I recently traded my 1998 Honda Civic in for a 2007 Mazda3. I immediately noticed a difference in the handling on some interstates. Older highways and interstates had smooth paving, but all new highways (at least here in the Midwest) have grooves that run parallel to the road for drainage. On roads with the grooves, my Mazda feels like it is being pushed all over the road (similar to what it feels like on a very windy day). I never experienced this in my older car. The only thing I could come up with is that it might be the tires… they are almost considered a “racing” tire. Other than that, I have no idea why it does this and it is very concerning feeling like you are not in control of your vehicle! Could it be a function of the car and there is no way around it?
Yup. It’s the tires. You’ll get used to it. My MR2 has summer performance tires on it and does the same thing.
On that note, be sure your tires aren’t summer-only if you drive it in the winter. A lot of people buy a 2nd set of cheap wheels and put winter tires on them to swap out when the snow hits.
Are the tires the OEM size or are they possibly wider than that? Wider tires do this more often.
yes, agree it is the tires. happens on my mustang with wider tires as well. i had summer rims and tires and winter rims and tires. everytime i switch, i had to adjust.
Tell us the make/model/size of the tire.
I’ve experienced this on our interstates as well… I just got used to it. It seems to have gone away somewhat now that my tires are more worn down, but it was bad when my car was brand new.