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weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 8:13 am
by charbs152
ok so heres the problem, its with my 06 corolla with 142,xxx miles. just had front wheel bearings replaced at 141,000 miles

last week i noticed a squeak when im driving, it happens at 5 mph and even at 45mph. i drive an hr each way to school and on tuesday i had a blowout on the freeway. the next day i had two new tires put on the rear, after driving for 20 minutes the problems started.



i noticed when i turn into a corner above 45mph or so it feels like the back slings itself in and also if i am moving in a straight line and turn the wheel back and forth rapidly the back end feels like its floating and sways. if almost feels like im driving on ice and the car has no grip and will fly right off the road... it feels like the back end just wants to kick right out...

any ideas?

edit http://www.herculestire.com/catalogHerc ... nglish.pdf

those are the tires that got put on the rear.... i googled my problem and found tons of things that could be wrong, but one thing stood out... soft side walls on the tires? could that be it? if so i hope i didnt just waste 200 bucks on shitty tires.



here are my front tires... http://www.herculestire.com/catalogHerc ... enger.html

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 8:43 am
by theholycow
I once switched to some tires that were made for extra-long treadlife as their biggest priority. My car's handling went all sloppy with them until I inflated them to their rated maximum pressure instead of the car's minimum.

The tire shop may not have inflated them enough for your car, or if they truly are soft like my tires were then extra inflation will fix it. If they're that soft then the extra inflation won't cause any center wear or any of the other fears associated with it, it'll just fix the underinflation that you're experiencing. (Even if they're NOT, it will still be harmless with the exception of some possible center wear [which would also be harmless].)

Any idea on the cause of the blowout? While we're on the subject, highway blowouts are almost always caused by underinflation (even if you're inflated to the recommended pressure you could be underinflated if you're driving faster than the manufacturer predicted, carrying heavier loads, using worn/old tires, in excessive heat, etc).

Also check the lug nuts. The tire shop may have failed to tighten them sufficiently or they may have loosened after a few miles.

Jack the car up (by something near the rear wheel that will keep the car's weight on the suspension, rather than letting the wheel dangle) and grasp the wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock, pushing with one hand and pulling with the other in an attempt to rock/pivot it. It shouldn't wiggle. If it does then the rear wheel bearings may be bad.

If the symptom is as severe as it sounds, do not drive until you've either identified the problem or at least inflated more and carefully test-driven.

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 9:09 am
by charbs152
theholycow wrote:I once switched to some tires that were made for extra-long treadlife as their biggest priority. My car's handling went all sloppy with them until I inflated them to their rated maximum pressure instead of the car's minimum.

The tire shop may not have inflated them enough for your car, or if they truly are soft like my tires were then extra inflation will fix it. If they're that soft then the extra inflation won't cause any center wear or any of the other fears associated with it, it'll just fix the underinflation that you're experiencing. (Even if they're NOT, it will still be harmless with the exception of some possible center wear [which would also be harmless].)

Any idea on the cause of the blowout? While we're on the subject, highway blowouts are almost always caused by underinflation (even if you're inflated to the recommended pressure you could be underinflated if you're driving faster than the manufacturer predicted, carrying heavier loads, using worn/old tires, in excessive heat, etc).

Also check the lug nuts. The tire shop may have failed to tighten them sufficiently or they may have loosened after a few miles.

Jack the car up (by something near the rear wheel that will keep the car's weight on the suspension, rather than letting the wheel dangle) and grasp the wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock, pushing with one hand and pulling with the other in an attempt to rock/pivot it. It shouldn't wiggle. If it does then the rear wheel bearings may be bad.

If the symptom is as severe as it sounds, do not drive until you've either identified the problem or at least inflated more and carefully test-driven.

I did not check the tire pressure. I immediately took the car to my trusted shop to have them look at it. it really didn't feel safe to drive, especially 100 miles a day, 50 of which are on the thruway... I took the mechanic for a drive and he also drove the car so he knows what the problem is. hopefully it gets fixed soon because i need the car to get to school.

as far as the blowout (rear passenger side)... the tires were not THAT worn, they were nearing the end of their life but they had and acceptable amount of tread left. i did notice on the blowout tire that the inside of it was worn a lot more than the rest of the tire. also the front passenger side tire has more wear on the outside tread, but the driver side tires are all evenly worn... not too sure what that could mean but i told it all to the mechanic

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:37 am
by AHTOXA
Consider tread squirm as well. New tires on the back presumably have significantly more tread than on the back.

