Front end of car is very 'Floaty' - Different brand tyres?

[HannsG]

Hi Guys,

I have a Saab Aero Estate (TTiD) - EDIT ITS A 9-3

On both rears I have Rainsport2's, and on the front i have Hankook V12's.

The Hankooks came with the car, and I decided to rotate the tyres when i bought the Rainsports a month ago.. When pushing on say around 60-70mph and turning the wheel it feels as if the front end is about to give.

The wear on both sets is not considerable at all. Lot of tread.

It could just be the car handles like a pig, I know the design is ancient but I was surprised to see it handled so poorly. Although the car does everything else so well.

Edited by HannsG on Monday 2nd December 17:11

[jon-]

What was the car like before you rotated the tyres?

Are the pressures ok? The Rainsport 2s have quite a soft sidewall, so like a few extra PSI

[surveyor]

From memory my 9-5 was quite soft and no great handler. I suppose it depends just what you are trying to do.

[HannsG]

jon- said:

What was the car like before you rotated the tyres?

Are the pressures ok? The Rainsport 2s have quite a soft sidewall, so like a few extra PSI

The front tyres were worn pretty bad when I got the car, so never really got a feel to be honest before rotating the tyres.

I have 41 PSI in all four which seems more than adequate. Could be the V12's are just st on the wet stuff?

[heners54]

jon- said:

What was the car like before you rotated the tyres?

Are the pressures ok? The Rainsport 2s have quite a soft sidewall, so like a few extra PSI

There was a similar thread a while ago somewhere, and basically soft sidewalled tyres like uniroyals mixed with harder sidewalled ones can give a funny feel at speed as the sidewall flexes more on one axle. As said above up the PSI, rotate them and see if the feel is better, or buy another set of rainsports. They aren't bad tyres just obviously not working well with the hankooks.

ETA: if it's just worse grip since putting the back ones on the front, then check the manufacture dates, and if they've been on the front a while and still seem poor I'd get another pair.

Edited by heners54 on Monday 2nd December 10:10

[mywifeshusband]

I think that 41 psi F&R is a little too high unless you are always driving with 5 adults and a boot full of bricks. Have a look at the label on the passenger door and drop the pressure.
A Saab 9-5 isn't that bad a handler.

[Krikkit]

mywifeshusband said:

I think that 41 psi F&R is a little too high unless you are always driving with 5 adults and a boot full of bricks. Have a look at the label on the passenger door and drop the pressure.
A Saab 9-5 isn't that bad a handler.

Agreed, about 10 psi too high.

Generally a soft sidewall will feel weird, but the Hankooks are probably just crap.

[Martin_Hx]

Have Hankook V12's on the Daily Civic and don't find them bad in the wet at all, better than the standard bridgestones they replaced.

A decent mid ranged tyre in my eyes !

Cant comment on the rainsports or your tyre pressures, just stick to what the manufacturer says !

[otolith]

Our Aero doesn't feel floaty on Goodyear F1As. The handling is not remotely fun, but it is safe and secure feeling.

[Matt UK]

HannsG said:

41 PSI

That seems quite a lot, could be why you are not getting much feel. Have a try and early 30's and see if things improve.

[otolith]

May be different for the OP's car, but pressures for the Aero are (F/R) 35/33 or for big loads and high speeds, 43/42

[jon-]

My step 1 would be to rotate the Rainsport 2s to the front, so see if a soft tyre on the rear is causing the float.

[JDMDrifter]

As others have said, drop the pressure a wee bit.

[Jamesemt]

I've just replaced Hankooks on the front of my Ibiza. Noticed a big difference in grip once the temp dropped with them. Mine weren't bad in the wet, but hated the cold weather...

[acf8181]

jon- said:

My step 1 would be to rotate the Rainsport 2s to the front, so see if a soft tyre on the rear is causing the float.

this

[6fire]

The 9-5 is a heavy old girl and should have 94 rather than the slightly cheaper (and more common) 91 load rating.

It might be worth checking you've got the right tyres fitted.

[HannsG]

Aplologies guys. Its a 9-3 not a 9-5...

I should have made it clearer in my first post. All your logic still applies though.

Maybe I miss RWD..hmm

[Fastra]

I had/have exactly this, see this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

All to do with tyre wall stiffness!

My OE Bridgestones on the front were replaced by 2 Dunlops.
After speaking with a Dunlop engineer about Polyester, Polyamide, Steel, Rayton & Nylon materials it transpires that the Bridgestones are of a much stiffer construction than the Dunlops so hence the un-balanced trait.

Bit of a bugger really and something that buyers should be made of aware of some how - something that the Dunlop guy also agreed with.

[anonymous-user]

I'd expect light and floaty if you're running your tyres are at 41psi with a mostly empty car. Low/mid 30s seems more appropriate!

[sunbeam alpine]

I agree with other posters who suggest dropping tyre pressure to about 32 PSI.

What also wasn't clear to me is how long you've had the car. About 5 years ago I bought a classic Alfa Spider with very good tyres all round (same brand also). Having had one before I know what to expect in terms of handling, but also found that the front was "floaty" or "wandery".

I ended up putting 4 new tyres on it and it transformed the handling. Maybe they'd "gone off" somehow - I examined them carefully for cracks or distortion and couldn't see anything wrong.