I bought a Xedos9 at Blackbushe today... great car but on the way back I noticed the steering seems to 'tramline' sometimes, equally in either direction. It's not really a problem but I wondered if this is normal in this car, or with others with low profile tyres?
PB.
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PB, low profile tyres do suffer from this more than others.
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Mrs smokie was horrified when she first drove the Omega MV6. It tramlined a lot, but I was used to it. Then it caught me out once or twice so I took it to a Vx dealer, who changed a wheel bearing, to no effect whatsoever (23000 mile car at the time!).
After taking it in for balancing etc, and advice from the tyre fitters, I decided to change all four tyres, even though the Pirellis were still well legal.
I got B F Goodrichs at a reasonable price, and it barely tramlines at all now. And the rears are almost bordering on the limit (20+ k miles the pair which I'm quite happy with) so are ready for change again...
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Agree with Smokie that tyres are absolutely crucial in a vehicle`s handling, particularly with low profile rubber. My son recently purchased a BeeM 330Ci, which had the original Dunlop SP9000`s on the rear & the main dealer had fitted a pair of Michelin Pilots to the front. This resulted in tramlining so severe, it was difficult to maintain a line even at low speeds,- certainly not what you expect from the ultimate driving machine.!! After ditching the Michelins and fitting a pair of SP9000s to the front, the handling has been absolutely transformed and tramlining totally eliminated.
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Thanks for the advice all. The tyre pressures were down all round and setting them properly has made quite a difference. The car handles superbly and looks great on 17" low profile tyres so I suppose it's a compromise. I'll put OE tyres on when it needs them.
PB.
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