Tires and Handling - I 35

[donfaber]

I have an 04 I35 with 65K miles - just put a new set of Bridgestone "V" speed rated tires on all 4 - ride was rough, had the sense that I was "out of control." Because I had 30 day warranty, I went back to new "H" rated tires that originally came on the car. Ride is not as rough, but still feel like I'm "out of control", particularly on Interstate. Should I be looking for some other type of problem? Is there a known "suspension" problem associated with I35's that I need to have checked?

[MaximA32]

The reason the ride felt "rough" was because the V rated tire has a stiffer sidewall. i have Yokohama AS-430's that are V rated on my 98 Maxima and haven't had any issues.

[Sentientbydesign]

Typically tires have very little to do with that "out of control" feeling.

Has the car been aligned recently? I don't care what anybody says, my I30 gets aligned about every 2 months. Then again, the lowering suspension makes a difference.

Have the suspension checked out. I'd bet your Toe is out or one or more of your bushings are bad.

[Grand Moff Joseph]

Typically tires have very little to do with that "out of control" feeling.

Has the car been aligned recently? I don't care what anybody says, my I30 gets aligned about every 2 months. Then again, the lowering suspension makes a difference.

Have the suspension checked out. I'd bet your Toe is out or one or more of your bushings are bad.

I agree - start by checking alignment and bushings, based on mileage.

As for tires, I have been running Yokohama Avid V4S (V rate) for a long time, and have had no issues. Very good ride, and excellent control.

[whiteI30]

What do you mean by "out of control". Is the car shaking, do you feel any vibrations on the steering wheel? Maybe the wheel isn't balanced right, or it is bent.

[donfaber]

I get the impression of driving on ice - like I could turn the wheel and tires would not turn, or car would not change direction. Gets scary to drive above 70 mph.

[Sentientbydesign]

Those bridgestones should have given you the feeling of driving on rails.

I had the hardest time breaking them loose on my I30 even when trying to go sideways they would resist.

I will say that I didn't like the Bridgestone RE900 series (930 and 950). I was driving the stock size with very good tread with a light rain and I was hydroplaning at 30MPH.

That inspired me to get larger wider rims and tires.

I highly suggest getting your alignment checked out and having them check for warn bushings or a leaking steering rack. I can't phathom any other reason you would have a problem with V rated Bridgestones. They should be really sticky.

[ZGadson]

I just bought some type of Goodyear tires ($170 per tire) that the tire shop ended up replacing for me. The steel bands in one of the tires snapped after only 1k miles, then I hit a chuck hole and bent a rim and destroyed the other front tire. Then another band snapped in a rear tire, so they ended up giving me all new Continental tires ($210 per tire). Night and day difference.

I have to disagree with Sentientbydesign though. After driving with the Continentals, the Goodyear tires sucked and truly did give me the "out of control" feeling. Also, ride quality is DRAMATICALLY increased now that the Goodyears are gone.

Apparently the these Continentals are whats put on Volvos when they come from the factory.

[Sentientbydesign]

I would say you got a bad batch of tires. You can't compare quality tires to crap and expect them to perform the same. And price doesn't dictate quality.

I have yet to have a bridgestone give me problems and I've gone through 4 sets and 4 different models.

[ZGadson]

I'll agree that I got a set of faulty tires, however, when forking over $170 for one tire, a "bad batch of tires" is not acceptable.

Its simply really. Anyone who spends more than even $500 on tires should expect nothing less than good quality tires that will last longer than three weeks.

I still cannot believe I spent $900+ to fit my car with tires! The only time its necessary to spend that much would be if you're name is Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt, and the last time I checked I was neither.

[MattB]

I just bought some type of Goodyear tires ($170 per tire) that the tire shop ended up replacing for me. The steel bands in one of the tires snapped after only 1k miles, then I hit a chuck hole and bent a rim and destroyed the other front tire. Then another band snapped in a rear tire, so they ended up giving me all new Continental tires ($210 per tire). Night and day difference.

I have to disagree with Sentientbydesign though. After driving with the Continentals, the Goodyear tires sucked and truly did give me the "out of control" feeling. Also, ride quality is DRAMATICALLY increased now that the Goodyears are gone.

Apparently the these Continentals are whats put on Volvos when they come from the factory.

Which model Continental tires did you get? I'm considering a set of the ContiExtremeContact tires to replace the horrendous Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires that are on my car now.

[ZGadson]

I got rid of my Goodyear Response Edge tires for the ContiProContact SSRs. Although they're a level down from the ContiExtremeContact in the performance aspect, they've got about the same ride quality. I've only had them for less than a week, but I'd recommend them over Goodyear by far.

[Sentientbydesign]

I still hold by the bridgestones. *thinks...I should buy some of their stock* lol

[audtatious]

The only "out of control" issue I have had with tires were with the factory RE92's in rain. The Max/I35 seems to float around a lot without suspension changes as well. I hated driving 70 on the expressway over rough roads as the car seemed to thrash around. Eibach springs and a RSB solved all of it (including torque steer).

[ZGadson]

When I bought my car it had the RE92s on it. I bought it and test drove it in a huge snow storm. Unfortunately I had horse blinders on and wasn't seeing the whole picture. I was only looking at the heated seats and steering wheel, not handling or tires.

My search for new tires began when I was at a stoplight at the bottom of a slight hill. The light turned green and I could barely get enough inertia to get over the hill. I got going fast enough to make it half way up, then started sliding down sideways and watched as the 1985 Pontiac 6000 stopped on the hill (so I didn't hit him) and started going again, right up and over the hill without a problem.

Traction control, VDC, and all that other crap are useless without good tires.

[NutriaforBreakfast]

I would get under the car and grab and shake to see if anything is real loose before going too fast!! Check the CV joints,tie rods, and anything related to the steering. Make sure yourwheels are on good too.