I have Bridgestone Serentity Plus asymmetrical tires. After my 2nd rotation I had a hard pull to the left. I swapped front tires and the pull disappeared. I talked with Bridgestone and they were adamant that the pull could not be caused by the tire because if a tire causes a pull, it will pull whether it is on the left front or right front. I just had my alignment checked last week and it was dead on with right needing no adjustment and left needing minor but insignificant adjustment. Is Bridgestone right? Thanks.
Tire Pull
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Depends on the vehicle in question
Originally Posted By: Olas
Depends on the vehicle in question
1999 Toyota Avalon XLS with FWD.
Depends on the vehicle in question
1999 Toyota Avalon XLS with FWD.
I have had similar situations with several vehicles/tires over the years. Same as yourself, tires pulled one way and when switched, NO PULL. Car is good alignment, Go Figure!
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
I have had similar situations with several vehicles/tires over the years. Same as yourself, tires pulled one way and when switched, NO PULL. Car is good alignment, Go Figure!
But also, I have had the tire pull(radial pull) where, by swapping the two front tires, the pull did go the other direction. Thus causing me to figure out which tire(s) is/are the culprit(s).
I have been fortunate lately by, purchasing tires with higher ratings/scores & customer reviews. Not having to experience that dreaded radial pull nor(NOR), tires that don't balance well! It's been a real treat lately!
I have mentioned or reviewed many of those tires here at Bob's!
I have had similar situations with several vehicles/tires over the years. Same as yourself, tires pulled one way and when switched, NO PULL. Car is good alignment, Go Figure!
But also, I have had the tire pull(radial pull) where, by swapping the two front tires, the pull did go the other direction. Thus causing me to figure out which tire(s) is/are the culprit(s).
I have been fortunate lately by, purchasing tires with higher ratings/scores & customer reviews. Not having to experience that dreaded radial pull nor(NOR), tires that don't balance well! It's been a real treat lately!
I have mentioned or reviewed many of those tires here at Bob's!
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Originally Posted By: artbuc
I have Bridgestone Serentity Plus asymmetrical tires. After my 2nd rotation I had a hard pull to the left. I swapped front tires and the pull disappeared. I talked with Bridgestone and they were adamant that the pull could not be caused by the tire because if a tire causes a pull, it will pull whether it is on the left front or right front. I just had my alignment checked last week and it was dead on with right needing no adjustment and left needing minor but insignificant adjustment. Is Bridgestone right? Thanks.
artbic,
Swapping the tires left to right revealed you had both a tire problem AND an alignment problem.
Your realigmnent revealed the alignment issue - and that alignment issue might have permanently damaged the tire.
So you kind of have 2 poassibilities: Live with it until you replace the tires. Or replace the tires.
I have Bridgestone Serentity Plus asymmetrical tires. After my 2nd rotation I had a hard pull to the left. I swapped front tires and the pull disappeared. I talked with Bridgestone and they were adamant that the pull could not be caused by the tire because if a tire causes a pull, it will pull whether it is on the left front or right front. I just had my alignment checked last week and it was dead on with right needing no adjustment and left needing minor but insignificant adjustment. Is Bridgestone right? Thanks.
artbic,
Swapping the tires left to right revealed you had both a tire problem AND an alignment problem.
Your realigmnent revealed the alignment issue - and that alignment issue might have permanently damaged the tire.
So you kind of have 2 poassibilities: Live with it until you replace the tires. Or replace the tires.
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: artbuc
I have Bridgestone Serentity Plus asymmetrical tires. After my 2nd rotation I had a hard pull to the left. I swapped front tires and the pull disappeared. I talked with Bridgestone and they were adamant that the pull could not be caused by the tire because if a tire causes a pull, it will pull whether it is on the left front or right front. I just had my alignment checked last week and it was dead on with right needing no adjustment and left needing minor but insignificant adjustment. Is Bridgestone right? Thanks.
artbic,
Swapping the tires left to right revealed you had both a tire problem AND an alignment problem.
Your realigmnent revealed the alignment issue - and that alignment issue might have permanently damaged the tire.
So you kind of have 2 poassibilities: Live with it until you replace the tires. Or replace the tires.
I did not have an alignment issue. The left tire was within spec (toe and camber) and he made a very slight adjustment just to bring it dead on. The right tire was dead on requiring nothing.
