BuyPirelli

Yeah Tony it is a manual. I am learning towards CV joints, but they are expensive to replace on a whim. Theres a Ford specialist near me I may try out. Keep the advice coming chaps.

Erm no, but I will do, though I dont suspect that! The thing that gets me is all the suspension is solid, not worn, loose or perished in any way. So the wheel cant really be falling off, even if thats what it feels like. That leaves drivetrain I think, but hey, what do I know.

Hi folks, This post may be a bit long winded, but please bare with me. Have had this issue for about 9 months now, or 4,000 miles. My Mondeo ST2220 drives great, steady as a rock, and in a straight line it has no bangs or clonks. However when turning (60%+ steering) I am getting a knock / grating sound from the front left of the car with some weird steering kickback feel, it doesn't happen all of the time, but it does more often than not, and its harshness varies. Symptons; 1. Sounds almost identical to driving on snow, literally. When it snowed, I couldnt tell the difference between the car or the snow! Though sometimes it is more of bang. Can't tell if its metal on metal, or rubber? 2. The car can sometimes kangeroo up and down, and subsquently rocks side to side. As soon as I straighten the wheel its fine. 3. The car HATES accelerating even moderatly with the wheels turned sharply, it seems to wheel hop and clatter like no mans business. Makes blasting out of junctions or roundabouts difficult. 4. The feedback through the wheel feels like somethings twisting, however its not proportion to the amount of steering, and it seems to go trough cycles. For example, you feel it, then the feedback seems to get stronger, it climaxs, then starts from the beginning. It in turn accompanys the sound of snow crunching, which I would describe as a low thud. So, theories; 1. Driveshaft, CV joint or diff. Either of them, would this explain the trouble accelerating with the wheels turned? Will a car kangeroo if only one wheel is getting power? Does this explain the physical movement the car is experiencing? 2. The wheel is loose, ok maybe not the wheel, but the hub is. Obviously I've tested them, as have two garages and physically everything looks spot on. All solid as rocks, all nuts and bolts are tight, nothing seems out of place. However a dodgy hub or something would explain the madness. 3. Top mount or upper spring broken and no-body has noticed? Would this hhave the above symptons? If so, why does the car drive perfect in a straight line? Well there you have it, all I can think of. I've spent 45 minutes on two ocassions checking both sides of the car with the wheels off. My local indy has had the wheels, hubs and brakes off to get a real good look but everything seems fine... Come on lads, give it your best.

As said previously, feels like the car has now done 50,000 miles less. A lot less harshness and overall NVH etc. I'm never buying those asymmetrics again!

Well its impossible to say, because F1's were new 3 years ago! However I have 4 month old F1's on the front, and in comparison they just seem noiser and less comfortable! The PS3's are whisper quiet and the ride is brilliant.

Nice one. Yeah same with mine albeit it with more tread. Tbh I didn't notice any loss in handling, but very difficult to test obviously.

So they are down to 2.5mm but dont look like mine? Can you grab a photo? Ta

How much tread is on them? As said this isn't my first set so I know how they wear,, they've all been trhe same

Interesting, thanks for the input. Anyway I can't hear ANYTHING from these PS3's on the rear, any noise must be drowned out by the Goodyears on the front.

Curious, but quite often when I replace a worn set of tyres, I notice a considerable difference to the characteristics of the car. The worn out Goodyears I posted up about the other day came off the rear of my Mondeo they were fine bar a little extra noise at low speeds. However the new PS3's I have fitted have brought a new lease of life to the car. Its much quieter (this I expected), the ride is so much smoother and the car seems to float along on the motorway - almost as if it had done 50,000 less miles. The thing is, I had no previous complaints about the Goodyears, they seemed fine... I know there are differences between tyre makes, and I never previously had any complaints, its only now I have fitted the PS3's I can tell a big difference. So is it the make of tyre, or the fact one is over 3 years old, done many many miles and various track days?

Cheers for your advice, without it I would have been left wandering at a few points.

Yep. Am I correct in saying they were fund 50% of what I paid for the tyres which replaced the defective ones? I.e., I paid £286 for the replacement tyres from the sale shop that sent them back, so ideally I'd get a cheque for £143?

Got a letter today, offering 50% credit for each tyre. W00t! Now I need to get it off the "dealer", is this the wholesaler that took the tyres?

