Squirrelly Handling after New Rear Tires

[krzyss]

Another possibility is that Yokohama changed the tire, making it ride better, but handle less responsively. If that's the case, then your only recourse is changing the front tires to the new version.

How to determine that? Look at the DOT code. If the type code is different, it's likely the tires are different versions.

Type Code? I go into detail here: Barry's Tire Tech: DOT Codes
About 2/3 the way down, the third group of codes is explained. (There are 4 groups of codes.)

I was going to suggest something similar.

On Miata forum somebody experienced something similar. The tires were replaced in pairs, if I recall, and rear and front were made in different factories (different countries) - the same model, the same size.
The car handled "funny".
After replacing one pair to get single factory set of 4 the car returned to its previous balance.

Krzyś

 

[The Critic]

Resolved?

 

[ripcord]

The first thing to do in a case like this is retorque the lug nuts! Ask me how I know.

 

[ctechbob]

The first thing to do in a case like this is retorque the lug nuts! Ask me how I know.

Yep, check pressure, check lug nuts....and check that they installed the same size tire on both wheels.

Yes, it has happened to me. 205/50 on one side, 215/50 on the other. It was ages ago on my old 1983 Camaro, but I knew something wasn't right the moment I got out on the road.

 

[ripcord]

Yep, check pressure, check lug nuts....and check that they installed the same size tire on both wheels.

Yes, it has happened to me. 205/50 on one side, 215/50 on the other. It was ages ago on my old 1983 Camaro, but I knew something wasn't right the moment I got out on the road.

The last time I had a rig go "squirrely" it was a bad rear wheel bearing hub on a Ford Explorer. The passenger side rear wheel had about an inch of end play.

 

[97prizm]

My Genesis came with new Yokohama Advan Sport A/S+ tires when I bought it last year. They are staggered Front/Rear. This past winter a pothole took out a front tire, and I got an alignment at the dealership.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I noticed my RR tire was 6 psi low. I went to Discount Tire and they said there was a puncture on the inner edge of the tire and it wasn't repairable. With both tires being around 5/32 tread, I decided to replace both with the same Yokohamas. Discount also rotated the front tires left-right.

Since then, it's been squirrelly out on the highway. Like the tail is wagging the dog if I yank the wheel. Kind of like when towing a trailer and you don't have enough tongue weight. It drives fine if you keep it straight, but you can get it fishtailing if you nudge the wheel etc. I thought it was the little nubs on the tires but I took it to Palm Springs and those have worn off, they've got about 800 miles on them now.

I took it back to Discount Tire and they rotated the front tires L/R back to where they were, and the problem is still there. I'm thinking I might have a goofy tire in the back? We had this issue with a new set of Sentury's on the '70 Beetle and it needed a new set of Continentals to fix it.

Any thoughts, experiences with this?

Sounds like aggressive negative camber. F1 cars use this setup but at the expense of shorter tire life but better turn in an wear in high speed cornering.

 

[Nick1994]

Resolved?

Might be a little better. I haven’t had time to go back to Discount Tire so I’ll just live with it.

 

[Cujet]

Another possibility is that Yokohama changed the tire, making it ride better, but handle less responsively. If that's the case, then your only recourse is changing the front tires to the new version.

This is always a possibility, although new tire tread squirm is the most likely cause (that should subside). I had this happen recently on my F150. Put nearly identical Michelin's on the rear, and it was oversteer city. Come to find out, Michelin reduced the number of sipes, changed the tread compound and the tire's design internally. I ended up having to put the tires on the front. Which solved the problem. Sadly, the truck was totaled shortly after.

Most of the time, this kind of thing does not happen unless the carcass of the tire or tread compound is substantially different.

XLT A/S vs. XLT A/S2. The "2's" are noisy, harsh, less grip.

 

[The Critic]

This is always a possibility, although new tire tread squirm is the most likely cause (that should subside). I had this happen recently on my F150. Put nearly identical Michelin's on the rear, and it was oversteer city. Come to find out, Michelin reduced the number of sipes, changed the tread compound and the tire's design internally. I ended up having to put the tires on the front. Which solved the problem. Sadly, the truck was totaled shortly after.

Most of the time, this kind of thing does not happen unless the carcass of the tire or tread compound is substantially different.

XLT A/S vs. XLT A/S2. The "2's" are noisy, harsh, less grip.

Agreed, similar situation with the Defender 2. Much harsher riding, less traction than its predecessor. But probably lasts longer.

 

[meep]

Tread squirm has caught my eye a couple of times and almost caused me to return them, but patience won and I was satisfied.

Michelin CC2 and Continental Contitrack AT (I think that’s what it’s called) both had it a good bit.

On the one pair of Yokohama tires I’ve had, the G015, which is also an *excellent* tire, it took 500-1000 miles before rain traction settled into a consistent place. The first 500 miles they were like driving on glass when it was wet.

It seems to take a bit for tires to break in, get rid of the mold wax, and whatever else needs to happen.

 

[Thebigm]

My Genesis came with new Yokohama Advan Sport A/S+ tires when I bought it last year. They are staggered Front/Rear. This past winter a pothole took out a front tire, and I got an alignment at the dealership.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I noticed my RR tire was 6 psi low. I went to Discount Tire and they said there was a puncture on the inner edge of the tire and it wasn't repairable. With both tires being around 5/32 tread, I decided to replace both with the same Yokohamas. Discount also rotated the front tires left-right.

Since then, it's been squirrelly out on the highway. Like the tail is wagging the dog if I yank the wheel. Kind of like when towing a trailer and you don't have enough tongue weight. It drives fine if you keep it straight, but you can get it fishtailing if you nudge the wheel etc. I thought it was the little nubs on the tires but I took it to Palm Springs and those have worn off, they've got about 800 miles on them now.

I took it back to Discount Tire and they rotated the front tires L/R back to where they were, and the problem is still there. I'm thinking I might have a goofy tire in the back? We had this issue with a new set of Sentury's on the '70 Beetle and it needed a new set of Continentals to fix it.

Any thoughts, experiences with this?

Check to see if they have the same speed rating

 

[Nick1994]

To update this thread, I got another alignment at the dealer. Seems quite a bit better. Just had to replace one of the 3 month old rear tires again (sidewall nail).