belcom

iTrader: (1)

when I got the car about 2 months ago I do not beleive I had the problem. I then installed 235/45/17 Toyo Proxes 4 tires. What I experience right now is too much steering feedback to the steering wheel from road cracks/bumps when going at any speed. This causes the car to be unstable on highway bends and an uncomfortable ride all the time. I can feel everything on the road. Even the smallest little things which should be absorbed without a problem. Suspension is stock and 5 years old, never changed. I really have no clue why.... the tires could make the car a bit stiffer due to stiffer sidewall, but I don't think it would make that much difference. Unstable, shaky and harsh are the 3 words to describe it. Car does not bounce like on bad shocks that are completely gone.

Any ideas?

HellaShookOne

sorry I cant help you. My 235/35/19 toyo proxys have been awesome. Maybe your wheels need to be rotated and balanced

Zippee

What tire pressure are you running?

us000011

Check tire pressure, may be set way too high. Also, when you make this change you should do a 4-wheel alignment as mandatory.

belcom

iTrader: (1)

pressure 32 front, 34 back. 4 wheel alighnment done 2 weeks ago, tires installed 4 weeks ago. I am thinking suspension....

spdy0001

At 18K miles I replaced the stock crap tires with yokohama es100 in stock size. I don't know about the toyo's but the yoko's have a much stiffer sidewall, which created a stiffer ride. I got used to it and then lowered the car and now its real stiff. I would say that you just need to get used to the stiffenss of the tire.

belcom

iTrader: (1)

but it's not just stiff, it's harsh ride. And when on highway it's kinda unstable when going over uneven surfaces.

TypeSleeper

This is typical to feel the road on a lower profile tire. Most people when they are on the interstate driving straight are in a constant slight left-right steering battle, to keep it straight. When you go to 50 series tire and lower, you have to hold the steering wheel in one definite spot.

TypeSleeper

you have to choose driving comfort or performance, which one?

Zippee

Tires with a big flat tread and/or stiffer sidewalls tend to follow the grooves and tracks in the road, it's called "tramlining". Likely a side effect of the bigger tires you installed. I noticed it when I had Kumhos on my CL in the stock size, went away when I changed to Goodyear.

You might lower your pressures 3-5 lbs and see if it helps.

TypeSleeper

Have you installed 235/45/17 on the stock 17x7" rim? If so you may have also gone TOO wide on the 7" wide rim. 235 may be a bit much, in return the tread area may be distorted. The tire that came on mine was a 215/50/17, and it fits fine.

RooEng

Why are you running higher psi in the rear? Our cars are nose heavy FWD, psi should be the same all the way around. Check psi with a different gauge, not all gauges read the same.

Did the ride change any after the alignment?

What kind of tires did you have before? If you had lower speed rated "touring" tire, going to a wider lower profile "performance" tire is going to make a big difference. "Unstable and shaky" could be another way of saying "responsive to steering inputs" due to the stiffer tire construction.

Try this. Do a burn out on a smooth surface and check the marks left by the tire. Too dark in the center means psi is too high. Light in the center and dark on the sides = low psi. (old racers trick)

At freeway speeds, let go of the steering wheel and see how "stable" it is. Then try it 28-29 psi, see what happens.

belcom

iTrader: (1)

all right, I'll try ro play around with tire pressure. But then I hope the tokico hp shocks and tein.h springs I'm am about to order are going to resolve most of the problem.

and yes, the tires installed on stock rims. I've read a lot about it before doing it, everyone who did it said it was good.

TypeSleeper

I'm about positive that 235s are for 8-8.5" inch wide rims, but I could be wrong.

Dave

It is not related to the 235 45 17 tire size on the stock rim. Plenty of people here have 235 45 17 on stock rims with no problems.

I noticed that the maximum psi on the Proxes 4 is 50 psi. While you are experimenting with tire pressure, try 38 psi on all four tires. I know it sound counterintuitive, but may be worth a try.

mattrasul

I have the same problem, THe dealer, told me, out of north america, they have done under 100 sturt replacements, THAT MEANS, THE STRUTS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO GO OUT, EVEN AT 100,000K, THEY ARE SUPPOSSED TO LAST ALOT LONGER, FINALLY, I AM GOING TO GET AN ALIGNMENT DONE TODAY, I THINK THATS WHAT IS CAUSING THE ROUGH RIDE, I WILL EXPLAIN IN DETAIL WHY THE ALIGNMENT WILL CURE THAT, BUT TOO TIRED TO TYPE. BE BACK LATER.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

That's just what happens when you go with wider and lower-profile tires. I'm running 235/40/18 Toyo T1-S tires, and they follow the grooves, and transmit road irregularities. It is harder to live with comapred to the stock tires, but I wanted the communicative feeling.

The only reason you should've chosen 235 over the stock 215 size would be performance and communication. Now you're complaining about that? Why did you go with 235, anyway? I'm just curious. With wider tires, you increase the chances of hydroplaning, increase rotational mass and inertia, have to manually bring the steering wheel back to center after turning at least a certain degree, etc, etc... all in the name of increased traction and better communication. Did you REALLY need the wider tread, or did you just do it because everyone else is doing it?

This problem is also magnified by you still retaining the stock suspension, at least to a certain degree. And the Proxes line-up isn't exactly comfortable luxury-ride tires, either.

belcom

iTrader: (1)

Well... I wanted the wider look and some more traction and of course more communicative road feeling but after installing the tires I realized that I did not gain that crisp handling I was looking for. It's just the way this car handles. At least on stock suspension.