Hi All,
My 04 shifts around a lot in a moderate cross wind. I am making constant corrections to keep it going straight. Very annoying. With no cross winds the car tracks like its on rails, smooth and steady. My 00 Deville never did this. I've never had any car move around as much as this one. I checked the alignment, caster, camber, toe in etc. Its fine. No worn or loose front end parts. The rear suspension looks o.k. Tires are 32 psi front 30 rear. The only thing I can think of is that the factory Michelins are causing it. They have 5k on them now. They were put on right before I bought the car used with 38k on it.
Anyone else have a problem with these tires? Or have another idea why this car is so sensitive to crosswinds?
thanks

 

Do you have access to another set of tires? IF so, make the switch and test the car. IF issue still there, now you are looking at suspension issues.

I suspect the same thing, tires. Long ago, I had a similar problem with a set of BFG that had loose cords, except that how would I know that? The tire dealer spotted the defect and got me a new set.

 

I did rotate the tires front to back and side to side. Did not make much of a difference. A friend of mine has an 05 DTS that I might be able to swap with. I'll see if it the problem goes away and shows up on his car.
The only other thing I'm going try is have the rear suspension checked on a 4 wheel alignment rig and see if its running true to spec. Thanks for the input.

 

I too suspect tires, split belts beginning. Does the car sit for extended periods?

 

Hi All,
I spent a few hours going over the car. I am lucky that have access to a 6 bay repair shop. (My Uncle's). Anyway, put it on the alignment machine and all is in spec. Went over the suspension, hubs, front end etc. All good. So I searched the web about the Michelin Sentry tires and found out that a few people have the same issue with them as I do. On all sorts of cars. Thats what I get for thinking new tires = good tires. I should know better. I did learn that some people got good results by pumping up the psi because these tires when inflated to spec (30psi) have a lot of sidewall flex in them. So I pumped the fronts to 35 psi and the rears to 32 to stiffen the sidewalls. Seems to be better. But I will wait until I am in a good crosswind again to see. Good call on the tires guys. It may still be belts too. Also an issue with these tires. I'll let you guys know.
Thanks to all who gave advice and ideas. On the plus side I got to tinker with my Deville and see that all is well underneath.
Rcad

 

Hi All,
Pumping up the air pressure helped some but not enough. So off to the tire dealer I went. I had all the tires replaced under warrenty for $100. plus tax. For once I didn't get an argument.
The shop manager agreed that these tires have been a problem for larger cars. (out of round, belts etc.) This set is much better. The car tracks well in cross winds now. We will see how they are after I put a few thousand miles on them.
Hope everyone has a good holiday.
Rcad

 

lets post it for others so they can learn by it .. give us the specifics on the tires .. model. size, etc ...




.

 

Here is something not many people know. You can buy new tires fine and dandy but there are do***ented cases out there of new tires being up to 9 years old. Yes Brand new, never installed but sitting around in stock. This is more common than you might think. Date codes are embossed on the inside wall of tires so not that easy to locate. Don't settle for a tire that is over one year old, check the dates. Rubber breaks down with age even if it is just sitting. We all check our fridge for Best before dates so do the same on your tires.

 

Hi All,
The tires in question are the Michelin SYMMETRY 225/60 R 16.
These are the tires that the car came with from the factory. The first owner had them replaced at the dealer @ 35k? miles under what was left of the tire warrenty. (They had developed a vibration) The dealer put on the same tires. So when I had a problem with them I went to the local Michelin dealer who I have used for over 20 years. He sells many different brands. Anyway, he said these tires seem to fail more than others. The heavier the car the more problems. He said Michelin has changed the internal design recently to address the problems. So with my choice being a replacement set for $100 or a different brand for $550, I went with new version of the Symmetrys. I will see how they hold up. BTW I'm still running them at 35 psi front and 32 psi rear. Seems to be the best for ride, cornering etc.
Thanks
Rcad

 

Hi All,
This is an update of the cross wind wandering problem that I had with my DeVille.
I've put a few thousand miles on the new Symmetry tires now and I am happy to report that they are much better than the original design ones I replaced a few months back. The tire dealer was correct in saying the updated design was better now for the bigger cars like the Deville. With the winter winds being very active here in New England recently, the car stays on track and stable like its designed to do. Also as a side note I have reduced the p.s.i back down from 35 to 32 p.s.i. front and 30 p.s.i. rear works the best for ride, cornering etc.

Happy Holidays to All.

Rcad