Handling of LCR New Tyres

[Empi5]

Just advice needed please.

Yesterday, had two new GSD3 fitted, the fronts were almost worn through on the inside track.

Took the rears of, and because they had 50% of their life still left, these were put on the front. However these were also showing signs on inner wear and the chaps said this could cause a problem with tyre noise etc. The new shoes were put on the rear.

Id only driven about 15 miles, and already the tyre noise at low speed coming front the front was very noticeable, it was almost as if the tyre wasnt perfectly round.

I came to some twisties, For anyone that knows the area, it was the Road from Stone to Meir Heath. A Honda Integra was in front of me

Well the the car was all over the road, just would not plant itself, it was very un nerving, bearing in mind , the LCR is lowered on Silverline Coilovers, it usually sits and performs very very well.

So my question,

Was this because the rears had not had chance to bed in yet and this would cause the car to handle like it did.

or was it because the fronts had uneven wear, and people may suggest that the fronts are changed as well.

I hope its because the rears were far to new to do anything other than go in a straight line.

As a result of the uneven wear, i did have the car geo aligned about two months ago.

 

[nibbles]

Your better off putting the new ones on the front as i did and i have had no problems at all.

 

[Willie]

Your tyres will take a bit of time to bed in. Changing from front to back is correct but these will possibly run on a different part of the tyre.
Did you remember to pump up the tyres to the correct pressure for the front?
Remember this is 3 PSI higher than the rear

 

[nibbles]

imo....... most of the work is done by the fronts the backs dont get alot of heat in them so...... imo

 

[traumapat]

mine felt funny on the front for a couple of hundred miles until bedded in. would have thought the rears would take a bit longer.


tracking ok?
the wear on the front inside tread sounds out.... so the tyres need to wear to that format to feel right.

 

[CRAIGLCR]

phil when the tyres are made they use a silicone spray before putting into the mould to stop them from sticking!!! so whenever you have new tyres fitted always allow this coating to wear off before driving hard!!! this is the probable cause of the poor handling mate!!!!

 

[CUPRACAR]

Phil

You’re right putting the new tyres on the rear as the LCR notoriously suffers from snap over-steer so the best rubber should always be on the rear.

New tyres have a release agent on the surface that makes them very skittish for the first few miles. As Craig said.
I would not thrash new rubber for at least 50 miles even then, I would progressively rub them in.

Did you have the ex-rears re-balanced? It’s possible for a balance weight to fall of the rear and you may not notice any marked vibration, but put that wheel on the front you would feel it immediately.

 

[RobM]

As above, putting the new tyres on the rear is definitely the right choice. The rear should always have the new tyres.

I think it's a combination of a couple of things... the new tyres take time to bed in and perform at their best, and until then they can feel a little unsettled. And if the front tyres haven't worn evenly, that too can cause the car to feel a little nervous.

 

[D3DNA]

Your running coilovers which if you frequently adjust the height will have a knock on effect in the camber angle of the tyre. The general rule is lower coilover, more inside wear. Setting the coilovers then having a geometry check will set the camber to tolerance levels and you should experience even wear.
As for the new tyres, a quick tip that my mate uses when running his Cateram is to rough up the surface of the rubber with some sand paper. This helps get past the release surface of the tyre and down to the proper road going compound.

 

[Oliveracc]

As above, putting the new tyres on the rear is definitely the right choice. The rear should always have the new tyres.

I think it's a combination of a couple of things... the new tyres take time to bed in and perform at their best, and until then they can feel a little unsettled. And if the front tyres haven't worn evenly, that too can cause the car to feel a little nervous.

Sorry but I disagree with always putting new tyres on the rear.

Providing the rears have a decent amount of tread there is no problem with putting new tyres on the front. This should also help dial out the chronic understeer that the LCR suffers from. On occasion you may suffer from a bit of oversteer but you should be able to cope with this. Extreme oversteer is only likely if you have far more tread on the front than the back.

The 'always put the new tyres on the rear' mantra is only trotted out to help joe blogs handle his mundano - if the car looses grip it will be via understeer and the driver just needs to lift off the power.

 

[RobM]

It's not my idea, it's not something new, it's what people in the car industry, the experts who know more than we do on this forum, have been saying for years.

The theory behind it is you have full control over the front of your car. If it starts to get out of hand, you can turn the wheel, use the brake, use the throttle or the clutch or any combination of this to control it.

If the back end starts to go, you have much less control over it. Obviously those of us with giant e-penises will be quick to claim we are expert drivers and can control a car that's lost control, whos back end is all over the place. But in reality, if you don't see it coming and your back end steps out or loses traction, having the better tyres on the rear might be just about enough to save you from a date with the nearest tree.

 

[nibbles]

I can see this one going on for quite some time.
nice one phil

 

[Cuprabob]

My experience of Goodyears F1s is that as they wear they get much noisier and sometimes the rumble sounded like a wheel bearing.

The "experts" say you should fit new tyres on the back, for safety, as if the front slips it's much easier to control than if the back steps out.

 

[Empi5]

Im happy that the correct decision was made that new tyres to the rear, many people on here have agreed to that and also the tyre fitter confirmed it.

I assume then that the scatty handling came from the coating still on the tyres, im just a bit mindfull about getting the fronts replaced as well, when there is still 50% life left in them.

 

[RobM]

Give it a few hundred miles and take it a little easier than normal during that time, just to ensure the tyres are well scrubbed in. Then give that same sort of drive another go and see what happens

 

[CUPRACAR]

- if the car looses grip it will be via understeer and the driver just needs to lift off the power.

It’s at that moment when you do lift off you get snap over-steer due to the weight transfer to the front.

The first time that it happened to me it was scary as it happens very suddenly, I had the original Pirelli’s on.

Since then I’ve used only GSD 3s putting new rubber on the rears each change resulting in a massive improvement in the handling.

 

[lordgibbness]

Your tyres will take a bit of time to bed in. Changing from front to back is correct but these will possibly run on a different part of the tyre.
Did you remember to pump up the tyres to the correct pressure for the front?
Remember this is 3 PSI higher than the rear

I believe that they should be 33psi all round for normal use...

One thing regarding tyre pressures is that the supermarket or foot pumps are often badly calibrated and it's worth picking up a good tyre pressure gauge to check as this is probably the most important aspect of handling after tyre condition.

 

[FrankSpencer]

can assist you with the following:

1 - The pressures are 33psi all around on the Seat Cupra R (225/40ZR18) for an unladen vehicle. This can change according to weight you carry, but standard pressures are 33psi.

2 - New tyres, if swapped in a pair should always go on the rear of the vehicle. The points RobM made regarding this are spot on.

3 - New tyre's do require a bedding in period, but it is not usually more than 25 miles. Every brand will differ, but as a rule you just need to respect that new tyres are on, and take it a bit steady at first.

--
Empi5 - Just check that the tyres you have now moved to the front have wore evenly so far. This can have a huge bearing on the handling if they have erractic wear. If you haven't had the tracking checked, it may be worth investing in this.

Please ask if I can be of more help.

 

[Skorchio]

Roll on the hover car.. no tyers then (imature i know )

 

[Empi5]

Drove the LCR to work this morning, and its made my mind up, two new tyres on the front as well are required. So all ordered, its going to be an expensive month,