Tires: V rated original tires VS T rated replacement, right on target, acura dealer

Question
QUESTION: I have a 1997 Acura 3.5 RL.The original tires were "V" rated. When I brought my car in for inspection, it was recommended that the tires would not pass inspection and I should replace them.The recommendation was to replace them with a "T" rated tire. I purchesed the tires and have had handling problems ever since and have taken it back numerous times. Now that I have 15,000 and still experiencing handling, The tire dealer said I need to replace with a "V" rated tire. They now want to charge me a "wear" price to replace the tires. What is your opinion ??
ANSWER: Anthony,

I think I need to know what sort of handling problems you were having.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: There is a front end wobble that I did NOT have before the tires were installed.  Tires have been rebalanced twice.They even switched the two front tires from side to side and rotated. The Acura dealer and other mechanics have checked and rechecked the entire front end and found nothing wrong!!

Answer
Anthony,

It seems obvious that the problem is in the tires.  It might be in the rims, but I think you would have experienced that before the tire change, but I can't completely discount the possibility.  But after 15,000 miles, this situation becomes a little difficult.

I don't think the problem is a result of the speed rating, but I always advocate using the same speed rating as came originally just to maintain the way the vehicle reacts in cornering.  In some cases, a lower speed rating might be warranted, but under no circumstances do I think a reduction of 2 speed ratings is a good idea.

Having said that, I think this boils down to 2 things:

Are you willing to live with the problem until the tires wear out?  If not, then changing the tires seems to be what will fix the problem.

The dealer's offer to do a prorated adjustment is right on target.  With 15,000 miles, the tire have some wear and you got the benefit of that.  However, you have had the problem from the beginning and you ought to be compensated for that.

My suggestion would be to accept the prorated adjustment for wear, with the understanding that the dealer will "guarantee" that the new tires won't have this wobble, and if the wobble is still there after changing the tires, the dealer will work to find out what is causing it.  You would not be responsible for any costs associated with this EXCEPT for those items that would normally be yours - such as a bent rim or a CV joint.  But that it would have to actually fix the vehicle BEFORE you would pay for those items.