Vague steering after replacing tyres

[Davz]

Cannot understand why you have paid £120 each for such an unknown tyre? There has been various posts of late about tyres and if you had done your research you would be sat on Goodyear F1 asymmetric 5's. I paid £125 for 18" 255/35 and just £90 for 18" 225/40.

It was also a good time to ditch the awful runflats.

Regarding your issue, I have experienced this before. The sidewalls could be very flexible and as soon as you put some steering input the sidewalls flex tricking the stability sensor into thinking you are sliding. I have had this with Dunlop's on an rx8, I couldn't apply hardly any power in a bend without the stability control kicking in, changed to vredestein within weeks and issue solved.

On the zed it could well be your alignment is out. When I had new Goodyear's fitted just on the rear the handling was as you have described. The zed has a lot of rear camber dialled in by BMW to make it safer by understeering. Your old tyres will have worn at an angle due to excessive rear camber, by fitting new tyres I believe the tyre footprint is reduced until worn and this affects the stability.
I would have your alignment checked and set to csl, this has completely cured my zed and totally transformed it.

 

[reeksi]

Cannot understand why you have paid £120 each for such an unknown tyre? There has been various posts of late about tyres and if you had done your research you would be sat on Goodyear F1 asymmetric 5's. I paid £125 for 18" 255/35 and just £90 for 18" 225/40.

It was also a good time to ditch the awful runflats.

Regarding your issue, I have experienced this before. The sidewalls could be very flexible and as soon as you put some steering input the sidewalls flex tricking the stability sensor into thinking you are sliding. I have had this with Dunlop's on an rx8, I couldn't apply hardly any power in a bend without the stability control kicking in, changed to vredestein within weeks and issue solved.

On the zed it could well be your alignment is out. When I had new Goodyear's fitted just on the rear the handling was as you have described. The zed has a lot of rear camber dialled in by BMW to make it safer by understeering. Your old tyres will have worn at an angle due to excessive rear camber, by fitting new tyres I believe the tyre footprint is reduced until worn and this affects the stability.
I would have your alignment checked and set to csl, this has completely cured my zed and totally transformed it.

Thanks Davz, I havnt been active on the forum for a long time now and very out of touch with the latest topics.

Appreciate your input and have got a garage looking at them tomorrow thats local. Hopefully its just alignment and i dont have to fork out for another set of tyres!

 

[skelters]

You might be cheaper in the long run and a lot safer too if you bin these tyres and get something decent.

Michelin
Goodyear
Pirelli etc.

At the end of you day how much do you value your life, passenger or car and the tyres are what's keeping you on the road.

Fully understand the money situation with the new house but this is false economy!

 

[Mr Tidy]

They don't seem to have been that cheap either.

I got a pair of Pirelli P7 225/45 X 17 Run-flats for my 3 Series last year for £205 (so £102.50 each).

 

[Anonymous]

I think you are asking for trouble by mixing brands/types up..

They seem pretty bad on their own let alone mixed..

Done 600 miles in these tyres so far and they scare the heck out of me. The car is now unpredictable and the handling is scary to say the least. would never under any circumstances buy these again even for half the price. Probably OK for Town driving up to about 40 MPH but above that and they seem in conflict to the car and its suspension settings (Main Dealer Serviced 3 year old BMW). The last time I had Tyres that handled this badly was with Cross Ply's back in the late 1970's. In terms of experience I have driven over a million miles in all sorts of vehicles in all weathers and conditions all over the world from old bangers to brand new Beemers and Mercs and these tyres are unlike anything I have ever experienced. I have no idea how long they will last but I hope they wear out quickly because at the moment I am considering writing them off and putting it down to experience and buying something safer albeit more expensive.

 

[Davz]

Falken fk510, 18" 225/40, excellent tyre.

On fleabay from demon tweets at £122.....a pair! Just add £30 for fitting both tyres.
Why bother with no name tyres at that price?

 

[scarlet-jester]

Falken fk510, 18" 225/40, excellent tyre.

On fleabay from demon tweets at £122.....a pair! Just add £30 for fitting both tyres.
Why bother with no name tyres at that price?

I have just done these all round too - very pleased with them so far

 

[Sidewaze Samm]

Go back to where you got them, explain clearly that the tyres aren't fit for purpose and get a deal to swap for a proper set of mid-range Vreds Kumho Unis etc?

 

[skelters]

Go back to where you got them, explain clearly that the tyres aren't fit for purpose and get a deal to swap for a proper set of mid-range Vreds Kumho Unis etc?

This.

Take the manager out in the car, scare the sh*t out of them then let them drive it.

 

[Capa]

Go back to where you got them, explain clearly that the tyres aren't fit for purpose and get a deal to swap for a proper set of mid-range Vreds Kumho Unis etc?

This.

Take the manager out in the car, scare the sh*t out of them then let them drive it.

Absolutely this. If you're hard up I'd prefer premium brand part worns until you can get something better - assuming the date on them isn't terrible.

 

[Jl-c]

:tumbleweed: totally your call but not a “make”? I would fit. Ideally, non runflat, known manufacturer and all 4 match.

 

[Davz]

Avoid part worn, they will be worn in such a way that will affect handling, if they are worn towards an outer edge it will have a small contact patch due to the camber on a zed.
With midrange tyres so good why bother with part worn.
Hankook evo3 even has superior wet weather grip than Michelins and goodyears yet only cost £100 a corner!

 

[roblightbody]

I never scrimp on tyres, even when I used to drive bangers. Scrimp on something else!

You have the size of your hand X 4 as the only thing making contact with the road, and the difference between a horrible accident and not. That goes for perfectly normal cars, but we're talking about a sportscar here so it's even more vital

The experience you're having mirrors a friend of mine who tried so save money with tyres on his auris hybrid. It was siding around like crazy on wet roads, traction light constantly on, small child in the back... He said the old bald brand name tyres he'd removed were better.

Also if I'm going to view a car to buy, I'll walk away if it's got nasty tyres on, as it indicates neglect in my book.