Car pulls

P zero tires. Not sure total miles, I've put 10 k. Pressure equal. Car started pulling to left on flat road.Front tires swapped left to right. Now it pulls to right. I think I've got a bad tire. Suggestions.
Thanks

 

Check your tire pressures again, John. A car tends to drift toward the side having an underinflated front tire.

Also, check your front tires for uneven wear on the outside. A car will pull toward the tire having little tread left on the outside.

Barry

 

Thanks Barry, We checked the pressure and measured the tread depth across the tires. This pull started all of a sudden. making me crazy.

 

John- Reversing radials side to side will result in rapid wear, so swap them back asap. Take her to a good tire/alignment shop recommended by your tech and they should be able to find an out of round wheel or tire. If nothing, have the alignment checked front and rear. Since the Maranellos use eccentrics for camber adjustment, a really good shop recommended by your tech should have no trouble with the alignment.

 

are they both the same spec ?

i got a nail in one of my rear 305's pirelli corsas. could only find a "N" spec in that size but everything else was the same. car was flat out twitchy on hard acceleration and would pull to the right.

matching solved the problem

 

Looks like I have a bad front tire.
So, now what. I drive about 4,000 per year.

Plan A,
Buy 2 new front Pirelli P Zero Rosso, keep the rears that are in good shape.
Buy 2 front and 2 rear P Zero Rosso.
Looks like the Zero Rosso are being discontinued. That kills the buy 2 fronts now and in a year or so replace the rears.

Plan B,
Buy 4 new. Whats the best these days.

fronts 255/30,19
rear 355/25,19 ( this size isn't that easy to find)

Many thanks

 

John- If you have NF2 or Hamann PGIII wheels, those 355/25 19s are all 2008 manufacture when Pirelli last used Novitec's molds to make them. There will not be any updated ones until there is more demand. You could contact Novitec in Germany and see what they plan to do about tires

I have the same tires on mine and will replace them with 255/35 19 (which I bet are your front tires, too) F and 345/30 19 R Michelin Super Sports, which are much better tires than the Pirellis. The rears are taller (27.2" vs 26.3" for OEM 305/30 19s), but not enough to compromise the ABS system. The Michelins have a 300 wear rating vs 160 for the P Zero Rossos and are also much less expensive at ~$1370 for a set of four. The P Zero Rosso rears are just about that much for two.

You are between a rock and a hard place right now, but in your boots, I would probably go for the Michelins.

 

Probably a broken belt in a tire. How do the front tires look? Any high spots when you put the car in the air and rotate the tires? Any warranty on them?

But when was the last time you had an alignment (just to cover all bases)?

Regards,
Jerry

 

Terry, I like you solution.
I think we have the same wheels. If you recall my car DOESN'T have spacers. Do you think I'll have to have them as the Michelins are an inch taller ? My computer has been updating and I haven't compared the width with the Pirelli's. I was always happy not to have the spacers as the tire looked just right in relation to the fender profile.
Thanks for all the help from Chat members.

 

I agree; separated or broken belt, especially if it happened all of a sudden.

 

John- No, the spacers are strictly for looks and a bit of extra track. You will probably have more room for taller tires without the spacers. The 355/25 19s are actually 25.99" in diameter, so a little smaller than OEM. They are a bit wider than the 345/30 19s, so fit should be no problem. More sidewall in the rear should actually look better, but you might consider lowering the rear to the correct ride height, since the 345/30 19s will increase ride height about 12 mm compared to 19" OEM tires.

 

OK, Looks like you've solved my problem again. I guess lower the height and then a 4 wheel alignment as per the spec from the Shop Manual.
What tire pressure do you suggest ?
Again, many thanks.

 

John- 575Ms with Pirellis P Zero Rossos call for 32 psi all around and Michelin PS2s call for 29 psi all around. I would probably go for 32 all around. 29 sounds kind of low to me. Plus your TPMS system is set up for 32 psi, most likely. If you see excessive wear in the middle of the tread, back off the pressure a bit. If you are like me, you will wear out the outsides of the tires from cornering, so it should equalize at 32 psi.

 

Terry, My car is a 550, not a 575. I assume all of the specs and numbers are the same. Can you clarify which Michelin tire you suggest. I think it's the PILOT SUPER SPORT (300 wear) not the Pilot Sport PS2 (220).
Many thanks for your time.
John

 

+1 on what Taz says.

I too have NF2s (since spring 2012), the rears were close to done after 10,000km, and have switched from PZero to PSS.

 

John- Affirmative, that was dumb of me not to mention PSS. Thought I had. You should get much improved handling and braking with the PSS compared to the P Zero Rosso, which is a much older design.