Rotated tires now have a pull
- Thread starter ram_man
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Uneven tire wear, that may or may not be related to an alignment done with already used tires or unchecked tire pressure? My guess
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
A bad tire does it.
My Camry did that after a rotation. Steering wheel left, pulling to the right. Swapped left to right, steering wheel right, pulling to the left.
Discount Tire replaced a tire and it's fine now.
My Camry did that after a rotation. Steering wheel left, pulling to the right. Swapped left to right, steering wheel right, pulling to the left.
Discount Tire replaced a tire and it's fine now.
Pet peeve of mine, that is the steering wheel off center, NOT a pull.
Definitely a tire issue, uneven tire wear, uneven pressure, or could be a broken belt, but that usually includes a vibration.
Definitely a tire issue, uneven tire wear, uneven pressure, or could be a broken belt, but that usually includes a vibration.
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Originally Posted By: Nick1994
A bad tire does it.
My Camry did that after a rotation. Steering wheel left, pulling to the right. Swapped left to right, steering wheel right, pulling to the left.
Discount Tire replaced a tire and it's fine now.
+1 Get them all Hunter Road Force Balanced, that will tell you which tire is bad, replace it and you'll be good to go!
A bad tire does it.
My Camry did that after a rotation. Steering wheel left, pulling to the right. Swapped left to right, steering wheel right, pulling to the left.
Discount Tire replaced a tire and it's fine now.
+1 Get them all Hunter Road Force Balanced, that will tell you which tire is bad, replace it and you'll be good to go!
As Lotl referenced, the cause is conicity - root word *cone*. Conicity is a tire force pushing (pulling?) sideways. All tires have some value of conicity (although that value could be zero)
Every vehicle has a threshold above which the vector difference of the front tire conicities will cause a pull - and below which it will not.
For example, if a car's threshold is 7 pounds, I could have a pair of tires both with +10# conicity and there will be no pull, but if the tires are +4 and -4, there will be a pull. As you can see, it isn't a matter of a "defective" tire - it's the difference in conicities.
HOWEVER, a vehicle's alignment can cause exactly the same symptoms. A simple test of swapping the front tires will determine which it is:
1) If the pull doesn't change, the problem is 100% alignment.
2) If the pull completely changes direction, it's 100% tires (conicity)
3) If the pull disappears or changes (other than completely changing direction) - as is the case here - the problem is both the alignment and the tire conicity.
Please note, that tires can change conicity if worn irregularly.
Every vehicle has a threshold above which the vector difference of the front tire conicities will cause a pull - and below which it will not.
For example, if a car's threshold is 7 pounds, I could have a pair of tires both with +10# conicity and there will be no pull, but if the tires are +4 and -4, there will be a pull. As you can see, it isn't a matter of a "defective" tire - it's the difference in conicities.
HOWEVER, a vehicle's alignment can cause exactly the same symptoms. A simple test of swapping the front tires will determine which it is:
1) If the pull doesn't change, the problem is 100% alignment.
2) If the pull completely changes direction, it's 100% tires (conicity)
3) If the pull disappears or changes (other than completely changing direction) - as is the case here - the problem is both the alignment and the tire conicity.
Please note, that tires can change conicity if worn irregularly.
You have a bad tire. Not OK to run it on the back. Even though you may not feel the pull that tire is trying to steer the rear end of your vehicle into a ditch.
Steering wheel off center is definitely different than a pull.
Just curious, what rotation pattern do you use? Always front to back? Do you ever do a cross rotation pattern? I wonder if cross rotating would help even the wear and reduce the conicity.
Just curious, what rotation pattern do you use? Always front to back? Do you ever do a cross rotation pattern? I wonder if cross rotating would help even the wear and reduce the conicity.
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
Steering wheel off center is definitely different than a pull.
Just curious, what rotation pattern do you use? Always front to back? Do you ever do a cross rotation pattern? I wonder if cross rotating would help even the wear and reduce the conicity.
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Agreed. Tires should be rotated front to back, then cross to the front if tires are same size front and rear. Assuming of course directional tires are not being used, and why I don't recommend directional tires.
Steering wheel off center is definitely different than a pull.
Just curious, what rotation pattern do you use? Always front to back? Do you ever do a cross rotation pattern? I wonder if cross rotating would help even the wear and reduce the conicity.
