Question
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Thanks Barry, you've given me a vocabulary to deal with the problem. Now - is it this set of tires only or do ALL tires of this model have the tendency? If I put this set of tires on another car (Odyssey/another make or model)would they do the same thing or does the car itself have some influence on the behavior of the tires and I could go to another brand/model of tire and have the same thing happen?
What a helpful web site. I'm learning so much!
Followup To
Question -
I drove my brand new Odyssey out of the show room, across a draw bridge and it felt like driving a motorcycle across the bridge. The car did not track well. Took it back for an alignment (also drifted to the right). The alignment did not solve the tire problem. Original tires are Bridgestone Turanza 235/65R 16 103T. Service writer said "some do, some don't". What can I do about this problem? Is it a warranty problem?
Answer -
Nancy,
This is sometimes referred to as Tramlining or groove wander, although in your case the tire is following the grating on the bridge.
Other than changing tires, there isn't much that can be done.
It is probably not a "warranty" issue, as technically there is nothing wrong in the manufacture - it's a design problem. But you might be able to convince the vehicle dealer to swap your tires out.
AnswerNancy,
The vehicle has a very mild influence on this, but primarily the tires are going to do this on pretty much every vehicle.
If you go to another brand / model, you probably won't have this problem, but it depends on the spacing of the grooves in the tire - which is what is driving the issue.
Fundamentally the problem is that the grooves in the tire line up with grooves on the road surface. Unfortunately, there are no standards that say that the grooves in the road surface have to be "X" distance apart, so from time to time, a particular tire model / size combbination will line up with some particular road surface, and there is a problem.
Hope this helps.
