Nicole

This is a question for those of you who have Kumho Exsta Tires on your sharks:

Did you 928 start pulling to the right after those tires were mounted in the front?

Thanks!

Barry Johnson

Sounds more like a crappy tire install to me. I can't imagine how a new tire could cause it to pull on way or another. I'd take it back to the installer promptly. Where did you take it by the way?

Doug Hillary

Hi Nicole
I would check pressures first and then try the tyres for a few hundred kilometers giving them time to bed in. Advise the supplier of course immediately and seek their advice too
Merry Xmas

drnick

ive just replaced my worn continentals with brigestone so3 tyres on the front, 225 45 17s, BIG difference. much better, planted feel through the wheel which im really apreciating on uk winter roads. very nice tyre so far, for anyone considering them.

Nicole

Tire/Tyre pressures have been checked and meet specifications. The car has also been aligned to factory specs, and the car still pulls to the right.

What can go wrong during installation, so that it would cause the car to pull? I had only the two front tires replaced. I don't remember the car pulling with the old tires. But these were worn very unevely.

Merry Christmas to you, too!!!!

atb

Hi Nicole,

Does it pull during acceleration, braking, or all the time?

My car had a condition where the car would pull to the right under acceleration. It turned out that one of the rear lower shock mounts was loose, causing the Weissach Axle to steer under acceleration. If your car is acting the same, it may be time to pull out the torque wrench and give 'em a quick torquing. The one side that was loose (I don't remember which) wasn't finger loose, but was definitely loose with a torque wrench.

Good luck!

-Adam Birnbaum

Ed Ruiz

A badly constructed tire (one where you cannot see the inside plys) can cause the symptom you're experiencing. If those were my tires, I'd take them back for replacement. YMMV.

Ell

Depending on how much the car is pulling, it might be natural. When the roads are put in they are laid in with a crown. This serves two principles, 1st it allows the rain to run off, 2nd, it gives a natural pull of the car that is supposed to prevent you from driving into the wrong lane if you become unable control your car due to sleeping or other medical problems. This is the same reason that in the US has the camber settings changed.

Try finding an empty 2 lane road and drive down the center and see if it still pulls.

Happy motoring

Ell <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Big Dave

Nicole:

I've got 255/40/17 Kumho 712s on my rear tires (Toyo Proxies on the front) and they perform very well. I've not experienced the symptoms you describe at all.

I'd agree with the others that you may have a defective tire, but I'm not sure what type of defect.

I agree with El that the engineered sloping in road construction has a definite impact on causing our cars to drift. My shark with have a tendency to want to follow the slope down (mildly) no matter which tires I have mounted (or which rims...16" or 17").

Brent 89-GT

Hi Nicole,

My GT has 18" Khumo 712's, 225 front and 265 rear. They are maybe 1/4 worn by now and track perfectly.

I think Ed was closest, sometimes you will get a tire with a bad belt internally. It won't look any different but it will drive poorly.

I think I might try checking the torque on the Weissach axle as suggested though. You want to cover your bases before asking for a new tire

WallyP

Nicole,

Quick and easy test - temporarily swap the front tires. If the pull switches sides, it's the tires. If it doesn't, it's the car.

And, yes, I know that tires are unidirectional. Five miles of "backing up" won't hurt anything, and will give you a definite answer on your problem.

If it is the tires, check the sizes - a friend of mine had the same problem, and it took a couple of months to discover that Sears had mounted two different sizes on the front.

SL8GT

Nicole,

Does it pull on accel, braking, straight line? Even thought just aligned, might be worth double checking to verify all settings intact.

I have Kumho ECSTA 712 all around and have not experienced anything like you describe over ~12,500 miles I've put on them.

Happy Holidays <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

PorKen

I put 255/45/16 712's all round just after I bought mine, and the only problem I've found is that they love to follow the tire ruts. Otherwise, for the price they look and operate great.

Nicole

The car pulls all the time - I have not found one road or place where it does not pull. It does not change on acceleration or deceleration.

The alignment has been done very throroughly, and I doubt the settings are in any way incorrect. The more I think about it, the more I believe it must be some kind of tire issue.

Wally's idea sounds like what I should do next. Not today, though...

Merry Christmas!

Normy

-In 1987, I decided it was time to rotate the Michelin tires on my Scirocco.

I was scared to death. I was sure I had done everything properly- exactly the way that my dad had taught me over the years. Yet when I drove down the main drag in Daytona Beach a few minutes after moving the wheels around....my little coupe pulled badly to one side~

I decided to stop in one of those discount chain tire shops. Screening the sales pitches and dire warnings of certain death-

[If I didn't immediately pay them several hundred dollars to replace various ball joints on my then 2 year old car....]

I managed to determine that the 13,000 miles that I had waited to rotate the tires was too much for the Michelins. The belts had "shifted", and the car was bound to pull to one side no matter what I did.

Various conversations later, I've learned that the construction of belts in radial tires is VERY VERY important. A minor change or assymetry can result in drastic effects to handling and tire life!

I would just speculate, Nicole, that someone has sold you a bad tire.

The Kumho tire company is famous in Asia for producing reasonably priced tires of decent quality. The Ecsta line is their first real stab at selling a performance tire in the United States, and from what I've read they are a typical contemporary Korean automotive product: Crude, but effective.

[This "chaibol" also owns Asiana Airlines, a company with a less-than-perfect safety record~]

The theme here is quality. We all drive Porsches primarily because [in the end] we believe that quality management = quality product.

If I were you Nicole, I'd take the shark right back to where you bought the tire and complain. Tell them to make it right...just don't let them scratch your rims in the process!

Normy!
'85 S2 5 Speed