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

Synchros shot? Weird noises while shifting? Not sure what needs to be replaced?
User avatar
charbs152
Senior Standardshifter
Posts: 635
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:30 pm
Cars: 2015 Mazda3 i Touring 6MT
Location: Upstate NY

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

Post by charbs152 »

IMBoring25 wrote: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).
they work fine, ive always run it like that and i still average 32-33 mpg a tank. :)
Image
User avatar
charbs152
Senior Standardshifter
Posts: 635
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:30 pm
Cars: 2015 Mazda3 i Touring 6MT
Location: Upstate NY

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

Post by charbs152 »

SonicHKS wrote: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.

the alignment is a little off, but not much, i will get it aligned when i get snows on the front in a couple months...

I buy a pair of snows for the front every year and a pair of rear tires every 2 yrs.... i drive a lot and that seems to work best for me...
Image
User avatar
Squint
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 3390
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:44 pm
Location: KY

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

Post by Squint »

charbs152 wrote:I buy a pair of snows for the front every year and a pair of rear tires every 2 yrs.... i drive a lot and that seems to work best for me...
How much do you drive that you need new tires every year or two?
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT
'97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi

For Pony!
User avatar
charbs152
Senior Standardshifter
Posts: 635
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:30 pm
Cars: 2015 Mazda3 i Touring 6MT
Location: Upstate NY

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

Post by charbs152 »

Re: weird problem...car sways when turning, feels unstableor the front every year and a pair of rear tires every 2 yrs.... i drive a lot and that seems to work best for me...[/quote]
How much do you drive that you need new tires every year or two?[/quote]
35,000 miles a. Year... I don't rotate them ...fresh. snows on the front every winter and rear tires every other year.
Image
User avatar
theholycow
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 16021
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:36 pm
Cars: '80 Buick LeSabre 4.1 5MT
Location: Glocester, RI
Contact:

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

Post by theholycow »

Squint wrote:
charbs152 wrote:I buy a pair of snows for the front every year and a pair of rear tires every 2 yrs.... i drive a lot and that seems to work best for me...
How much do you drive that you need new tires every year or two?
Well, that's an average of 1.5 years per tire. If he's rolling snow tires all year and trying to start every winter with deep tread, 20,000 miles would fit the equation.

(Oh, in the time I was typing this up, he posted the answer.)

One of the things I like about my car, which makes it very cost-effective for me, is the ready availability of tires already mounted on wheels that fit, sold at chump-change prices. I never keep my winter tires on if I'm confident in the weather, and I can even swap between all-season tires, using deeper tread during a rainy season and squeezing a few more miles out of worn tires during a dry season.

At a more practical level for most people, it makes sense to have winter tires on one set of wheels and non-winter tires on another set. For optimal cost-effectiveness just re-designate winter tires to non-winter when they become worn and the old non-winter tires get replaced with new winter tires; for optimal handling have a set each of winter and summer tires (but you end up throwing out tread that's good enough for summer/not good enough for winter when your winters wear).
1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT

Put your car in your sig!

Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig
watkins wrote:Humans have rear-biased AWD. Cows have 4WD
User avatar
charbs152
Senior Standardshifter
Posts: 635
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:30 pm
Cars: 2015 Mazda3 i Touring 6MT
Location: Upstate NY

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

Post by charbs152 »

theholycow wrote:
Squint wrote:
charbs152 wrote:I buy a pair of snows for the front every year and a pair of rear tires every 2 yrs.... i drive a lot and that seems to work best for me...
How much do you drive that you need new tires every year or two?
Well, that's an average of 1.5 years per tire. If he's rolling snow tires all year and trying to start every winter with deep tread, 20,000 miles would fit the equation.

(Oh, in the time I was typing this up, he posted the answer.)

One of the things I like about my car, which makes it very cost-effective for me, is the ready availability of tires already mounted on wheels that fit, sold at chump-change prices. I never keep my winter tires on if I'm confident in the weather, and I can even swap between all-season tires, using deeper tread during a rainy season and squeezing a few more miles out of worn tires during a dry season.

At a more practical level for most people, it makes sense to have winter tires on one set of wheels and non-winter tires on another set. For optimal cost-effectiveness just re-designate winter tires to non-winter when they become worn and the old non-winter tires get replaced with new winter tires; for optimal handling have a set each of winter and summer tires (but you end up throwing out tread that's good enough for summer/not good enough for winter when your winters wear).
Yeahv sure there's lots of ways to save a little bit bit this is the easiest and most simple way...I like fresh tread every winter...I live in the middle of nowhere on a mountain so I'd rather pay A little more for fresh tires.
Image
Post Reply