Winter tires handling issue

[Yousend]

I've had a problem last year with my winter tires which I always assumed it was crosswinds or the tread pattern following the grooves in the road.

When driving on the highway, sometimes the car will feel like it's just moving from left to right without any feedback on the steering wheel. It doesn't feel like my wheels are turning either, just as if my car suddenly shifted to one side or the other. This normally happens at higher speed (120kph+) and is especially noticeable when passing anything bigger than an SUV, hence why I always assumed it was crosswinds or something like that. The tires are still good, pressure is 35 with OEM sized Nokian Hakka7 (at 10C, I'll check pressure later today).

The fact that it's floaty makes me believe that it might be associated with my tire pressure, but I'm lost trying to diagnose this problem. Can anyone offer any ideas?

[Tcoat]

It is crosswinds and vortex's created by trucks. You now know it will happen and can be prepared for it. It isn't your tires.

[fika84]

Winter tires have bigger treads with lots of cuts in them as well, so the feeling of "floating" is also a bit related to the design of the tire.

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

do you have a big wing but no front lip?

[Yousend]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

do you have a big wing but no front lip?

No wings/spoiler, no front lip.

It also happens when driving alone on the road which is what bothers me. The trucks I expect.

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

Originally Posted by Yousend

No wings/spoiler, no front lip.

It also happens when driving alone on the road which is what bothers me. The trucks I expect.

I put my winter tires on last week (so from 18" MPSS to 17" winter tires) and I've been feeling the same floaty feeling at high speeds. I attributed it to my aero imbalance. But now that I think about it, that doesn't make sense and it must be the tires. I also have coilovers. Wonder if that's part of it too

[Stang70Fastback]

You're going to get a LOT more movement out of winter tires, both from increased tread squirm, and from increased sidewall deflection. Think of it as poking a block of jello vs. poking a block of plexiglass. Your car is going to move around a lot more on your squishy winter tires, and that includes when being buffeted by wind on the highway.

[nickson555]

I noticed that last year after I installed my winter Continental tires. Not only the softness that let the car twist but it was also difficult to keep in straight line, always pulling from either side. With oem tires it was the straightest car I've never had. Maybe it took some time to get used to or the thread worn where it was griping too much but I was not thinking about it too much after a while. Now that I have more camber up front I wonder how it will drive with them on this week. I think with more neg camber the car reacts more to road irregularities?

[Yousend]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

You're going to get a LOT more movement out of winter tires, both from increased tread squirm, and from increased sidewall deflection. Think of it as poking a block of jello vs. poking a block of plexiglass. Your car is going to move around a lot more on your squishy winter tires, and that includes when being buffeted by wind on the highway.

Should I keep the tire pressure in the door frame or try to adjust to something I'm more comfortable with?

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by Yousend

Should I keep the tire pressure in the door frame or try to adjust to something I'm more comfortable with?

Tire pressure won't do anything to help with the squirm you get out of the tall, floppy, siped tread blocks. It might very marginally improve sidewall stiffness, but that will only result in over-inflated tires.

You're just spoiled by stiff summer tires. Winter tires are sloppy as a result of the soft rubber compound. You just need to adapt, and learn to live with it. I would recommend sticking with the OEM tire pressure.

[churchx]

Extra sloppiness may come not just from softer rubber compound in general, but also because many get winters narrower-higher sidewall profile-on smaller wheels. For experiment sake i tried to overpump my winters a bit .. there was not much change in sloppiness, so reverted. As Stang70Fastback wrote, one just has to live with it. Yes, steering feel won't be as sharp, but you'll get your grip you can rely on. Much much better then stiff summers with no grip at all + high possibility of crash or not being able to drive through unplown or iced road or get up a hill. Also human beings adapt to anything. After a while driving with "sloppy winter tires" it won't bother one that much as just right after change.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Yousend

No wings/spoiler, no front lip.

It also happens when driving alone on the road which is what bothers me. The trucks I expect.

The "floaty" feel of the snows is one thing. The suddenly shifting to the side is another and is not related to tire pressure. A good gust of wind will shift you over even on summer tires it just isn't as abrupt.

[venturaII]

Winters have a lot of tread squirm. If your alignment is on the more aggressive side of things (meaning NOT the numb factory settings), it can make the car seem like it wants to follow every and any groove, crown or dip in the road, plus the effect of crosswinds will be amplified.

[~el~jefe~]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

It is crosswinds and vortex's created by trucks. You now know it will happen and can be prepared for it. It isn't your tires.

sometimes when I am in my car alone at night, parked there, listening to psychedelic music, I am sucked up into a vortex and see many barnyard animals swirling around me and feel mildly probed.