Tires: New 22 Tires on brand new 2007 F150, tire pressure sensors, sumitomo tires

Question
Hi, I just recently purchased Rozzi 22" x 9.5" rims and Falken 305-45-22 tires.  Originally, I had Sumitomo tires on it (new ones) and when they were installed on the truck, there would be an noticeable vibration in the steering (like out of balance) when I drove the truck first thing in the morning.  It would seem to go away after a period of driving at highway speeds.  So we switched tires to the Falkens, but it didn't solve the problem.  Vibrations the morning after on the highway (i pretty much go 100km/hr right off the bat when I leave for work).  What could this be?  Can it be the rims if the vibration goes away after a while and doesn't return until the truck sits for a while (i.e. overnight?)  I do have tire pressure sensors epoxied to the inside of each rim.  Please help me, this is driving me nuts.  Thanks

Answer
Jeff,

What you are getting is temporary flatspots on your tires.

When tires are operated, they heat up.  When the vehicle sits, the tires cool and because nylon "remembers", the part of the tire that was flat (in contact with the ground) - as opposed to round - stays kind of flat until the tire heats up again.

There are several things you can do.

First is that these are Extra Load tires and probably require more inflation pressure than the tires you took off.  I would suggest adding more pressure cold.

The second thing I would suggest is to allow the tires to cool slowly.  In other words, don't come right off the freeway (high speed generates heat) and park the car.  Drive slower in the final few minutes before you park it for the night.

The other thing would be to allow the tires to warm up before you go 100 kph.

Hope this helps.