Tire tread squirm

Question

Had two new Toyo Open Country tires installed on the back of my 2005 PleasureWay Excel the other day and hit the road after the installation. I immediately noticed a real squirrely handling and the vehicle was all over the road in the wind, changing lanes and braking. Very long story short and a couple of tire changes later, now that I have about 500 miles on these new tires, the problem seems to have gone away.

With a little research, I now know that tall tires with a deep knobby tread that are installed on the back end of a vehicle with used tires on the front are more prone to this condition. Lower profile tires may not do this. Anybody else ever experience this?

westend · Answer

Are the the same brand and size as the ones on the front?
Even if with replacement with same brand and size, there is a size difference between new and used. Most vehicles that I've had, when doing a single axle replacement of tires, the steering has always been affected (rarely, but even for the better).

hondavalk · Answer

On my Tundra I switched from P rated tires to BF Goodrich Rugged Terrain
LT E rated tires. First trip out I thought they were worse than the stock tires but after a hundred miles or so they apparently settled in and became rock solid stable. Hope yours are just taking a little longer.

jimnlin · Answer

Yes...lots of times. I think the 85 series tires showed more tread squirm than say a 70 series tire.
When I was on the road I turned over two sets a year on my one ton DRW trucks. That type of work required a AS or a mild AT type tire with the deepest tread I could find which were usually in the 14/32" to 16/32" range. Boy were some of those tires squirrelly the first few hundred miles. Once they broke in no more tread squirm.

3oaks · Answer

Yes, I noticed that too.  Also inflated to higher than necessary tire pressure increased that effect on the new tires.  Most likely doe to running on the centers and not having a full tire foot print on the ground.

Forum Discussion

Tire tread squirm

About Technical Issues

Related Content

Tire tread wear.

Normal and Maximum Tire Tread Temps?

Tread Depth/Wear Marks/Tire Replacement

Tread design?

Step tread adhesive?