Giddy Car after new back tyres

BnB

I got two new tyres yesterday morning. They are the back tyres on a 00 Merc C220 (Back wheel drive). Since I got them, the car just does not feel right. It's very giddy. If feels almost like it is swaying a bit from side to side at the back. The old tyres that were on it were in a bit of a bad state, but it drove better with them. I thought yesterday on the way home that it didn't feel right but put it down to being tired myself. But I had a long drive today, about 300 miles, and it is not right. Twice today I though I was going to lose control of the back of it.

I remember before, I over inflated the tyres a bit myself in a garage with no gauge and it felt very similar to that. But I checked that. They were both inflated to 32 which I did think sounded a bit high, so I let them down to 28, but it didn't really improve the situation.

Anyone have any idea what could be causing it ?

Balancing maybe, was it tracked after the new rubber went on?

BrianD3

Did you check your front tyre pressures? If they are overinflated and the rears are now at the correct pressure or slightly soft, the car will tend to oversteer. This is the opposite to what many people think.

BnB

RoverJames wrote: »

Balancing maybe, was it tracked after the new rubber went on?

It "was". As it I was told it was. Would lack of balancing cause these symptoms.

BrianD3 wrote: »

Did you check your front tyre pressures? If they are overinflated and the rears are now at the correct pressure or slightly soft, the car will tend to oversteer. This is the opposite to what many people think.

All 4 were 32 when I checked them. I let all 4 down to 28 but it made no difference.

BnB

BnB wrote: »

It "was". As it I was told it was. Would lack of balancing cause these symptoms.
....

Yep, so would a warped wheel though. After getting new tyres though the balancing would be prime suspect if the swaying wasn't there on the old rubber.

Anan1

What make are they?

mickdw

If it feels like the rear is wanting to break away and you are happy with the pressures all round, I would be pretty sure the tyres are crap, or are just no suited to the car. I cannot put soft sidewall tyres on rear of my car - they make it feel like tyres have moved inwards about 6" and rear becomes impossible. It is possible that they have been mounted wrong way round too.

rusty_racer94

I was once fed gibberish by a tyre-fitter who told me, ''These are expensive tyres, won't need balancing..''. And as a result, it was shaking like a vibrator, I showed this to the mechanic and got them balanced and it was fine after that.

elaverty

Theres no point in us assumeing anything and giveing advice untill he comes back with a make,,,,,Does anyone want to have a guess at what make they are,and maybe a continent aswell,,,,,,Im puting my neck on the line here but im gonna guess VEERUBBER..

elaverty

rusty_racer94 wrote: »

I was once fed gibberish by a tyre-fitter who told me, ''These are expensive tyres, won't need balancing..''. And as a result, it was shaking like a vibrator, I showed this to the mechanic and got them balanced and it was fine after that.

iTS NOT SHAKEING IYS SWAYING,,,NOT BALENCING

rusty_racer94

Alignment then..

Midnight_EG

You need to run in new tyres before they get grippy

BnB

Anan1 wrote: »

What make are they?

Just checked there now. The make is "Nankang"

They were the mid range tyres from a fairly reputable place that has a good few outlets here in the west. I told yer man that I do a lot of milage and I wanted decent tyres. I as much as said I'd pay for the top of the range, but he was fairly insistant that these were the job. No need to go for the top of the range ones.

elaverty

Are they NANGKANG NS I or NS II..

guyfo

Nankang are pure muck. I had 2 nankang fronts on my bm and it used to understeer like a bitch, even to the point where it was pure dangerous in the wet. Good tyres make all the difference. Id advise a set of dunlop sportmaxx tyres. Not to expensive and they perform great

BnB

Just to clarify... I don't feel any vibration. There was vibration with the old tyres up at 75mph+. Got up to to 90 on the motorway with the new tyres and no sign of any vibrations.

It more like a very faint swaying if you are just going straight. But it's when you are turning you really notice it. The first leg of my journey this morning (and last leg on the way home) was about 15 miles on a very windy B road (Scarriff, Co Clare to Gort if anyone knows it). I though I'd never get through it.

BnB

elaverty wrote: »

Are they NANGKANG NS I or NS II..

