A few days ago I got new rotors and pads (R1 concepts e-line) and new rear tires installed on my coupe. All of a sudden, my car now feels like a boat on the road, instead of a car--it feels like it's floating instead of staying planted to the road like before and it's scary. At first, I thought they just put too much nitrogen in the tires and that that was the problem, so I checked it and, sure enough, there were 41 lbs. in the back and 31 in the front, so I took it back to the shop and they corrected it (35 lbs. now).

Unfortunately, that didn't help and last night, while taking a freeway on-ramp with a slight curve at the same speed I always do, the car suddenly hops sideways ~2 feet to the left--twice in a matter of a second and I thought I was going to lose control of it. Fortunately, noone was next to me in the left lane and the VDC kicked in. I checked the lug nuts on all the wheels and they seem tight and the alignment is slightly off, but not bad, so I am stumped at what could be causing this. Does anyone have a theory for what could be causing this to happen? I don't feel safe driving the car right now!

P.S. Before this started, I had Toyo Proxes T1Rs in front (same pair still--good tread remaining, but feathered on the insides) and Falken FK452s in the rear and they were pretty bald, but still hugging the road like they were new. The new rear ones are T1Rs, like the front, so they match now.

 

new tires need to break in to remove slippery top layer... do a small burnout if you want to speed up the process.

 

mine did that when my rear camber and toe were off. I readjusted my rear camber and toe and it went away

 

So I took the car to the dealer to look at it. They said the alignment and everything else was fine, so they swapped my Toyos for some Michilin Pilots and said it drove fine. They concluded that I got a bad set of tires, but could not explain what is wrong w/ them!? So I called the shop I ordered them from and they said I could return them within 45 days or get a different type. They did mention the thing about the protective coating and the fact that, due to the tread design. there may be a bit more flex when new before they get "broken in" for a few hundred miles. I did notice on the way to the dealer that the car felt a little less unstable than a couple days prior, so I might drive around a few more days on these before deciding whether to swap these tires. But still, I've never had a new pair of tires react this way before, so I'm still skeptical about some of these explanations.

 

sounds like to me , but what do i know

 

Okay, so I found out I could return the Toyos for a full refund, even though I've driven on them, so I ordered some Kumho Ecsta SPTs from TireRack.com and had them put on at the same place that installed the Toyos. I took the Toyos back immediately afterward, since the company I ordered them from, EdgeRacing.com, was fairly local...

All I can say is wow--the car feels so much smoother and stable now, more like I remember it being before! Not only do the Kumhos feel much better, they're $20-$40 cheaper per tire than the Toyos. I feel bad for having to return the Toyos and buy the Kumhos from a competitor, since Edge Racing didn't carry them, but I gotta give props to Edge Racing for their competitive prices, great customer service and speedy delivery. I'd recommend them as much as I'd recommend TireRack.com if you need tires at a great price and will shop there again in the future if they have what I need...

I'm still puzzled though as to why these Toyos drove so horribly, considering so many people on this forum seem to have them... Oh well, at least I can smile again, instead of cringing with a death-grip on my steering wheel, when driving down the road.