Topic: Summer Tire Flat Spots?

[Giant Dwarf]

Hey tire gurus, I finally managed to find the time tonight to swap off my winter boots for my summer wheels and tires.  They've been sitting in my basement all winter and after diligently putting each wheel on and torquing it to exact figures, then checking all the tire pressures, I took her out for a maiden voyage around the block.

These Michelin Pilot Precedas are brand new.  In December when I picked up my car from the dealership, I drove the 25-30 kms to the tire store and had my winter wheels and tires applied right away.  When I went around the block, I noticed a distinct movement in the steering wheel and a bit of an uneven roll as I idled around.  I'm assuming that what I'm feeling is a small case of flat-spotted summers that'll smooth out as they heat up from driving around a bit.  Am I correct to think so?  Anyone else have this problem?  I'm a noob to separate summers and snows so this is all new to me.

Thanks!

[mdxtasy]

I don't recall that ever occurring to me.  How does the puppy ride with the summer tires?  Aside from the warped rubber.

[Trainman]

We have been doing the summer/winter tire thing since we moved to the BC interior and have never had that problem.

Hopefully it goes away for you.  Did you put them back on the same corner they came off?  Or do a proper rotation? Being new, they would not be due for a rotation yet.

Do the tires have to rotate in one direction?  If so, did you get them one the right way? (our snowies are like that so can only be moved back and forth on the same side).

[wing]

Flat spotted sitting in your basement?  How do you figure that can happen? 

Sounds like something else, maybe it will work itself out but it can be flatspotting which I think is a myth.  I sat my car on my summers all winter and still have no issues.

[quadzilla]

I heard it will snow this week. 

On the P5 my Dunlops use to do this if I didn't drive for a few days.  After about 60 minutes of driving (depending on the temps) it would work itself out.  But never had a problem when I put them on the car after winter though, only when it sat for a few days.

[Giant Dwarf]

     Hmm... now I'm worried I've done something wrong.  (how the hell do you screw up mounting tires fer chrissakes?!)  I double-checked that every nut was torqued exactly to spec.   

What makes me think this is even more strange is that they were only in the basement for 3 months and... because I'm a paranoid freak, I actually turned the tires once a month to help prevent flat spots! I have heard these Precedas are prone to this, but I figured it was only if they were attached to the car and left to sit for months on end!

I didn't drive the car today (despite going up to 19 degrees here!  grrr!) because I've got to take the wiffy's Civic in for a new tire -- went flat over the weekend.  I'll have to take it for a romp tonight to see if I can work out the bumps. 

Bizarre.

[canadianexpress]

When storing the tires, should stack them up pancake style.  Also did you have them in bags and possilble on a piece of wood, so the moisture from the cement does not interact with the rubber on the tires?

[Giant Dwarf]

 
Well, as I said above, something about the situation just didn't sit right with me.  So, I pondered it over and over in my mind (having not driven the car since my around the block testdrive Sunday night) and decided to play it safe and just pull all the wheels again to see if in my tired state Sunday evening I made some sort of obvious mistake.

Well, lo and behold... as I pulled them and started to put them back on (thinking... these just don't seem to fit right) and it dawned on me... despite making a big fuss when I got my snow tires about how the dealership wasn't able to get me proper wheels that would fit without spacers to the tire shop guys... they went and did the same #$%$^%ing thing anyway!  There were small, black nylon spacers preventing a proper fit of my summer wheels!     Doh!  So, I angrily pulled the spacers off... remounted the wheels and whaddya know?  No more bumping! 

What a difference those summer's make.   Wheee!!!!  (no flatspots either).

[Snowman]

Good news Jeff . I’m slipping and sliding around up here with -5 and fresh snow.

[initial_D]

Well, as I said above, something about the situation just didn't sit right with me.  So, I pondered it over and over in my mind (having not driven the car since my around the block testdrive Sunday night) and decided to play it safe and just pull all the wheels again to see if in my tired state Sunday evening I made some sort of obvious mistake.

Well, lo and behold... as I pulled them and started to put them back on (thinking... these just don't seem to fit right) and it dawned on me... despite making a big fuss when I got my snow tires about how the dealership wasn't able to get me proper wheels that would fit without spacers to the tire shop guys... they went and did the same #$%$^%ing thing anyway!  There were small, black nylon spacers preventing a proper fit of my summer wheels!     Doh!  So, I angrily pulled the spacers off... remounted the wheels and whaddya know?  No more bumping! 

What a difference those summer's make.   Wheee!!!!  (no flatspots either).

 

You still need those spacers tho, don't you? GD?

When you go auto-X,  you might get a 3rd set of wheels & tires.

[wing]

He needs the spacers for the winters but not the summers.

That sucks, you sure they were not centering rings for the winter wheels?

[curls]

My winters have no problem with this (soft rubber compound), but my all-seasons (Toyo Proxes TPT) that I use in spring/summer/fall, tend to have this problem for the first 2 or 3 km on cool mornings.

Feels like I'm hitting small rythmic bumps in the road, but by the time I make it to the 2nd stop light and the tires have warmed up a bit, they're smooth as glass.

[Giant Dwarf]

He needs the spacers for the winters but not the summers.

That sucks, you sure they were not centering rings for the winter wheels?

You're right Wing, the Summers actually fit properly (they ARE from the factory after all!).

Centering rings?  Maybe.  What are they?  What do they look like? 

[wing]

centering rings would go over the hub and then the winter wheel would go on them, this ensures that you wheel is centered on the hub if the aftermarket wheel hub is larger than your cars.

[Giant Dwarf]

Ahh... then that must be it.  Thanks Wing.  Having never seen my car with the wheels off before, I didn't even think to pick at and pull the little plastic rings off.  They simply looked like part of the hub to me. 
  

Important thing is it's all good now. 

Some of the nuances I noticed within a brief drive with the summers on:

The stickier compound picks up all the little gravel and pebbles and sand on the road leftover from the winter and flings it at the underside of my car and wheel-wells. 
The summers are noisier than the winters!
The added grip makes me notice the too-soft springs and body lean more (where before the winters would simply slide out)
Steering inputs are instantaneous now.  I love it!
Proper tires are fun!

[davidm]

My hub-centric rings normally used to clip into the wheels themselves and not sit on the hubs.

Summer rubber is great.  Just remember, if you stiffen up the corners (springs or sways) you will have less time/notice that you are about to lose grip.  Takes some "adjustment" when you get a stiffer setup (also becomes real bad on choppy roads).  That said, I loved my dropped Miata (stock 91 springs, Koni adjustables on bottom perch, Racing Beat hollow sways).  Mmmm, mmm, mmm. And in the handling dept. with T1-S's on the corners.

[Giant Dwarf]

I'm sure you're right David.  Keep in mind the NC's are a little softer than the old Miatas so I can stiffen it up a bit and still probably only be around the same levels that a previous gen sport suspension equipped car was.  It'll probably be a month or two yet -- gotta take care of wiffy's birthday first before I start buying more toys for the baby. 

[morty]

Definitely sounds like hub-rings. It often happens that the hub-ring stays on the hub after the wheels are removed. No big deal to just pull them off. If they are a little bit stuck...just use a screw driver to gently pry them off. These are not spacers and no need to be angry with the dealer.

[Giant Dwarf]

Definitely sounds like hub-rings. It often happens that the hub-ring stays on the hub after the wheels are removed. No big deal to just pull them off. If they are a little bit stuck...just use a screw driver to gently pry them off. These are not spacers and no need to be angry with the dealer.

Thanks guys.  Once again, the forum has the answers!

And you're right, they did come off quite easily.  Just grabbed hold with my fingers and popped off.