snipaz2420

Hi guys i just recently put on some new Falken FK452 255/35/18s on all fours and i was just wondering on many miles is it before the tires are considered "broken in." i have put about 350 miles on them and when i go around an exit ramp that i would normally take at about 70 i start backing off at around 40 because i feel like i am wobbling and losing traction. im assuming this is from the new tires. i also installed tein basics at the same time as the tires if that makes a difference. thx

swoope

iTrader: (5)

release compound should be off by then.. tire pressure?

beers

snipaz2420

i originally had them all at 32. i checked them an hour ago and they were between 27 and 29. what the heck? also the lug are at 100ft/lbs

secret8gent

well, be careful not to spin them on the wheels just after they've been mounted (but you should be past that window already)
also did you have any valve/valve stem work done when they were mounted --> could be a slow leak ?

changing two things at once makes it harder to figure out, eh? hopefully the pressure will fix your issue. (make sure you check them cold)

snipaz2420

ok i have chirped the tires a few tires but no launching or anything like that. i did have new valve stems put in, the ones that discount tire direct sends with them. also i did check the tire cold, the last time i used the car prior to checking the pressure was the day before so they were plenty cold. i'm going to fill them back up to 32 psi tomorrow morning and hopefully that'll do it. if that doesnt work do you think i should get the tires re mounted or will i have to live with it?

SolarYellow510

Part of the problem could be the wheels are narrow for the 255-wide tires. From the Falken data chart:

http://www.falkentire.com/fk452_sizes.html

255/35ZR18 94Y 2819-5801 9.0 8.5 - 10.0

Your wheels are right at the narrowest approved rim width for this tire. I'd rather have them on a 9 or 9.5.

The more basic thing is that the tires you chose are "bling for less." Stock RX-8 RE040s aren't the stickiest thing in the world, but they at least work pretty well and have low rolling resistance to help fuel economy.

If you want your car to handle, get 245/40-18 RT-615s.

Also, you might want to review the report from the alignment you had done after the springs were installed.

snipaz2420

i got the 255s because i initially thought i was going to turbo the car and i wanted to have more tire on the ground but now i decided against the turbo so i guess i'm kind of stuck with these tires for now. are the 615s a good street tire? i do more street driving than i would do on the track. i also havent gotten a chance to get an alignment done yet. so i guess all these little things are causing this. i just hate the feeling that the car is swaying and feels like it wants to break loose

SolarYellow510

615s are popular as a dual-purpose tire. I know a lot of people who commute and do track days on them. I haven't had them yet, but went through a set of the 215s and liked them.

I'm currently running Pilot Sport PS2s and am getting absurdly good wear out of them, to the point that the cost per mile is small enough to make them totally justifiable even on my old beater. I run nearly zero toe, so they aren't getting scrubbed.

Get the alignment first. Go over in the Racing forum and read up on good alignment specs. Not only does your car suck without it, you're probably wasting your new tires by scrubbing them. You can blow the corners off amazingly fast if your toe is way out. I'm making a rule: you don't get to post in your own thread any more until your car is aligned

Oh, yeah. Might as well mention. Not sure if you'll feel comfortable doing this, but when I've done suspension installations, the car has sometimes been virtually undriveable. I have used toe plates, or whatever ghetto improvisation of toe plates I could come up with on the fly (two creepers works great) to get the toe close so I could drive the car for a few days to get it to an alignment shop.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

i would start at 33 lbs..

dont sweat the rim size posts.. if you were in the upper 20s, there you go..


beers

whitebeau

There should be a recommended tire pressure limit. Then another rating for tire pressure limit to make sure the tires beeding... 'beed' (Grammer?) seat correctly, with a strong warning not to exceed the recommended number during beeding.

Once beeded (driving for a couple days, or say 200 miles) that's just a number i'm pulling out, no stats behind it. You can then defer to the other tire pressure limit rated on the tire wall.... improper seating of the tire can cause the imbalance... but if you just had an 'alignment', some places don't consider tires being balanced as part of a 4 wheel alignment, as they're 2 different procedures.

SolarYellow510

The "overpressure" to seat the bead of the tire should only be exceeded momentarily during the installation process. The bead seating should be done with no valve stem in place, to allow the air to be added very rapidly, and to release the pressure rapidly when the bead is seated. In any case, the higher pressure should not exceed the maximum pressure on the sidewall of the tire by very much. If the tire guy has to go above 60 psi to seat the bead, he should stop and find the problem. Add more lube, whatever it is. But once that bead snaps into place, pressure should be set at the intended run pressure.

There is no such thing as running it on the street at higher pressure to get the bead fully seated. If the bead isn't seated right, a sophisticated tire balancing machine will pick it up as runout and alert the operator, who should then go back and reseat the bead, likely with better application of lubricant. There is no reason in the world that any tire should ever leave the tire shop not completely ready to go. When I managed a store, we pulled the stickers off the tread and even cut the mold whiskers off the sidewalls.

The maximum pressure on the sidewall is a structural limit for that tire, not the pressure you should run on your car.

snipaz2420

ok got the alignment done. i had brought it in for the original problem and because the car was veering to the left. here are the specs after the alignment was done:
Front : Left
Camber -0.8
Toe .1

Front : Right
Camber -1.1
Toe .11

Front
Cross Camber .3
Total Toe .21

Rear : Left
Camber -.2
Toe .11

Rear : Right
Camber -.6
Toe .12

Rear
Cross Camber .3
Total Toe .22
Thrust Angle -.01

After the alignment i went for a spin and still noticed the car veering to the left so i went back to the place and the mechanic took it for a test drive. then he came back and wound up just rotating the tires on the side that it was pulling towards and it worked! so just wanted to thank everyone for the input. i wont really get to drive it until monday cause its raining here

ken-x8

You've got at least one bad tire. Rotating them should not make a difference. When the mechanic found that rotating tires changed the pull, that was not a fix: that was a diagnostic step to identify the bad one.

Ken

snipaz2420

would it be something that i could physically see wrong with the tire(s)?

snipaz2420

i still have to fight the car when making right turns. would have something to do with the tires or just because of my accident?