i fell like you need someone, independent to the tyre shop, to drive the car and see what they think

@maclongshanks  How are you getting on?

Sounds like OP is going to take up the tyre shop offer to look into the issue. Would recommend doing this ASAP.

Could be a fault with the install (Directional tyers on backwards, Asymmetric the wrong way around etc), could be a fault with the tyres, or could just be that you don't like the steering feel of this tyre.


Can't comment on the particular tyre's, but i have had a similar feeling before.

It was on my Corolla, and I changed from GT Radial Champero 228's (a grippy performance touring tire which is now discontinued - won consumer's test for wet grip) to Bridgestone Turanza long life touring tires. Latter had slightly less grip (Expected given they are a long life tyre), but also gave the the car's steering a really floaty feeling. Felt like I needed to make constant steering inputs to keep it in the lane at open road speeds, where the prior tires were just planted. I played with air pressure a which yielded a small improvement, but ultimately just accepted that the floatier feeling was a result of the softer sidewall in a comfort / long life focused touring tire, vs the stiffer sidewall in the performance touring tires it had replaced.

Also had a similar feeling in my Lexus when I changed from Bridgestone Ecopia's to Michelin touring tires. Latter had dramatically more grip, but softer steering feeling.

As a general note, buying tyres is tricky. You can't test drive them, user reviews have the normal subjective bias, and professional reviews generally focus on things that can be accurately quantified (i.e. wet breaking distance). For cost it is not really viable for professional tire reviews to test tread life, of performance when worn. Further there is a comical number of tyre models, sometimes with similar names.

And of course tyres are extremely important to safety as they impact stopping distance.

Few comments:

• Pressure on tyre sidewalls are the max rated pressure for the tyre, do not exceed this. Vehicle manufactures recommended pressures are typically on a sticker in the door jam or in the manual. As long as it doesn't exceed the max tire pressure rating (and unless you have the wrong load rating tyres it won't) go with the vehicle's manufacture recommendation as the starting point - this is set to give an appropriate sized contact patch. Personally I run a little more pressure than this (for more efficacy on the leaf, and to reduce how much the edges of the tires get chewed out on the lexus which has an abnormally low for the weight of the vehicle 32psi recommendation, I assume for comfort reasons) Avoid going lower than the vehicle's recommendation as it can add to hydroplaning risk.
• Higher speed rating tires have a reputation for having stiffer sidewalls (more steering feel, less comfort)
• Putting the new tyres on the rear, means you won't be able to feel the new tyres through the steering, which could make OP happier. (also it is best practice to put new tyres on the rear when replacing only a pair, as most non performance cars are set up to understeer first, as this is easier for an amateur driver to identify and resolve. Having better tires on the front can mess this up and cause the car to oversteer first, which requires a rapid steering input to avoid a spin)
• If alignment was done when you got new tyres (good idea), this can also have an impact on steering feel.

Would be interesting to hear the outcome of this

The tyre shop sounds very reasonable - take them up on their offer would be my recommendation. It doesn't sound like they are out to rip you off, and they sound like they are doing their best to fix your issue but for some reason you don't want to deal with them - cutting off your nose to spite your face?

You can sell the tyres yourself, but if the shop is offering to replace them, why would you. You'll get waaay less as second hand tyres.

Likewise to me it sounds like the tyre shop is being reasonable.

Them taking another look is the only way they are going to find out if there was an error with the install, or the tyres are defective, or if you just simply don't like the feel of the tyres.

I don't the tyre shop has given you any reason to not trust them. Stuff goes wrong in all businesses, judge them on their willingness to make it right. There really isn't that much they could have screwed up to give these symptoms, and it is easy for you to check. If the direction arrows and inside / outside labels are in the right place, then it is not the mounting causing the symptoms, which just leaves defective tyres, or a bad selection. On the last point, they have sold you a tyre from a major brand, not some no name crap at least.

In terms of your rights, if there is an error with the install, or the tyres are defective, then the tyre shop is required to make it right.

However if you just don't like the feel, you are relying on the goodwill of the retailer.

If they can't identify any defect with the tyres, they won't be able to get their money back from the wholesaler, so will be putting the tires back into their stock for the next person customer who wants that size. Essential that the tires be returned ASAP, otherwise they will be worn to a point where they can no longer sell them as new tyres. I don't think their call for urgency is unreasonable.

Yeah, you can sell them yourselves on trademe / facebook marketplace, but expect to get peanuts for them (especially if you are outside a major center). I brought used tyres to go on my lexus. High end Michelin touring tires. Set of 4 with 7mm+ of tread for less than the price of a single one of the same tyre fitted at my local Bridgestone. In the same city so I was able to pickup for free. Note the buyer will need to pay fitment. I paid $25 each + $5 each for disposal of the old tyres.

Example of what you would be competing with in the used market in the same size:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/wheels-tyres/tyres/listing/4667885972

Should note most tyre retailers & mechanics buy from the same wholesale network, so unless they have an exclusive arrangement, they pretty much should be able to get the same stuff as other tyre retailers, shipped in at reasonable cost in a few days (some exceptions to this like cooper tires).

Hi. 

I really recommend giving the store the chance to look at the problem, it probably should have been the first port of call, it may be something much more minor. Companies aren't usually out to screw people over, in a small town particularly, there isn't that many customers and word spreads fast. They may have made a mistake, and that happens and shouldn't really be the end of the world if they put it right. 

As a matter of urgency, just get someone else to drive the car and don't mention anything about the issues, just ask them to see if it feels and drives normally with attention paid to tyres. 

After that, go back to the shop and let them sort it out.

maclongshanks: 

 

We had 2 new tyres put on our car recently at a local tyre company. Unfortunately the tyres aren't right for our car. 
They're too light and feel weak and weird. Not solid and reliable like our previous tyres.
They feel too light or too small for our car.
Our car feels lower to the ground as well.

All of those are connected with too high tyre pressure.

Check on the label inside the door the size is correct and the pressure.

Some tyre shops really are incompetent. They don't follow the manufacturers specification and just pump up everything the same and usually too high.

@maclongshanks update?

networkn:

 

@maclongshanks update?

 

please

I'd second checking the tyre pressure. The difference on one of our cars between 35 PSI and 40 PSI is night and day. In this case the higher pressure is better.

 
@MichaelNZ , @Technofreak

Thank you heaps :) 🐾🙏🏽
We did check and the new tyres were 35 PSI. The manufacturer's recommended level on our driver's door is 33.something.
Is there likely to be much difference between 33 and 35?

There should be 2 numbers - a front and a rear.