"Toursport 611"

rusty_racer94

Next time, get Zeetex ZT101, they're quite grippy, have tried them myself.

mickdw

Everyone says nankang are crap but NSII are not so bad imo. Certainly acceptable but they have soft sidewalls though which can help or not depending on car and road conditions etc.
You could inflate temporarily to nearer the max pressure to check it this improves stability. Alternatively, you could put these tyres on the front axle and see if the behaviour is any better.

com1

have you checked the shocks? and make sure the wheels are seated properly.

SpannerMonkey

what brand were your old tyres if your coming from the likes of Michelin pilot sport to these it could feel very different (bad) in comparrison

Esel

Bring them back - they sound like they are just not suited to the car. Otherwise, try not to go through a hedge backwards...

Nissan doctor

You need to know what load and speed rating the tyres you got are too see if they are suitable for the car at all.
Nankangs are a cheap tyre(certainly not midrange) and would be terrible for grip on the back on any RWD car, especially something heading towards the premium end of the scale. So assuming that you had something anyway decent on the back before, then the type of tyre is certainly the problem.

They may improve a little when they bed in but you will never have good traction with those.

Big Nasty

A friend of mine got two new rears on his 5er recently. Driving home the car was all over the shop and felt like the wheels were wobbling - turned out they had left the lugs loose! :eek::eek::eek:

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Nankang's are budget tyres for those who don't drive a car hard enough to be giddy. I had a set on a Rx-8 at one point and removed them after a week cause the wet grip was so bad. If you have enough driving feel to feel the car being giddy Nankang's is not for you.

Agree that the balance many be off also engure the were fitted the correct way if they are directional, there is an arrow on them.

Stiffs

MCMLXXV wrote: »

A friend of mine got two new rears on his 5er recently.

Is that Like, mines a heino roddy the 5er looks rad on the new cobblelock like...

You know what i mean like?!



Cheap tyres are false economy.. Its whats keeping you on the road..

techie

I bought a Sportage last December and it had 4 of those Nankang 611's on it, they are Ok once the road is completely dry though noisy, they are DANGEROUS in the wet, no grip at all.

Have replaced them since with Uniroyal's and they are Streets ahead.

Paddy001

The nankang pattern he has fitted is not a directional tyre. 32psi would have also been around the correct pressure for them to ensure they wear evenly. I would ensure the wheels were balanced and studs were tightened, and maybe give them a bit of use as some tyres need to be run in before they become grippy. It may not be a tyre fault at all, sometimes a new pair of tyres can exagerate a slight mechanical fault which was starting and it may seem like the tyres are wrong

Girlfriend got a "great deal" on a single nankang tyre on the back left of her 206 in january. 40 quid fitted so i am guessing it was whatever the cheapest ones are.
I swear that if the road was even the smallest bit damp the back end would slide out when turning right whereas it had been pretty decent for grip with the potenzas that were on beforehand(the right one was still a potenza).
Had it taken off and will never scrimp on tyres in future.

BnB

Hi - OP Here.

Went back to the tyre centre the following morning. Told them my story as I had posted here. The chap there insisted that they have never had a problem with them before and he doubted that there was anything wrong with them. But to be fair to him, he siad if I wasn't happy, he'd take them off and he gave me a pair of uniroyals for a tenner each extra.

While there was a slight improvement, it still wasn't right. So I brought it to a garage and got it up on a ramp and there was definately a bit of play in the rear pass wheel. Looked like there was a bushing gone. I replaced the two back shocks and she is spot on now.

I was blaming it on the tyres because I didn't notice it with the old tyres. But in hindsight, I think that bacause I was aware the tyres were on the way out, I was probably taking it handy without thinking about it. When I got the new tyres, I cut loose a bit and noticed the problem.

Anyway all sorted now. Thanks for all posts.

Esel

So, the loser here is your tyre guy! :eek: Would you not have had the car looked at earlier?

You win - Uniroyals have to be better than Nankangs, no?

Fey!

Fair play to the tyre guy for attempting to see you right.

Did he not notice the bushing/shocks, or is he tyres only? Sounds like a good guy to deal with.

BnB

Esel wrote: »

So, the loser here is your tyre guy! :eek: Would you not have had the car looked at earlier?

You win - Uniroyals have to be better than Nankangs, no?

I hear you RE checking the car first. But I was convinced it was the tyres (or the way they were fitted) as I didn't notice it before I put them on.

I don't really "win" as such, as I paid the extra bit to get the Uniroyals. But it was sound of the tyre shop to change them considering I had them for a day.