New tires and horrible handling?

[Gadget Man]

I had the same issue when I replaced my OE Goodyear's with Yokohama's. It handled horribly. The dealer was useless when I complained to them so I contacted Yokohama directly. They were very nice and told me that this sort of thing does happen from time to time. They offered me a 85% refund (the tires had 3k miles on them already), but I was forced to return to the same lousy tire dealer. I replaced the Yokohama's with Michelin's and all is well now.

Do your new Continental's have the same tread design as your old one's? If not, this may be the issue. It doesn't make sense to me, as you should be able to run any tire you choose, but as Yokohama told me, it does happen. Good luck.

Craig

[hone eagle]

Tire/tread squirm - give em about 2000 miles.

[marcdohc]

Thanks for all the advise, opinions and support. Its been a while since I started this post and I didnt respond due to our extended stay. The front tires were very high. One was 105 lb and 1 was 95lb. I set them at 90lb and it was much better. Still not as nice as the old tires but tolerable. Regarding the old set, they had a similar tread pattern and still had a square edge to there deep tread. Wish I stepped up to the Goodyears or Michellins.
Thanks again, Marcdohc

[slickest1]

I would agree with the tread squirm idea. I have had that happen and after a few miles it settles down. I would also have a good look underneath and make sure they didnt bend or break anything underneath when they jacked it up. It happens!

[Rich-n-Linda]

Originally Posted by marcdohc

...I had them set at 85 psi...

If you ran the old tires at 85 psi, why are you concerned about running these new tires at the same pressure? I don't understand...

[rufusfruge]

I would be afraid that you dealt with a less than scrupulous dealer and the tires used could have had some issues. I would take it to an alignment shop and have them check for radial run out. With so much riding I would not be prone to cut corners on my rubber or deal with less than reputable businesses.

[chuckinthebus]

Mark the 2 front with chalk or something at the valve stem, drive around the block with several stops to see if by chance, rather than using tire soap to mount them, they used grease and your wheels are rotating inside your tires. I had that done to me with a set on a work truck once.

[spritz]

Originally Posted by cnkinthebus

Mark the 2 front with chalk or something at the valve stem, drive around the block with several stops to see if by chance, rather than using tire soap to mount them, they used grease and your wheels are rotating inside your tires. I had that done to me with a set on a work truck once.

Bummer, Just when you think you've heard of everything, this is a new one to me,

Whats next, Did you take it back or find a new shop?
tb

[Tireman9]

A variety of comments here. We need to be sure we are not confusing "Handling" with Ride comfort or with the ability to go straight when the steering is pointed straight. Three different problems with three different "fixes".

Handling implies the response of the vehicle to steering input. This could be there is more delay between steering and the vehicle changing direction or it could be a "soft" feeling with the vehicle making small changes in direction when you are not changing the steering wheel.

Out of Round would result in poor ride comfort on smooth roads. This is similar to out of balance.

Alignment can affect steering and tire wear. The chalk on the tread trick is a simple & quick check, but not the final answer. The pictures in that post show the affect of inflation. While I did not show alignment in the post but if the chalk wore off the inner or outer shoulder only that would indicate probably mis-alignment.

Finally in addition to tread depth it is possible for different tires to provide different steering response but usually you would need a change in size or Load Range and a change in inflation for this to be the cause of the problem.

In the future if someone has a similar complaint it would help if information on the exact tires involved would help us when we try and provide answers.

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by marcdohc

Hello, Im looking for some advise. I have a 04 Coachmen Mirada 300qb with no slides on a 18k F53 chassis. It had Continental tires from the factory and performed fine. I installed a Blue ox rear track bar when I bought it back in 2010 to help performance and it was well worth it. Well I just had 6 new Continental HSR 225 70R 19.5 tires installed and man the things all over the road. The shop aired them up to 95 psi. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Simplify the whole process and just weigh each axle. Use the chart and then add 10psi over, for a cushion and for covering the variables, like changes in ambient temps. and weight imbalances. Any further discussions without first weighing the rig, loaded and ready to go with people allowances, as well, is a complete waste of time and much like chasing ghosts in a windstorm.

[chuckinthebus]

Originally Posted by spritz

Bummer, Just when you think you've heard of everything, this is a new one to me,

Whats next, Did you take it back or find a new shop?
tb

New shop and Michelin stood behind it 100%. It was causing the tires to go out of balance and producing rough ride.