\
Agreed. Tires should be rotated front to back, then cross to the front if tires are same size front and rear. Assuming of course directional tires are not being used, and why I don't recommend directional tires.
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Originally Posted By: Nick1994
A bad tire does it.
My Camry did that after a rotation. Steering wheel left, pulling to the right. Swapped left to right, steering wheel right, pulling to the left.
Discount Tire replaced a tire and it's fine now.
This.
My car is now pulling to the left since I have that tire that "out of rounded". Before that I could let go of the steering wheel and my car would drive a perfectly straight line.
A bad tire does it.
My Camry did that after a rotation. Steering wheel left, pulling to the right. Swapped left to right, steering wheel right, pulling to the left.
Discount Tire replaced a tire and it's fine now.
This.
My car is now pulling to the left since I have that tire that "out of rounded". Before that I could let go of the steering wheel and my car would drive a perfectly straight line.
Originally Posted By: ram_man
Car drove good and the steering off centered changed when swapping tires side to side .
Tire wear looks good.
Would you replace the tires or the one tire or just leave it be?
If it was a customer car or my own vehicle, I would be replacing two.
Car drove good and the steering off centered changed when swapping tires side to side .
Tire wear looks good.
Would you replace the tires or the one tire or just leave it be?
If it was a customer car or my own vehicle, I would be replacing two.
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Originally Posted By: ram_man
What would your specific reason be
The tire/tires are not going to get any better, so have to replace at least one, and unless they are brand new, you should replace two so the tread depth, and therefor diameter, will be equal on the axle.
What would your specific reason be
The tire/tires are not going to get any better, so have to replace at least one, and unless they are brand new, you should replace two so the tread depth, and therefor diameter, will be equal on the axle.
CapriRacer, thank you for the info about tire conicity - this is the first time I have heard about this tire property. I have also experienced a pull to the right after I rotated my tires front to back. So now I have to cock the steering wheel slightly to the left to keep the car running straight. Just curious, if I keep this up, will I be incurring premature wear to the transaxle of my Kia Sportage? Or is the transaxle able to withstand this? I do mostly city driving and never go above 55 mph.
Originally Posted By: berniedd
CapriRacer, thank you for the info about tire conicity ......
Quite welcome.
Originally Posted By: berniedd
.....Just curious, if I keep this up, will I be incurring premature wear to the transaxle of my Kia Sportage? ......
I have never heard of any issues caused by conicity - other than the pull itself.
CapriRacer, thank you for the info about tire conicity ......
Quite welcome.
Originally Posted By: berniedd
.....Just curious, if I keep this up, will I be incurring premature wear to the transaxle of my Kia Sportage? ......
I have never heard of any issues caused by conicity - other than the pull itself.
I went to have the tires insepcted yesterday. And the only place uniroyal could find near me that could do it was a dodge dealership.
What an awful experience that place was but anyway. The advisor told me how awful uniroyal tires are and even kumho tires are better......this was surprising to hear. I'm not a tire pro but really how decent are uniroyal tires? Are they terrible as they say now? I figured being a Michelin product they'd be decent.
What an awful experience that place was but anyway. The advisor told me how awful uniroyal tires are and even kumho tires are better......this was surprising to hear. I'm not a tire pro but really how decent are uniroyal tires? Are they terrible as they say now? I figured being a Michelin product they'd be decent.
Originally Posted By: ram_man
I went to have the tires insepcted yesterday. And the only place uniroyal could find near me that could do it was a dodge dealership.
What an awful experience that place was but anyway. The advisor told me how awful uniroyal tires are and even kumho tires are better......this was surprising to hear. I'm not a tire pro but really how decent are uniroyal tires? Are they terrible as they say now? I figured being a Michelin product they'd be decent.
I've heard bad things about Uniroyal, and they were even worse before Michelin bought them
I went to have the tires insepcted yesterday. And the only place uniroyal could find near me that could do it was a dodge dealership.
What an awful experience that place was but anyway. The advisor told me how awful uniroyal tires are and even kumho tires are better......this was surprising to hear. I'm not a tire pro but really how decent are uniroyal tires? Are they terrible as they say now? I figured being a Michelin product they'd be decent.
I've heard bad things about Uniroyal, and they were even worse before Michelin bought them
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