Hi guys, since i installed my volvo 17" mags with new conti tires, i've noticed that my car has a tendancy to pull at time to either side. This happens mostly on uneven roads or roads with imperfections. If there is a groove in the road the tires will grab it and go! this didn't happen with my winter mags (with 850t5 mags and hakka winter studs..even on dry roads).
i know the tires where balanced and had an alignment before winter time (december). any ideas? maybe another alignment? or a bad balancing?
any ides would be great.thanks
fabs

 

Is the offset of your new wheels different from the old ones? Are the new tyres significantly wider? Either can cause the problems you describe.

Jason

 

Oldjason, hey there....well between the summer and winter setup, the winter ones 16" and the summer's 17" . I took it to a good tire shop and the guy there was quite cool...he looked at my car and the tires and said that it's quite normal as i have 17" tires with a stiffer sidewall, and that my winter hakka studded tires are smaller with a softer sidewall and absorb more of the roads' imperfections...thanks again
fabs

 

Hi

I was thinking of the distance between the mounting face of the wheel and the centre of the tyre contact patch. There is a description in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_(wheel)

There are two common wheel offsets for the bigger Volvos, one for the older rwd models and a different one for the fwd and later rwd models. If you have the wrong offset, and the wheel sticks out more, then hitting a bump will pull the steering towards the bump side much more than with the correct offset. I have experienced this (but not on a Volvo).

Good luck with it

Jason