Kumho TA11 tires

[marine65]

I had a set put on the Sentra a week ago.

The only small problem is that the car at 60 to 70 MPH seems not to track dead straight like it did with the old tires.

Its more of a side to side motion, very slight.

I have to make very small corrections.

The old tires had 30K on them and were inflated to 32 PSI.

The new tires have about 200 miles on them and have 30 PSI.

Is this a case of:
tire pressure?
new tires? Not broken in yet?
I should add that the new tires are a little wider then the old ones.

 

[alex_at]

have you tried 32 psi in the new tires since you had 32psi in the old ones?

You said the new tires are wider - how wide were the old one, how wide are the new ones?

The wider the tires the more they like to follow "tracks" on the road.

Tire balancing is right?
Wheel alignment is right?

 

[Rand]

After the tires break in abit they might improve.

Deeper tread can also be abit of tread squirm.

You might also need an alignment if its borderline bad it can cause that...
its just more noticeable with fresh rubber?

 

[PolarisX]

Is the tire possibly too wide for the wheel?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Lower pressure and deeper tread both will contribute to that "squirmy" feeling. Try pumping the air pressure up to 35 psi just to see how it feels -- I bet it feels much more solid. It could be that these particular tires are just "softer" than your old ones, requiring more air pressure to achieve the same feel.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: Rand
After the tires break in abit they might improve.

Deeper tread can also be abit of tread squirm.

You might also need an alignment if its borderline bad it can cause that...
its just more noticeable with fresh rubber?


That was my thought as well. The tires might be fine but the PSI isn't what you had it. I'd pump it up to 32 or even 35 as mentioned. That will firm up the ride otherwise I would get the alignment checked out. Those tires are known for having a softer sidewall. That can also attribute for a difference in feel. Any little thing is noticeable when you're on the highway.

 

[Nick1994]

You might have a defective tire if it doesn't straighten itself out.

I had a bad General Altimax RT43 that was recently replaced. It wandered all over the highway. New tire, drives nice again.

 

[DriveHard]

I just put those on my wife's X3. They are great tires so far, but they are much softer than what we had before (smoother riding, quieter, softer on turn-in). I do notice some tramming on grooved highways as well as crowned roads. I think the softness makes it easier for them to want to follow the abnormalities in the road. On a good smooth road, they are perfect! Overall very happy with them so far...we will see what winter brings.

 

[tnt31]

Put a set of Kumho TA11 225/60r17 tires on wife's 2007 Saturn Relay this past Monday so only had them a week but so far very satisfied. Smooth comfortable ride and tracks well. Only dry weather so far so cannot comment on wet weather or snow conditions.