18 inch wheels help

[Benji]

Picked up the Td5 yesterday. Its an incredible bit of kit compared to the 300Tdi, wish id chnaged it years ago!

Anyway, its got factory fitted 18 wheels and tyres. The steering seems to wander a bit, as if its pulling side ways by itself.  The dealer said that bigger tyres do follow the camber in the road more than 16 inch tyres but im not convinced!

The MOT advised slight wear in one of the track rod ends but nothing else. The steering box was replaced under warranty some time ago. The tyres are only a few months old (Pirelli Scorpian ST's) but i havent had a chance to check the pressures yet.

Any ideas, or do bigger wheels do this!

Thanks

[Colin 009]

sound like the dealers talking bl*****s to me (most Do)

[Budgie]

He is talking bo**ocks.

The wheels maybe a larger diameter but its the overall dia of the tyre that counts. If that was larger then you'd know about it when they rubbed the arches.  :roll:

Get it back there and get him the check the steering box adjustment, tracking, swivel bearings and wheel bearings.
If he won't than ask him if he will foot the bill if you take it elsewhere and they find something wrong.  

I've got 33" dia tyres on my Disco (300 Series) and that doesn't wander because the steering is set correctly!

[Xtremeteam]

<dones helmet & pads>


Some do do this because on the actual width of the tyre & also the low profile exagerates the effect,

My clio did this  when i went from skinnys 13's to 195/45/15's,at first it was really odd but i did get used to it,

get it checked out but also have a go in another one to compare

[karloss]

It's an effect known as "tram lining" and as Mikee says it's the width and the profile which have an influence. You will find it worse under (hard) braking.  Lowered boy racer chariots with far too wide rubber are terrible for this, not telling how I know, coz I'm pretending to be an adult these days!

[Xtremeteam]

It's an effect known as "tram lining" and as Mikee says it's the width and the profile which have an influence. You will find it worse under (hard) braking.  Lowered boy racer chariots with far too wide rubber are terrible for this, not telling how I know, coz I'm pretending to be an adult these days!

thats how i know as my chariot could out handle anything on the road,just couldnt keep up on the straights,

nearly sold my 90 & bought my old clio back  :oops:

[Jim-Willy]

nearly sold my 90 & bought my old clio back  :oops:

Steady!

No need to get carried away :shock:

[Xtremeteam]

well only reason i still have my 90 is cos o the bad winter we've been promised,the reason for swapping back was had to beat the female form of with a stick when i had my clio,now dont even got a look in  

[Jimbo]

When I had 18's fitted I found that the truck tram-lined - especially noticeable in lane 1 of the M25 where the surface was badly worn.

Fitted BFG AT's onto 16's (and didn't change anything else) - no more wandering !


Jim

[beast5680]

where i used to work 2 guys had identical disco 2,s one with 18" wheels and 1 with 16" wheels having been in both the ride of the one with 16",s on was noticeably better than the 18" one the lower profile tyres on the 18" disco seemed to transmit more of the road thru to the cabin than the other one

[Paul Holtom]

Also got disco 2 on 18's and have found exactly the same as you, with it pulling slightly to the left and the steering a bit vague. Have recently fitted the new General AT2 tyres to it and this has improved things a lot. Another tip I was given is to reduce the pressure in the rear tyres a bit, 30 psi if no weight, 36psi if towing, again this seems to help.

[Spooky]

where i used to work 2 guys had identical disco 2,s one with 18" wheels and 1 with 16" wheels having been in both the ride of the one with 16",s on was noticeably better than the 18" one the lower profile tyres on the 18" disco seemed to transmit more of the road thru to the cabin than the other one

This is because of the amount of 'give' available in the tyres; the lower the profile, the firmer the ride. Great for handling (sports cars), but lousy for everyday driving.

Incidentally, I recently had my 265/75-16 MT/Rs on the truck, and the ride was much better than with my normal A/Ts (245/70-16), which proves the above.  Shame about the extra noise though ... :roll:

[barmiebrumie]

Hi, since putting 18's on swmbo's disco2, it  tramline's, tends to wander a little & is a bit of a harder ride,

oh & yes you do get used to it, tyres need to be changed next week so any suggestions would be greatfull,

it never ever goes off road so looking for comfort & road grip more than anything else,

Thanks John.

[wibble]

i concure with above if you need another vote. ick up my new td5 tomorrow, spoke to the dealer about fancy 18" alloys and he advised strongly against as they do tend to wander with tram linning, and i believe him as he did him self out of the £700 odd quid they would have come to, did it on an old style mini cooper s with fat tyres on too.  now that was a scary ride at speed :(scared):

would get the box etc checked tho just to be on the safe side, speshly as its still warranty covered

[grizz]

Had an old E30 bmw with 215 35 18's on and lowered 100 mil, it only used to tramline if the road was really worn to the extent that you can see the hollows (since I live in norfolk it seemed to be most roads) sounds like the dealers pulling a fast one, see if he'll let you take another for a test drive for a comparison.

[foxkilla]

i cured the tramlining by fitting koni shock absorbers

[Benji]

Well after weeks of worry thinking i would have to change the wheels, all is sorted.

The garage i bought it from replaced the drag link at my request as theres was abit of play in it, but this made no difference at all.  The mechanic was baffled and all he could think of was switching the wheels from back to front.  Did this the other morning and its perfect now!

Obviously one or both of the tyres have gone a bit wonky.

Moral of the story......steering probs, try switching the tyres first!  :)