Originally Posted By: artbuc
I have Bridgestone Serentity Plus asymmetrical tires. After my 2nd rotation I had a hard pull to the left. I swapped front tires and the pull disappeared. I talked with Bridgestone and they were adamant that the pull could not be caused by the tire because if a tire causes a pull, it will pull whether it is on the left front or right front. I just had my alignment checked last week and it was dead on with right needing no adjustment and left needing minor but insignificant adjustment. Is Bridgestone right? Thanks.
artbic,
Swapping the tires left to right revealed you had both a tire problem AND an alignment problem.
Your realigmnent revealed the alignment issue - and that alignment issue might have permanently damaged the tire.
So you kind of have 2 poassibilities: Live with it until you replace the tires. Or replace the tires.
I did not have an alignment issue. The left tire was within spec (toe and camber) and he made a very slight adjustment just to bring it dead on. The right tire was dead on requiring nothing.
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
I have had similar situations with several vehicles/tires over the years. Same as yourself, tires pulled one way and when switched, NO PULL. Car is good alignment, Go Figure!
+1 I've also experienced that - tire swap cured pull.
I have had similar situations with several vehicles/tires over the years. Same as yourself, tires pulled one way and when switched, NO PULL. Car is good alignment, Go Figure!
+1 I've also experienced that - tire swap cured pull.
IIRC tires are multi layer laminated on a flat roller drum then steam press molded into the donut shape. Offset of the belt or cap could cause a pull.
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Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Originally Posted By: artbuc
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: artbuc
I have Bridgestone Serentity Plus asymmetrical tires. After my 2nd rotation I had a hard pull to the left. I swapped front tires and the pull disappeared. I talked with Bridgestone and they were adamant that the pull could not be caused by the tire because if a tire causes a pull, it will pull whether it is on the left front or right front. I just had my alignment checked last week and it was dead on with right needing no adjustment and left needing minor but insignificant adjustment. Is Bridgestone right? Thanks.
artbic,
Swapping the tires left to right revealed you had both a tire problem AND an alignment problem.
Your realigmnent revealed the alignment issue - and that alignment issue might have permanently damaged the tire.
So you kind of have 2 poassibilities: Live with it until you replace the tires. Or replace the tires.
I did not have an alignment issue. The left tire was within spec (toe and camber) and he made a very slight adjustment just to bring it dead on. The right tire was dead on requiring nothing.
Just because an alignment machine says you don't have an alignment issue doesn't mean you don't have an alignment issue. My 97' Camry pulled to the right and the steering wheel was pointed to the left a little for the 12,000 miles I owned it. That was after the tie rods were replaced and 3 alignments were done. Also had 3 different pairs of tires up front and swapped all 3 left to right to see if that would fix the issue. It didn't. The last pair of tires were brand new too. It wore tires fine, but I just couldn't let go of the steering wheel on the highway for very long.
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: artbuc
I have Bridgestone Serentity Plus asymmetrical tires. After my 2nd rotation I had a hard pull to the left. I swapped front tires and the pull disappeared. I talked with Bridgestone and they were adamant that the pull could not be caused by the tire because if a tire causes a pull, it will pull whether it is on the left front or right front. I just had my alignment checked last week and it was dead on with right needing no adjustment and left needing minor but insignificant adjustment. Is Bridgestone right? Thanks.
artbic,
Swapping the tires left to right revealed you had both a tire problem AND an alignment problem.
Your realigmnent revealed the alignment issue - and that alignment issue might have permanently damaged the tire.
So you kind of have 2 poassibilities: Live with it until you replace the tires. Or replace the tires.
I did not have an alignment issue. The left tire was within spec (toe and camber) and he made a very slight adjustment just to bring it dead on. The right tire was dead on requiring nothing.
Just because an alignment machine says you don't have an alignment issue doesn't mean you don't have an alignment issue. My 97' Camry pulled to the right and the steering wheel was pointed to the left a little for the 12,000 miles I owned it. That was after the tie rods were replaced and 3 alignments were done. Also had 3 different pairs of tires up front and swapped all 3 left to right to see if that would fix the issue. It didn't. The last pair of tires were brand new too. It wore tires fine, but I just couldn't let go of the steering wheel on the highway for very long.
Quote:
I did not have an alignment issue. The left tire was within spec (toe and camber) and he made a very slight adjustment just to bring it dead on.
In some cases the alignment spec is ridiculously wide. I know that with my Tundra, adjusting "to spec" could result in a terrible alignment. I insist that the tech align to the center of the spec for toe & camber, and to the max allowable for caster. I'm the customer, I'm paying for what I specify. It is within the factory spec, so the shop has no liability.
I did not have an alignment issue. The left tire was within spec (toe and camber) and he made a very slight adjustment just to bring it dead on.
