Hey everybody. First off I have a 2004 g35x, I went to pep boys on Tuesday to get new tires and an alignment (I know big mistake). The tires I got were Michelin hydro edge size 225/55-17. These were the same tires I got at 35,000 miles and I now have 95,000 miles on my car, so I figured I'd get the hydro edges again since I got 60,000 out of them. After the work was done the alignment was still off and the steering wheel was now crooked to the right. I took it in the next day for them to fix it, they fixed the alignment but said there was still some pull due to the radio pull of the tires, and they seemed to over due the steering wheel as it was now slightly crooked to the left. I took it back, they said the steering wheel was dead on and I was just holding it crooked to make up for the radio pull of the tires.

They then said that the radio pull could be because of a bad tire from the manufacturer, so the manager looked it up and the he said these tires were not meant for my car because my car needs T tires and the Michelin's are something else (I forget exactly what he said), and also the speed for them were off (which I knew to begin with) and he would have never of sold me them if it were him who made the sale. They then decided to rotate the tires to see if that made a difference, which it did very slightly but it isn't fixed completely

Now rewind back to August 2010, my alignment was off and my steering wheel was crooked also, so I took it to my regular mechanic and he fixed both dead on.

So my question(s) are, Should I get them to order new tires to see if it is a faulty tire from the manufacturer? Should I get them to order me the stock size tires (215/55-17) even though the 225/55-17 tires have been great for me in the past? Or, should I just bite the bullet and take it to my regular mechanic to see if he can get it fixed because Pep Boys sucks? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

well i would get pepboys to order you a new tire if they will do it for free. if they are going to charge you take it to your reg mechanic.

 

Do you think it is indeed a bad tire? Or do you think they're wrong and my steering wheel is really off?

 

When pepboys does their alignment, they are going to leave it within the specs. Back in '10 when your car was out of align, your mechanic most likely countered it by making it pull a tad the opposite way, which wasn't within spec but in the end got the job done.

 

So this is not an issue of the tires not being T tires like pep boys was saying? Thanks for the reply, it certainly makes sense and I will bring this up when I go back.

 

I'm not saying this is the solution. It's just something worth looking into.

 

Whats your opinion on them not being T tires? Does this really matter?

 

That's just a speed rating. It has nothing to do with it pulling to one side. If it is the tire causing the problem then it's a manufacturer defect.I don't know what the speed limit is on t rated tires but as long as you stay under it, then it shouldn't be an issue. I'm sure 65-70mph is well within the limits of the tire.

On the other hand, let's assume it's a defect with the tire and you keep driving on it until it blows and causes an accident. If the tire company's insurance finds out you had a t rated tire on a car that needs a tire with a higher speed rating then they most likely won't cover it. Then again, blame might be put on pepboys for installing it...who knows. Point is, you shouldn't put on lower speed rated tire on your car.

 

Have PepBoys take care of this defective tire and for GODs sake quit going to those **** places for service!! I can't imagine that somewhere in Philly you don't have a independent tire/brake/alignment shop that sells quality tires and knows how to align your G...you need to find one!
Gary

 

why would you get 225 in the first place?

also.. michelin has a 30 day guarantee.. they would have exchanged them for ya...

but i guess it's been awhile..

 

I've got a great mechanic, but I'm a college kid and wanted to save money and I didnt think pep boys could screw up tires and an alignment.

 

Its only been less than a week

 

I wanted a wider tire

 

225 is wider than what you had ?

shouldn't be hard for them to adjust your steering wheel to straight up and down.

sounds like you may have something else wrong causing it to pull to one side ?

wait does it drive straight ? I got confused as to what's happening. Was it driving normally before the new tires / alignment ?

 

For those that don't know, T-rated tires are designed to not exceed 118mph. It simply means the tires are designed shed enough heat to keep from shredding at speed below a sustained 118mph. If you drive at sustained speeds above 118mph you risk a blow out. If you're driving at these speeds, then running T-rated tires on the G isn't going to be a problem. The thing you need to be most concerned about is load capacity. Are the tires capable of handling the load at speed without getting too hot and blowing out at slower speeds? A 225/55R17 will have more than enough load capacity.

As for alignments, you need to understand that most roads are crowned in the middle to direct storm flow to the gutter/road edge. This crown, though not easily scene sometimes, will cause a slight pull and change in steering wheel angle. Many shops will set the alignment to slightly favor the right to offset the pulling effect. However, most shops keep the wheel at dead center and just shift the rack slightly. When testing your steer ahead, make sure you're on a very flat road way.