip angle a tire runs at the better it will track, BUT if there is something on the road surface to follow, a "mushy" tire won't follow it as well as a good stiff one. I'd try a lower tire pressure. We had an old bridge hereabouts with a wavy grid at the top, the better my tires the worse the car folowed the wave in the grid. ON a motorbike, until you got used to it, it was scary.
 
HerrStig -
I know what you mean! Ever enter Chicago on the Congress? There is a bridge with those steel serrations that makes a bike go all wallowy. VERY disconcerting!
 
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