OK so I will admit to being a relatively new car owner in general, and I've only owned my 2009 Fit Sport for about 2 weeks now.

I'm enjoying the car, but this past weekend I had Blizzak WS60's put on it in the stock size (I know, I KNOW thinner tires are better for snow, but budget didn't allow for the purchase of new wheels). I had to go to Mr. Tire since it's the only place in town open on the weekends, and they told me my left wheel was severely out of alignment and that I needed to get that done as well.

I let them do that, and now I feel like whenever I need to brake firmly while going 55 mph or more (not slamming on the brakes), it seems to pull to the right. I tested this a few times on my way home yesterday and every time it felt like it was pulling to the right. Is this typical for having new snow tires put on (only driven about 60 miles on them so far)?

Been kinda testing the alignment whenever I have a straight stretch and at the end of a count to 10, car is still going mostly straight and only slightly veering left or right sometimes. Not sure if I need to take it back, or if it's just me getting used to driving with dedicated snow tires. I would hate to think of my car severely swerving into the car next to me should I ever need to slam on the brakes. Thoughts?

 

Go find a big empty parking lot, get up to speed and slam on the breaks. Get the ABS working (if you are new enough to never have felt ABS kick in this will be a good learning experiance as well, the peddle will pulse and the car will shake but the wheels will not lock up). Get up to about 25 and just put the breaks on full.

BTW, make sure there are no lose objects in the car. Report back with what happens.

 

A slight crown in the road can/will direct the car one way or another.

You should, for the most part, be able to drive on the straight and level apply the brakes, let free of the steering wheel and the car should continue straight and come to a stop.

Did they point out unusual tire wear on the tires they replaced? Something pointed them to an alignment, did they indicate what that was?

I'm not sure how Mr. Tire stands up to wheel alignments, but I would go back and tell them to realign your car. Tell them you want to see and have a copy the before measurements and the after alignment measurements.

Outside chance it's the brakes, but that would have been present before the tire change.

 

You may have a tire pull. Try cross switching the front tires to see if the pull
follows the tire. If it does one of the front tires is defective. It's a common
problem, usually blamed on wheel alignment, unless the alignment specialist
knows how to do a proper alignment.

Clifton

 

Could be a bad tire. I wrecked a tire on a curb and the car always pulled to the right. Rotating the tires did no good because the tires always stay on the same side.

Maybe your tire store sold you one that is defective?

 

Had the same problem in my older miata. It was an alignment problem. I unfortunately didn't get it fixed right away and that turned into a tire problem as the tires wear out weird if the alignment isn't done properly. I agree with switching the tires around and seeing if the problem follows the tire, but if it doesn't, get that bad boy realigned by someone else that knows what they're doing.

 

Every Honda I've ever owned has been out of alignment at delivery, so that does not surprise me. It is the crap factory tires that hide this (Honda of course is not alone in selecting crappy factory tires....pretty much everyone does this).

Your alignment is probably still out - Hondas are also notoriously hard to align, and sadly like most dealerships of most manufacturers Honda dealers often subcrontract alignments to a local tire shop (alignment racks are expensive!).

Take it back and complain. It could be a pulling tire but honestly those are very, very rare, especially in tier 1 brands. Chances are the better grip is highlighting a small problem that crappy OE tires cover up

 

Could it be a tire pressure difference between the left and right tires?

 

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the responses. I admit to knowing hardly anything about cars, so this could all just be me being paranoid. I was recently involved in an accident on 1/13/12 (Friday the 13th no less), so I am sure I'm being overly cautious/paranoid.

The tires are Blizzak WS60's in 185/55/16 from Tirerack.com. I've never had snow tires on a car before (only owned 1 other car and that was a 2007 Corolla that got totaled in the accident), so I don't know if these with the more aggressive treads are just grabbing every imperfection on the road or what. I replaced the stock Dunlop tires with these for winter, and will get a different set when April rolls around.

Anyway -- since I bought it used, I am sure the dealer didn't do an alignment before selling it, and the Carfax only reported "recommended maintenance" and oil changes ever being done since 2009. Mr. Tire DID give me the sheet with the numbers, which mean nothing to me, but they said the front left was severely out of alignment. I posted a copy of the numbers here if anyone wants to take a look.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...nmentSpecs.jpg

What's in red (pink) was what it was that they said needed to be realigned. They did not point out any unusual wear on the other tires. I have not yet had the chance to test the car in the parking lot as someone else suggested, but I plan on doing that tonight, as well as asking one of my friends to test drive it for me. Will also check the tire pressure. Thanks for everyone's input thus far!