so, recently replaced the two front tires (different brand than the rears) and car started pulling to the left when speeds get over 40ish; really feel it on the freeway.

went back to the shop and had my alignment checked and done. drove off and still pulls to the left. went back again and they cross rotated the fronts. drove around and now the car pulls hard to the RIGHT or opposite direction.

the tire place tech says the defective tire is for sure the front left, the original direction my car was pulling to begin w/. how can he be so sure? (i didn't have time to ask bc i had to get going.) couldn't the front RIGHT be defective? or, do tires normally only have conicity on the outter edge on directional tires?

- fronts: Hankook evo 12
- rears: Bridgestone potenzas

going back today bc the tire place is replacing one front tire at their cost. i just want to make sure to change out the right tire! any online research i've done, all pertain to swapping out w/ the rears to figure out the defective tire but of course, we can't do that w/ our cars. any input is appreciated!

 

Sounds like a defective tire, however, you are driving a performance car with performance tires. Hi-Po tires are made with performance as the number one criteria, and the way they achieve that goal will differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Construction, sidewall stiffness, rubber compound and etc will differ from one brand and model of tire to another. Therefore, never mix different brands and models of tires on a performance vehicle.

Lou

 

thanks for the comments, Lou. yeah, i know. i should have gone w/ the same brand up front but i was being cheap.

anyway, got back from the shop, they changed out the front left, the side which the pull was originally going towards, and wahlah, car drives perfectly now just as it did w/ the previous bridgestones.

the shop warned me that normally, bc my rears are different, they wouldn't switch the "defective" tire out unless i had all 4 the same. but, i've been a long time customer so the owner changed it at no cost to me.

he also told me that, like you mentioned, that different tires, brands, tread etc., etc., track the road differently, so mix matching esp on a high perf car, is no bueno.

 

Glad your pull problem was fixed. It really sucks not being able to rotate the tires because we're staggered, so the rears will go before the fronts...

 

^^ very true but i've always like the staggered look/set-up. i'm used to eating through tires at 6k miles on my previous ride (was slammed, had neg 2.25 camber all around), maybe flipping them to get a little more miles... needless to say, the F is a lot better than that! haha