In some cases the alignment spec is ridiculously wide. I know that with my Tundra, adjusting "to spec" could result in a terrible alignment. I insist that the tech align to the center of the spec for toe & camber, and to the max allowable for caster. I'm the customer, I'm paying for what I specify. It is within the factory spec, so the shop has no liability.
Thanks to all for your replies. I am going to swap the front tires back just to see if the very minor alignment correction affected the pull. Will report back.
Alignment racks can also go out of alignment and need calibration.
Originally Posted By: ironman_gq
Alignment racks can also go out of alignment and need calibration.
/|\THIS/|\
I have a b4 and after rack service sheet (IIRC Hunter laseralign modelXXX?) that would have resulted in poor misalignments done when it was out of cal. Portsmouth Nissan Service mgr said they require a 2x annual cal on the racks specifically for the Z cars. That was one of two a dozen alignments ive had over 2 decades that's resulted in a good steering car. Everything else done elsewhere was garbage.
Alignment racks can also go out of alignment and need calibration.
/|\THIS/|\
I have a b4 and after rack service sheet (IIRC Hunter laseralign modelXXX?) that would have resulted in poor misalignments done when it was out of cal. Portsmouth Nissan Service mgr said they require a 2x annual cal on the racks specifically for the Z cars. That was one of two a dozen alignments ive had over 2 decades that's resulted in a good steering car. Everything else done elsewhere was garbage.
I also want to point out that not only are the published alignment tolerances generally too wide, sometimes the specs themselves aren't good for tire wear. It is pretty common for vehicle manufacturers to specify large amounts of camber in order to get good handling - and that causes tire wear issues. No amount of alignment adjustment is going to fix a spec that causes bad tire wear.
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
I also want to point out that not only are the published alignment tolerances generally too wide, sometimes the specs themselves aren't good for tire wear. It is pretty common for vehicle manufacturers to specify large amounts of camber in order to get good handling - and that causes tire wear issues. No amount of alignment adjustment is going to fix a spec that causes bad tire wear.
The Mazda3 in my sig is this way! We really have to keep up with the alignments in order to minimize the inside tire wear and, possible toe issue that can cause "This Unbelievable Tire NOISE" that sounds like bad wheel bearings.
I also want to point out that not only are the published alignment tolerances generally too wide, sometimes the specs themselves aren't good for tire wear. It is pretty common for vehicle manufacturers to specify large amounts of camber in order to get good handling - and that causes tire wear issues. No amount of alignment adjustment is going to fix a spec that causes bad tire wear.
The Mazda3 in my sig is this way! We really have to keep up with the alignments in order to minimize the inside tire wear and, possible toe issue that can cause "This Unbelievable Tire NOISE" that sounds like bad wheel bearings.
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
I also want to point out that not only are the published alignment tolerances generally too wide, ...
That is what I keep saying... If all an alignment shop will do is "set the toe and let it go" while announcing it is "in spec" find a new alignment shop.
I bet if you give me a rack and 10 (adjustable) cars I can make at least 9 of them (and probably all of them) lead noticably while being "in spec".
Tire pull is not easy to diagnose at least with respect to the exact tire, the last GM bulletin I saw on it was something like 13 pages. I would be cautious of any absolute statements about it. Generally though tire pull and alignment pull does not "feel" the same to an experienced alignment tech.
Also newer Hunter GSP balancers (I'm not sure if it is a software, hardware or both change) can help measure a tires tendency to pull, they can even be linked to the alignment rack and tell where to put the tire on the car for best results (obviously goes out the window with a rotation though).
I also want to point out that not only are the published alignment tolerances generally too wide, ...
That is what I keep saying... If all an alignment shop will do is "set the toe and let it go" while announcing it is "in spec" find a new alignment shop.
I bet if you give me a rack and 10 (adjustable) cars I can make at least 9 of them (and probably all of them) lead noticably while being "in spec".
Tire pull is not easy to diagnose at least with respect to the exact tire, the last GM bulletin I saw on it was something like 13 pages. I would be cautious of any absolute statements about it. Generally though tire pull and alignment pull does not "feel" the same to an experienced alignment tech.
Also newer Hunter GSP balancers (I'm not sure if it is a software, hardware or both change) can help measure a tires tendency to pull, they can even be linked to the alignment rack and tell where to put the tire on the car for best results (obviously goes out the window with a rotation though).
We purchased a new ford escort GT back in 1988 that had a defective goodyear eagle that caused a horrible pull. Tire replaced under warranty, went through several rotations for the life of the tires with no return of the pull, or bad tire wear at any location.
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