i read similar problems here with tires. i purchased new kuhmo tires and aftera month my car was pulling to the left. i thought alignment would fix it…but it didnt. when they rotated the tires it pulled violently to the left this time. then they switched the tires again and now it pulls slightly to the right. iwaqs told its my new tires that are the problem. so i purchased two more and hope my car goes back to steering straight again.
You didn’t even attempt to have the Kumho dealer replace possibly defective tires?
I would not give up as easily as you did.
i got these at tire rack. id have to prove they are defective, you cant tell by looks, tire rack doesnt return used items, id have to pay shipping. i can save one and have it mounted for a spare. and toss the other. and hope the rear hold up. ive never had this problem before. and i have had dozens of cars.
There is a tire property called “conicity” that is present in all tires and it is that property that causes tire related drifts and pulls. It will be present IMMEDIATELY after applying the tires, not a month later.
It is possible to wear conicity into a tire. Bad alignment can do this.
There is a test to find out if a drift or pull is tire related or the result of alignment - swapping the tires left to right. The results of your test reveal it is BOTH tires and alignment.
So if the pull didn’t show up until a month after the tires were applied, and the test says it is both tires and alignment, my best guess is that the problem is the alignment - and the alignmment caused the tires to go bad.
So the first step is to get an alignment.
BTW separations will cause a vibration, not a pull.
Have you actually called TireRack? Usually they arrange a shop to take a look at your potentially defective tire and arrange for replacement.
If you have not called try. I think this is a downside of tirerack.com if you buy tires alone (not mounted to rims). However luckily a rarer occurrence.
Isn’t a tire warranty similar to a car warranty, in that any authorized dealer is required to provide warranty service?
Imagine that you bought those tires from a dealer in…let’s say…Colorado, and then set out on a cross-coountry trip. If the tires proved to be defective when you were 1,000 miles away (or more), do you really think that would have to return to the Colorado tire dealer in order to have the tires examined for defects under the terms of the warranty? I don’t think so.
i had the car aligned to get rid of the leftside pull. it didnt. then they tried rotating tires, then it pulled to the other side. the alignment guy said he sees this all the time the car is aligned. its THE TIRES.Google radial tire pull. or defective tires. ill know for sure when i get new hankooks mounted on the front saturday.and vdc thats the problem saving money buying online some times you get screwed! I hope its only one out of four tires that are bad. ill at least have a new match pair on the front.
No, tire warranties are not like car warranties. There really isn’t anything like an “authorized dealer”. Tire shops may sell the brand, but are under no obligation to service anything they do not sell. Many do, but there are some that don’t.
That’s really crappy!
Just imagine the poor shnooks who pay extra for a road hazard warranty and get a puncture many miles from home, only to find that the costly warranty is only good at the place of purchase.
I think that you have just given me reason #8 to buy my tires from Costco, a nationwide chain with very good customer service. Even though I don’t usually patronize Sears, this would even be a good reason to buy tires from them, rather than from a local dealer or from Tire Rack.
You did the correct thing in having the wheels rotated to see if the condition changed.
The next step I’d have suggested would have been to have the wheels/tires checked on a machine that does “road force balancing”. That’s a spin balancer that spins the wheel whole applying a simulated road force by pressing a spinning drum against the tread. That can find anomolies that regular spin balancers do not.
I have to admit, however, that I don’t know if road force balancers will detect a conical tread condition as suggested by Capriracer. The condition is one where the rolling diameter of the tread gradually decreases as you go across the tread surface. Basically, the tread surface measured across is not perepndicular to the wheel.
Capriracer, you’re a tire expert. Will a road force balancer detect conicity?
Enquiring minds want to know.
You hit the nail on the head as to why I may never buy from an on-line tire vendor. One issue like this where you have to pay shipping back pretty much eliminates the discount you may have received. A much better bet is Costco, Sears, Sam’s, Walmart, Firestone national store or Goodyear Gemini stores. They all provide nationwide service.
Question though. The tire pressure has been checked I would hope? After a month it is entirely possible for a tire to leak off for whatever reason; valve stem, leaking bead, or even an errant nail.
…“Capriracer, you’re a tire expert. Will a road force balancer detect conicity?
Enquiring minds want to know…”
Newer models and upgraded models will, most won’t.
And regardless of how insulting the OP was, I still think there was an alignment problem revealed from the left/ right swap. Going from sharply pulling left to slightly pulling right means the tires are only partially responsible.
Radial tires “pull” when the belt(s) are not perfectly centered under the tread. It’s a fairly common problem. When you buy mail-order tires, your options may be limited…By moving your four tires around, you can usually find an acceptable location where the car steers without pulling…As the tires wear, the pulling tends to diminish…Good Luck…
caddyman is right. now its a slight right pull. both fromt tires are being replaced. this better help. this is the first time i have ever had a tire pull problem. and im not waiting for the tires to wear to diminish this. little honda tires are inexpensive.ok4450 im running 32psi in each tire i wish it was a pressure problem. and as i have stated the car was aligned and still pulls slightly to the right.
Thanks for the info. Every bit of knowledge helps.
I didn’t personally notice an insult. I guess I’m “case hardened” and hard to penetrate.
Enjoy your day.