Radial pull: Which tire caused it?

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I bought some tires on line, had a shop install those, but immediately experienced a drift to the right while driving (checked PSI). I thought I could live with it, but after 4,000 miles I couldn't take it anymore and went to China*Mart for a R&B.

I had them rotate the fronts straight back to the rear; the rears crossed to the front (FWD rec. pattern, and in the OM).

Problem solved.

O.K., so which tire was the culprit? Also, will the offending tire 'fix' itself, or should I never rotate again (or chose another pattern)?
 
Right front was the pull. Most likely you will need to keep that tire on the left side of the vehicle.
 
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Originally Posted By: Nayov
I bought some tires on line, had a shop install those, but immediately experienced a drift to the right while driving (checked PSI). I thought I could live with it, but after 4,000 miles I couldn't take it anymore and went to China*Mart for a R&B.

I had them rotate the fronts straight back to the rear; the rears crossed to the front (FWD rec. pattern, and in the OM).

Problem solved.

O.K., so which tire was the culprit? Also, will the offending tire 'fix' itself, or should I never rotate again (or chose another pattern)?


I don't think you can tell from the information provided.

First, pull is generally a property of the SUM of the conicity of the 2 front tires.

So rotate one of the rear tires to the front and see if you have a pull after that. If so, then it is likely the one rotated from the rear.

If not, it is likely the one left on the rear.

But it is a bit more complicated than that.
 
I know I'll catch a sh!tstorm for this, but lemme give you my $.02 worth: I only rotate tires is there's a pull or uneven wear. Especially on FWD vehicles. If the wear is even & the track is true, I don't mess with it. I'll wear out the two front tires & replace them (same brand & model, of course) before rotating.
 
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Have you tried contacting the seller or manufacturer of the tires? Some will direct you to a tire store that can measure the pull from each tire and remedy the problem by matching pairs or replacing one or more tires.
 
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
If you bought the tire at a tire shop and you did have 'radial pull'

Would the tire shop replace a brand new tire?


As a general rule, tire pull is covered by a new tire warranty

- BUT -

You can wear conicity into a tire, so generally there are time and wear limitations.

Originally Posted By: yonyon
Have you tried contacting the seller or manufacturer of the tires? Some will direct you to a tire store that can measure the pull from each tire and remedy the problem by matching pairs or replacing one or more tires.


I doubt the tire manufacturer will honor any warranty on used tires.

But the idea of using a Hunter GSP9700 to measure the pull and develop a best pairing has merit.
 
Originally Posted By: stevejones
I know I'll catch a sh!tstorm for this, but lemme give you my $.02 worth: I only rotate tires is there's a pull or uneven wear. Especially on FWD vehicles. If the wear is even & the track is true, I don't mess with it. I'll wear out the two front tires & replace them (same brand & model, of course) before rotating.


I always had that mentality. Still do. I used to only rotate in the spring when I would switch from winter to rest-of-year tires.

Boy was I surprised when I learned my Focus wears the rear tires quicker!
 
Originally Posted By: yonyon
Have you tried contacting the seller or manufacturer of the tires? Some will direct you to a tire store that can measure the pull from each tire and remedy the problem by matching pairs or replacing one or more tires.


Nope. Not worth it especially now that it's 'fixed' with a Band-Aid solution, but let this be a consideration to anyone thinking of buying tires on line.
whistle.gif
I got those at DTD on line, but there are no brick-and-mortar DTD stores around here as far as I can tell.
 
Originally Posted By: Ken2
Does that Focus have adjustable rear wheel alignment? That could be the problem.


Ford specifies a vague amount of camber and toe in the rear. I'm sure both are out.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
I bought some tires on line, had a shop install those, but immediately experienced a drift to the right while driving (checked PSI). I thought I could live with it, but after 4,000 miles I couldn't take it anymore and went to China*Mart for a R&B.

I had them rotate the fronts straight back to the rear; the rears crossed to the front (FWD rec. pattern, and in the OM).

Problem solved.

O.K., so which tire was the culprit? Also, will the offending tire 'fix' itself, or should I never rotate again (or chose another pattern)?


So what did you do?
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: Nayov
I bought some tires on line, had a shop install those, but immediately experienced a drift to the right while driving (checked PSI). I thought I could live with it, but after 4,000 miles I couldn't take it anymore and went to China*Mart for a R&B.

I had them rotate the fronts straight back to the rear; the rears crossed to the front (FWD rec. pattern, and in the OM).

Problem solved.

O.K., so which tire was the culprit? Also, will the offending tire 'fix' itself, or should I never rotate again (or chose another pattern)?


So what did you do?


Nothing further than what I did in the original post. They are cheap Generals on an old econo-box, and I am satisfied with the way it tracks, but I will rotate them again in 10,000 miles, or have Walmart do it, at which point it will be interesting to see how it acts.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
Nothing further than what I did in the original post. They are cheap Generals on an old econo-box, and I am satisfied with the way it tracks, but I will rotate them again in 10,000 miles, or have Walmart do it, at which point it will be interesting to see how it acts.


Prediction: The rotation will cause the pull to come back.
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: Nayov
Nothing further than what I did in the original post. They are cheap Generals on an old econo-box, and I am satisfied with the way it tracks, but I will rotate them again in 10,000 miles, or have Walmart do it, at which point it will be interesting to see how it acts.


Prediction: The rotation will cause the pull to come back.


correct.
banana2.gif
After a few miles under my seatbelt in certain conditions it now drifts to the left, but it's tolerable and not as hard of pull a when it did to the right...the crown of the road is a marvelous corrective tool.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: Nayov
Nothing further than what I did in the original post. They are cheap Generals on an old econo-box, and I am satisfied with the way it tracks, but I will rotate them again in 10,000 miles, or have Walmart do it, at which point it will be interesting to see how it acts.


Prediction: The rotation will cause the pull to come back.


correct.
banana2.gif
After a few miles under my seatbelt in certain conditions it now drifts to the left, but it's tolerable and not as hard of pull a when it did to the right...the crown of the road is a marvelous corrective tool.


Ah, that's not exactly what I was saying.

But that new information kind of points to a possible solution.

Ya' see, one of the tests in diagnosing pulls is to swap tires from side to side - and if the pull changes direction, it's the tires.

You got the pull to change direction (sort of), and ROTATED tires. That probably means there is a better pairing for the tires that will improve (and maybe eliminate) the pull.

So swap tires on one side of the vehicle and see what happens.
 
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