Misha322

So I got a set of (4) new tires for my car, Bridgstone Potenza RE960AS Pole Positions and been having some issues.

At the same time I got these tires, I also did the Legend caliper swap and changed my rotors on all four wheels, which made it hard to pinpoint the problem with the tires. I did have an alignment and bleed done after all this work.

After all this work I noticed my car pulling pretty badly to the right. So the first thing I though was bad is my front suspension/steering. I replaced my rear adjustable cabers per the Goodyear recommendations as per the alignment report and at the same time changed my front toe ends and upper control arms (both were unnecessary to do, I know). I did another alignment at that time and expressed my concern about the pull. Goodyear did the alignment and blamed a dragging caliper for the pull.

I then went to a brake shop (Just Brakes) to get my brakes inspected, the shop told me the brakes are just fine and no drag. I kind of knew that already as there would have been some visible signs if that was the case. After that I went to a TirePlus store to get another alignment done, just to check Goodyears work and to get my tires rotated and balanced. The alignment did not show too much that could be of an issue but once the tires were rotated (directional tires, back to front and front to back) the pull went away. So the shop told me it was the right front tire that was causing the pull (Radial Tire Pull).

I then went back to the shop I got my tires from, Discount Tires and had them order a new right tire. After a 20 minuet back and forth with the two guys who work there about how i should not have to pay a penny as the defect was from the factory and not something that developed over time (as they wanted me to pay prorated amount for new tire) I got the new tire installed at no charge. I then had my earlier tire rotation reversed, the old fronts that were now on the back to be placed back on the front as I wanted the new tire to be on the front.

After all was done, i went home and did some driving and to my annoyance the pull is back. So I wanted to see if perhaps it was the left tire that was causing the pull, I swapped the left tires front to back and the pull did not go away.

I can't imagine that the second tire would also have a defect and that is why I am making this post. Could the rim be bad? (My original factory rim). I know they do a balance, but I don't know if that fixes a bad "warped/bent" rim. I want to make sure I have something to point to when I call them back about the pull and don't want to blame the wrong thing if it is not the tires fault.

This pull has been the biggest pain in my rear.

Thank you all!

fsttyms1

i may look at the brakes. If after all that it still does it i would relook at the brakes (including the rear)

Misha322

Why brakes, as I mentioned in my post, brakes have been checked. What are you suggesting is the problem with the brakes?

01tl4tl

because even though they were checked, they may not have been properly bled or have another issue- they were installed R on L correct- so bleeders at top of caliper?
bleed order is-
LF= driver front, then clockwise around the car LF RF RR LR
No other order is approved due to abs plumbing

Since the calipers were off-lines opened- you may have air in the ABS controller

Book calls for 2 ABS active stops from 45mph- if 2nd time had firmer pedal you had air in controller - now its headed for the caliper, LF is where its most often found but rebleed entire system to be sure

`ABS active` means throw water on the street if you have to, but make the brake pedal pulse beneath both feet smashed on the brake pedal... brake as if it were a runaway toyota!
If the controller doesnt actually `pump` it holds the air and braking issues of all types may ensue

01tl4tl

you could have gotten a 2nd bogus tire from the store- if the id numbers were in sequence,,maybe the good 1 was newer or older...
so the replacement came off the shelf- not from the warehouse- and would be the same production run with same cord problem
Its up to the tire store that sold them to make it right

Misha322

I really don't think its the brakes, I did think so before, but since it dose not pull when the fronts are on the back and the back once on the front, it has to be rim or tire.

01tl4tl

Ive seen many tires with a bad belt- but few shops that can balance a bent rim!!

If rim takes more than 1 oz per side or doesnt balance perfect or keeps changing where it wants weights placed- thats bent

A shop with `Hunter Road Force` balancer can tell everything- awesome machine,
especially for aftermarket rims you want the weights all in the inside middle- not outside edges

Misha322

That's one weird thing I noticed, I came home and took the wheel off to take a look at it and there are weights on the inside of the rim (flat strip divided in the squares) and there is also one on the outside edge.

rcb2000

they are called stick on weights and they should be on the inside and outside of the rim not in the middle.

So what are the specs for the camber and caster after it was aligned?

01tl4tl

my enkeis on hunter road force balance have stick on weights on the center inside of wheel- slightly offset from center as needed- but inside none the less

thats the point of the trick machine, nice rims hide their weights

assuming road force balanced- that machine takes several measurements and can tell if a wheel is bent very quickly

rcb2000

static balance, not too good, dynamic very good. Nice rims don't have a lip to mount wheel weights to so you have to use stick on weights but still should have inside and outside weight.

AlanW

I have one slightly bent rim and the guy balancing it used the stick-on weights real near the outside edge of the tire, but HE GOT IT TO RUN SMOOTHLY, so I was happy! The weights are mostly behind the spokes and they are silver just like the inside of the rim, so not that noticeable.

chaleysleepy

Just replaced second set of bridgestone grids in two months due to directional pull. Replaced with a uni directional or a symmetrical falken ziex pull went away. Oem tires I believe are a symmetrical. Could the pull be caused by a combination of directional tire and wheel torque?

chaleysleepy

Just replaced second set of bridgestone grids in two months due to directional pull. Replaced with a uni directional or a symmetrical falken ziex pull went away. Oem tires I believe are a symmetrical. Could the pull be caused by a combination of directional tire and wheel torque?

TLer trash

Single plane balancing [what you are describing] is specifically NOT recommended by hunter. You should have weights placed as close to the outside edge of the rim as possible. We typically only use this method on huge off road/mud terrain tires if they take too much weight when balanced conventionally.
The weight hiding feature will take a weight that is between spokes and split it up to hide the weights behind the spokes. Typically, this uses a little more weight. Like if a 2oz. weight is called for between spokes, it might take a 1.5oz. weight behind each adjoining spoke to get the same result.
On to road force. Terminology is critical when paying for this service. Road force balancing is merely turning on the road force mode and checking the result. This takes an additional 30 seconds per wheel, and we do it for free. Some places charge $10 or more additional just to do this much. If the road force numbers are ok, you're done. If the road force is too high, you can do "match mounting". When you do this, you dial indicate the rim for runout, and the balancer determines the optimum position on the wheel to place the tire. This way the high road force portion of the tire is placed over the lowest point on the wheel. Here, I can justify a charge because you have to break down the bead, index the tire, reinflate, etc.

jdjohn84

I don't think mis-balancing would cause a pull anyway (back to original question). Bad balancing would cause vibration, which is not mentioned by OP. Same with a warped or bent rim - more vibration than pulling.

OP: at least re-bleed the brakes in the order mentioned just to rule that out as the problem. It won't hurt.

FirePR2002

it is possible there was some trash in the new calipers that has made its way around, or trapped air somewhere. like others have said, look at them again.

did i miss the alignment specs?

TLer trash

Good point. Back to the original problem. O.P., It still sounds like tire pull to me. Go to tirerack.com and enter "tire pull" on their search feature. The second entry down is diagnosing tire pull. Follow the steps in sequence and you'll come to a definite diagnosis. It's rare, but I had a car with three pulling/pushing tires.