If they were overinflated then there would be no centre tread. In this case, the deep channels have a consistent depth from left to right proving they have been inflated correct for their entire life What other tyres DONT lose tread pattern when they wear? Toyo T1-R's spring to mind.

Is there any particular reason or benefit they do this, other than to sell more tyres? I can appreciate dry grip may increase, assuming the quality of the tread does not deteriorate, and although the channels are still massive, I suspect wet weather handling or feedback may suffer.

Would you say those tyres have worn badly? The wear is even across the tread, but I suspect a small degree of stepping on the inside edges. What do you make of the cracking, cosmetic?

Yes, like a completely and utterly shagged wheel bearing. The PS3's have solved this, the car is much quieter and smoother, however there is still some weird noise, I think its a characteristic of the Asymmetrics on the front of the car (though its not of any real concern). Anyhow, is the fact that tyres become more noiser when they wear out common?

I was getting some very weird noises, vibrations and general weirdness from my car and was pretty certain it was the rear tyres. Replaced them today with PS3's and jobs a goodun'. Keep in mind the following; *These tyres were fitted at the same time and have done 45,000 *Passenger side shows 2mm evenly, drivers side shows just under 4mm evenly - so both are legal First, lets observe a relatively new, 3000 mile old Asymmetric - note the tread pattern across the entire tyre; Now, lets look at my old tyre with 2mm tread; Notice how there is a distinct lack of centre and right three quarters tread. Keep in mind this tyre is still legla, but I'd wager it'll have lost a great deal of its performance. Zooming in, we can see its cracked in some places and is even completely smooth! Finally, lets compare to the tyre on the opposite side of the exactly that has done exactly the same mileage in the same conditions. Notice how it has double the tread dept, but still pretty bald! So, what do we think? Previous tyres I have replaced have never looked so different compared to a new example. Admittedly the performance was still there but there must have been a reduction in wet weather grip and the feedback characteristics would obviously have been different. The real issue I had was that at certain speeds, they'd rumble so bad the car would start to shake and the accoustic frequencies made my interior rattle! and of course, my alloys got the obligatory tyre massacring by incompetent clowns.

Very interesting, assuming these are reliable then its a good way of stopping opportunists letting air out of your tyres. Are they easy to fit, or do you think your regular tyre fitter may suffer, given the nature of them.... Essex Racer, the set you have, do you need an adapter to let air into the tyre, if so where do you get one?

Very interesting. I guess my fear is that the handling would still remain compromised in someway, there are only a number occassions where I have been in a car with modified suspension and thought "this is good". For what its worth, I'd be talking about improving the stock setup for the road, but that doesn't mean I simply want comfort. The R8 uses very sloppy dampers with moderate springs, infact the lowering kit for them only increases the spring rate by 10%. The ARB's are incredibly thin too, 18mm iirc, uprated ones are 22/24mm I think.

Cheers, as said, Goodyear are collecting the tyres. Will report back in a few weeks with the results!

Talking about regular springs, dampers and the likes; the way I see it, manufacturers spend millions of pounds in research and development to make their vehicles "handle" as best as possible. (Lets define handling as the balance of a car, the feedback it offers, and the mixture between comfort and grip). With this in mind, how come boy george engineering ltd can come along and offer "uprated" dampers and springs? Are they actually better than standard, or is it all a bit of a scam? I use to own a HSV R8 but sold it because I didn't like the handling, I was tempted to spend thousands on damprs, springs, bushes and anti roll bars, but I really didn't know how much of an improvement it would have made. Do these companies like Eibach, Pedders, Bilstein etc spend thousands of hours on test tracks and the likes, or is it all guess work? Opinions and experiences welcome please

Got a phone call off Goodyear just now, saying the tyres are ready for collection from the wholesaler, woohoo. Should have a letter in the post within 14 days...though I never told him I'm moving over to Michelin

Yup, I guess. Do I have a leg to stand on, legal or otherwise? I gave them the tyres with the intention of them passing them on to Goodyear, if I wanted to bid them or leave them around I would have done myself.

Just an update on this; Dec 2nd - Dropped tyres off at retailer with appropriate paperwork for the wholesaler they were being returned to, I am lead to believe the wholesaler received them the same day. I have been in touch with the retailer who says the tyres are at goodyear, so I spoke with goodyear who denied this being the case and the whole saga is going round in circles. I've tried to speak with the wholesaler but they wont acknowledge my enquires as I do not have a trade account with them. What a load of tosh.