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:25 am
by charbs152
AHTOXA wrote:Consider tread squirm as well. New tires on the back presumably have significantly more tread than on the back.
What do you mean?

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 12:11 pm
by AHTOXA
When the tires are new, the tread is taller vs. tires that have been used and worn. Think of a pencil-top eraser. When new, it will deform when you erase and when it's nearly work down, it will deform much less. So when you drive, the tread flexes with application of sideays force and that flexing may give off the effect of the back end being loose. That combined with other variables such as different compound rubber can cause the effect you feel.

Image

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 1:07 pm
by charbs152
AHTOXA wrote:When the tires are new, the tread is taller vs. tires that have been used and worn. Think of a pencil-top eraser. When new, it will deform when you erase and when it's nearly work down, it will deform much less. So when you drive, the tread flexes with application of sideays force and that flexing may give off the effect of the back end being loose. That combined with other variables such as different compound rubber can cause the effect you feel.

Image
Ok..I understand that. I've hd new tires put on cars before and I've never experienced that. f that's what's actually going on then wow it doesn't feel safe at 55 mph let alone 75mph

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:19 pm
by AHTOXA
Otherwise, check for broken swaybar links in the back.

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 5:43 pm
by potownrob
them there adirondack mountains wreak havoc with them tires, y'all hear?? time to up them PSIs :)

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:25 pm
by charbs152
potownrob wrote:them there adirondack mountains wreak havoc with them tires, y'all hear?? time to up them PSIs :)
I just found out the problem with my car the The place I took it to put way too much air pressure in the tires. They lost my business iF they can't put the correct pressure on the tires, why should I trust them with anything else in my car

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:37 pm
by Squint
charbs152 wrote:I just found out the problem with my car the The place I took it to put way too much air pressure in the tires. They lost my business iF they can't put the correct pressure on the tires, why should I trust them with anything else in my car
Totally agree. My dad told me one time of a place he used to take a car to for an oil change. He stopped going when they kept telling him it needed 6 quarts when it needed 4 and he didn't bring enough oil. :lol: :lol: Perhaps check the actual manual or with the person who owns the car rather than what your incorrect computer says (mid 90s).

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:11 pm
by theholycow
charbs152 wrote:
potownrob wrote:them there adirondack mountains wreak havoc with them tires, y'all hear?? time to up them PSIs :)
I just found out the problem with my car the The place I took it to put way too much air pressure in the tires. They lost my business iF they can't put the correct pressure on the tires, why should I trust them with anything else in my car
I'm surprised that it's from too much rather than too little, but it does happen. How much? I imagine it had to be well over 60psi.

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:54 pm
by charbs152
theholycow wrote:
charbs152 wrote:
potownrob wrote:them there adirondack mountains wreak havoc with them tires, y'all hear?? time to up them PSIs :)
I just found out the problem with my car the The place I took it to put way too much air pressure in the tires. They lost my business iF they can't put the correct pressure on the tires, why should I trust them with anything else in my car
I'm surprised that it's from too much rather than too little, but it does happen. How much? I imagine it had to be well over 60psi.
He said between 55 and 60... And when he drove it this morning it didn't do it untill the tires warmed up which causes the pressure to rise...

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:18 pm
by IMBoring25
Are you really running half a set of snows? I have never experienced it myself but I have heard of mismatched sets of tires fighting each other, and if there's a configuration I would expect to do that it would be half a set of snows on dry pavement (and I wouldn't expect you to get much mileage out of snows on dry pavement either).

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstable

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 12:26 am
by SonicHKS
They're different tires right? Even tires of the same size, speed rating, treadlife, etc, usually have different "handling dynamics" between models and brands. That means the rear of the car will handle much differently from the front, the tires will break traction differently/etc. Also, if they're *brand-new* tires they'll probably have some tread squirm and they won't grip that well until you break them in.

I'd try rotating them. Move the fronts to the back and the backs to the front. See how the handling changes. Having worse tires up front will make the car tend to understeer and decrease braking/turning but it'll feel more stable with the rear end planted. And for one thing, your car is FWD so it'll eat front tires much faster than rear. That means it'll be hard to break in the rear tires, and in any case you probably want your fresh tires up in front.

It could also be suspension. More wear inside or outside on the tread usually means your camber is out of alignment. I'd get it aligned and see if they notice anything strange.