tramlining??

[LiKPiC]

hi
i just fitted new rims on my 99 civic sedan.

from 175/65 14" to 195/55 15"

however, when i drive the wheels seem to follow the grooves on the road.(am i making sense). like, you know how a smooth road eventually starts to sink where lots of cars and trucks have gone by...like, my wheels get 'stuck' in the grooves in a sense and it feels like i'm fighting to steer it. (like youre steering a car on rails).

is this normal??

the car handles fine on smooth roads

[Limbo]

usually with wider tread you get this but your tread seems pretty standard.
Have you had a wheel alignment lately?

[DomenEK]

Welcome to the world of fatter tyres. Yes it's normal.

It also depends on the tyre too. I have found that grippier tyres tend to tramline more. When I first got my 17s with 205/40 rubber (really grippy tyres) they tramlined really bad. I have since replaced those with Nexen N3000s (still 205/40/17) which aren't as grippy as the previous ones, and don't tramline much, or not as violently.

[revNhevN]

this is normal. also happens with semi-slicks.

[jackosimm]

Gonna move this into the technical section, you'll get more responses there

[LiKPiC]

thanks for the replies =D (and all so early in the morning!)

phew. i just thought my car was acting funny!!!
cool bananas. so, i guess i'll just have to get used to it =D

i havent had a wheel alignment for a while, but when i took off my old wheels, they seemed to have worn out quite evenly...should i get a wheel alignment?

and more tyre noise. that is normal too right? i guess bigger tyres means more contact with the road so more noise? (or am i wrong. lol)

[Tobster]

More noise and tramlining can be the result of the tyre pattern. Stiffer sidewalls can also result in tramling because there's less flex in the tyre and so you'll feel the tug as the tyre tries to follow grooves in the road.

[SiReal]

also check your tyre pressure is even on all sides..or whatever the pressure should be matched to.

[SLOWEGG]

also check your tyre pressure is even on all sides..or whatever the pressure should be matched to.

Lol yeh do that too. I drove around 2 weeks with uneven pressure and i thought it was my allignment. The car just went everywhere! running 205s on 15s aswell. Get you alignment also it would help.