Which tires "tramline" least?

[Turbo Rob]

All,

I am getting ready to replace the tires on my Buick. I've rebuilt the front end with SC&C's Stage 2 Kit, replaced the lower control arm bushings, idler arm and sway bar end links. My wheel combo is in my sig. I am going to drop down to 235/45/17s in the front.



Even after rebuilding the front end, I am still getting some tramlining issues where the car wants to follow the traffic grooves. I am attributing this to the quite old Yokohama A520s on the car, so I am going to replace the tires.

I've searched but cannot find a specific answer to my questions - which tires don't exhibit the tendency to tramline. Oh yea, and since the Buick proves to be pretty hard on the rear tires, I am looking for a cheaper tire shat I won't mind replacing too often.

I am currently looking at the Fuzion ZRis. Does anyone have any experience with these or any other good recommendations?

Also, my alignment is set to SC&C specs.

[megaladon6]

well they were on a completely different car but i had the fuzions on my vw and they sucked. the dry traction was mediocre (straight and on turns) and the wet traction was abominal. when i put on nokian rsi snow tires they performed better in all respects!!
but considering the cost they make a good throw away tire, so i'm putting them on my stock monte rims 'till i can get my c6 rims.

[silver69camaro]

This is a tough question. I've found that some tires will tramline like crazy on some vehicles, but not at all on others. A couple things that I've found makes a big difference:
Toe
Camber
Sidewall height
Steering rack/box T-bar stiffness

My BMW uses 225/35R18 up front and 255/35R18 in the back with Michelin Pilot Sport tires. It tramlines like nobody's business...and these are OE tires for that car. Some freeways require constant attention and two hands to control the vehicle. Other bimmer owners report the same with those tires as well.

My Camaro uses 245/40R18 up front with BFG KDW tires and tramlining is very managable. Both of my cars use similar static camber and toe settings.

[6'9"Witha69]

My BMW uses 225/35R18 up front and 255/35R18 in the back with Michelin Pilot Sport tires.

Funny, my HHR SS (225/45/18 Mich Pilot Sport) does it all the time too.

[Turbo Rob]

This is a tough question. I've found that some tires will tramline like crazy on some vehicles, but not at all on others. A couple things that I've found makes a big difference:
Toe
Camber
Sidewall height
Steering rack/box T-bar stiffness

My BMW uses 225/35R18 up front and 255/35R18 in the back with Michelin Pilot Sport tires. It tramlines like nobody's business...and these are OE tires for that car. Some freeways require constant attention and two hands to control the vehicle. Other bimmer owners report the same with those tires as well.

My Camaro uses 245/40R18 up front with BFG KDW tires and tramlining is very managable. Both of my cars use similar static camber and toe settings.

Thanks. I am considering the BFG KDW's and the Fuzions. Is this something most PT cars experience to some degree, or is it a matter of finding the right tires/alignment specs, etc?

[6'9"Witha69]

A lot is in the alignment particularly toe. My Camaro whas done it with every set of tires and alignment specs ever thrown at it, just some better than others. It is mainly just having wider tires than what most of the other cars have. Drive in the truck lanes and it will happen less.

[silver69camaro]

This thread has good info:
http://www.corner-carvers.com/forums...ead.php?t=9033

Nick, does your car tramline less in the truck (right) lanes? In my experience, those are the worst. The tire seems to want to "climb" the ruts on the roadway.

[Turbo Rob]

This thread has good info:
http://www.corner-carvers.com/forums...ead.php?t=9033

Nick, does your car tramline less in the truck (right) lanes? In my experience, those are the worst. The tire seems to want to "climb" the ruts on the roadway.

Thanks for the thread. I don't know to feel hopeful or dreadful after reading it! I know I am going to drop down a size in the front (235's vs 245s).

Rob

[6'9"Witha69]

This thread has good info:
http://www.corner-carvers.com/forums...ead.php?t=9033

Nick, does your car tramline less in the truck (right) lanes? In my experience, those are the worst. The tire seems to want to "climb" the ruts on the roadway.

No, but I am usually moving slower in those lanes so there is not a true apples to apples comparison.

The HOV lane is the worst, all those Prius' making narrow grooves!!

[TPI Monte SS]

The HOV lane is the worst, all those Prius' making narrow grooves!!

Are those cars even heavy enough to groove the road??

And Rob, I don't think dropping to a 235 is going to make a huge difference on your car. I have Continental ExtremeContact 245/45s on the front of my Monte and it's very manageable on the road. I haven't even had it aligned yet, and it's good!

[silver69camaro]

No, but I am usually moving slower in those lanes so there is not a true apples to apples comparison.

The HOV lane is the worst, all those Prius' making narrow grooves!!

That's funny. Seriously though, up here, the truck (right) lanes are a white knuckle drive with my bimmer. It can get tiring after a while. Or maybe it's some auto-lane-change feature that I haven't figure out yet on that car.

In the HOV lanes, it's straight as an arrow with no hands on the wheel.

[6'9"Witha69]

That's funny. Seriously though, up here, the truck (right) lanes are a white knuckle drive with my bimmer. It can get tiring after a while. Or maybe it's some auto-lane-change feature that I haven't figure out yet on that car.

Yeah, seems like our cars know they shouldn't be in the slow lanes. What are we thinking??

Funny thing, I was behind a 325 Ci this morning and we were dancing the same tango down the road.

[Nessumsar]

I just purchased a set of Nankang NS-1's. I have not received them yet, but I did some research on them and they got really good reviews.

This is the cheapest place I found them too, free shipping:
http://www.unsertire.com/Custom/Product/NankangNS1.aspx

My friends run the Federal 595's on their cars, they are the 3rd ranked drift tire in Japan; don't know if thats good for you or not.

Check out tires-easy.com. They have pretty good prices, and most of their tires have performance reviews.

[Turbo Rob]

I finally put some Vredestein Sessenta's on the front of my car - no more tramlining!

It rides very nice now.

I got them from www.performanceplustire.com

Rob

[streetk14]

This is a tough question. I've found that some tires will tramline like crazy on some vehicles, but not at all on others. A couple things that I've found makes a big difference:
Toe
Camber
Sidewall height
Steering rack/box T-bar stiffness

My BMW uses 225/35R18 up front and 255/35R18 in the back with Michelin Pilot Sport tires. It tramlines like nobody's business...and these are OE tires for that car. Some freeways require constant attention and two hands to control the vehicle. Other bimmer owners report the same with those tires as well.

My Camaro uses 245/40R18 up front with BFG KDW tires and tramlining is very managable. Both of my cars use similar static camber and toe settings.

I've found that the way the tire wears on a particular car will cause the tramlining effect you are talking about. Am starting to notice it a little bit on some bad roads at lower speeds now that the 18" Potenza run-flats on my Bimmer are getting worn.

As far as the Pilot Sports go, it's funny you guys mentioned that. I just put a set of 275/35/18 and 335/30/18 Pilot Sports on my Camaro, and the car drives GREAT. You would expect to get some tramlining with such wide and aggressive tires, but there is none. The wheels and tires are also very smooth at 80 mph+, which I cannot say for the TTII's and G-force T/A's that were on the car before. Even with the balance perfect there was always a bad shimmy in the steering wheel when the tires were on the cold side. That is gone with the Pilot Sport tires.

I always tell everyone to lay down the cash for good quality tires. If you buy some cheap knock-offs, you will most likely be regretting it in one way or another. Michelins have always been my favorite as far as quality goes. They always seem to be very true, requiring minimal weight to balance out.

Andy