Wobbly tyres!

delorean_2

I use Yokohama low profile A series on my Renault. They have unbelievable grip and are excellent vfm.

Got mine from https://www.blackcircles.co.uk dunno if that helps but hope it's an option for you.

tomstickland

I'm sticking with Eagle F1s, cheapest I've found so far is £97 all in for a pair with Blackcircles.com

david29dpo

rear wheels DO have to be tracked!

tomstickland

I've taken the suspension apart and there is no adjustment on the rear swinging arms. On my previous MK2 Astra there was no adjustment either.

mr_accountant

tomstickland wrote:

I've taken the suspension apart and there is no adjustment on the rear swinging arms. On my previous MK2 Astra there was no adjustment either.

On most cars the rear will not be adjustable, but they will need the toe to be within tolerance, e.g. within 6mm combined. If the toe (also camber) is out of spec then there is something wrong with the suspension, e.g. its been in a bang. It well worth having a 4-wheel alignment.

The place i went to firstly set the rear suspension to spec, and then straighten the steering wheel, then finally adjust the front toe to within limits. Also receive a pre and post report on caber, caster and thrust angle.

Well worth the £25. I am told a machine named hunter or john bean are the ones to go for.

tomstickland

I agree, a 4 wheel alignment is a good thing if you suspect the car. In my case I don't though - it's just shoddy tyres compared to what I'm used to.

mr_accountant

tomstickland wrote:

I agree, a 4 wheel alignment is a good thing if you suspect the car. In my case I don't though - it's just shoddy tyres compared to what I'm used to.

i agree, you only have the problem with the new tyres, so it must be them. But it does open up a new topic on tyres, it’s bizarre how a car can change handling with tyres. And its an expensive method to keep changing to find the best ones.

On this item i do believe its best to stick with the manufactures own recommendations as they have been tested on the car for a number of miles. however my car is recommends to run on Michelin energy, at £70 a corner ill try something else!:rolleyes:

tomstickland

I can buy top performance tyres (Eagle F1s) for £45 each fitted inclusive, so I tend to use them. I'd wager that the reason that these tires have caused problems is because of thin sidewalls and a large amount of wobbly tread. The car has a lot of rear camber - you can see that the wheels stick out more at the bottom. I reckon that in the first few days only the inside edge of the wobbly tyres was doing most of the work and the pair fought each other - hence the 2-3 second time period of the tugging left and right on straight motorway. As I've worn them down then this has improved due to- more even contact, work hardening the rubber and removing tread.

I can feel the tyres load up on cornering - it's quite comedic, I need about 10% less turn to make it round a corner and the back keeps out for a short while after straightening. Back to the F1s as soon as possible I think.

tomstickland

It turns out that the tyre brand is well known!

From a Vauxhall tuning forum:

i used to be a tyre fitter any the name regal ummmmmm........................................... brings a shiver to my spine lol wot a bag of ****

if ya looking for an early coffin use regal other wise id say wanli

From a BMW forum

ive had similar problems to them ones youve had but another moral!! never ever ever trust a tyre centre i used to go out with a girl whos brother owned one and from that day i never trusted the foookers ever!! they make serious dough out of selling !!!! tyres to ppl like us m8.

I had cheapo £28 quid regals all round and used them on track days! They have good and bad points...bad points being that the power of my brakes far outweighed the grip of the tyres (

vr6lad

tomstickland wrote:

I've got a 1991 BMW 318iS and normally run Goodyear F1 tyres (£32 each from mytyres.net).
Well, I've been quite shocked by them! On tight corners they grip OK, but the back of the car wobbles around. It's actually scared me a few times. It takes about 10% less steering input because of the extra back movement. I'm not sure whether it's entertaining or frightening.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced anything like this.

Tom, not sure if you know of this site already but have a look at https://www.e36coupe.com/forum. There are plenty of threads relating to steering and traction issues.

The coupe (as you have an iS) has a known fault with tramlining if you use directional tyres. The general consensus is the coupe (and many E36 shape 3 series) don't like directional tyres - and many coupe owners have gone for asymetrical tyres (i.e non-directional) and this has worked wonders.

Checking the rear mounts etc, and getting a 4 wheel alignment would also be recommended too.

Register at the site and there are plenty of knowledgable and friendly BMW owners who are happy to give you advice. I just bought a 320i saloon with some issues and I've received lots of tips, and pictures from owners of things to lookout for.

Never had these problems with my Merc! :money: