307 2.0HDi Tyre issues

[A Lewis]

Hi folks

Im a newbie here and this may seem a daft question.

I recently bought a 307 2.0HDi in very good nic. Am very pleased with the car. It drove beautifully, really nice balanced and direct steering, no wobbles or vibration from the steering wheel etc. In simple terms the car felt planted and did not wander - steering was confident and would hold nicely at speed on bends (im not a boy racer im talking fast dual carriageways etc).

Not sure of trim level but my Pug has the 17 inch factory fitted alloys

I changed the front tyres recently. The tyres were balanced, and then all four wheels were tracked.

The car now drives totally different. I sent the car back to the garage, they checked the balancing and tracking again and stated all was as it should be.

Im getting annoying vibration through the steering wheel, the steering wheel doesn't return to the centre as well as it used to or feel as balanced (ie there is no equal resistance when you turn the steering wheel from side to side side) and the steering feels ultra light - I know new tyres can give that sensation but not to this extent. The front tyres will wander and pull or jerk slightly to one side when you pull up. Its as if the tyres are picking up every little imperfection in the road.

In other words the car just doesn't feel as smooth or as planted as it was. It now drives terribly! I'm getting a slight metalic knocking noise very occassionally since the new tyres were fitted.

I have checked air pressures they are all fine - the suspension is fine, the track rod ends are all fine, garage did say there was a little bit of play in the suspension arms but nothing to worry about and shouldn't affect steering or give the symptoms I mention.

Ive made sure the tyres are of the correct size - they're not budget tyres either they were mid price range - not cheap but not expensive
Any help / suggestions / advice would be gratefully received as i simply dont enjoy driving my pug anymore. Cheers Adam

[danthevan]

Few things it could be really;
Are they directional tyres? If they are, check they have been fitted the right way round (should be a direction of rotation arrow on them)
Knocking noise is probably one of the antiroll bar drop links.
As for self centering wheel, this will be down to the castor/camber angle, but this should have been picked up on the 4 wheel alignment, and not sure if it's even adjustable (camber should be).
Could well just be done to the design of the tyre / tread pattern though

[A Lewis]

Cheers for that Dan - I'll look at the anti roll drop links, makes sense.

As you suggest it could be the tyre tread / pattern

Michelins were fitted on the front before I changed them and one tyre fitter did state that unless you stick with a premium tyre as recommended by Peugeot the car probably wont drive as smoothly as it used to ! Trouble is the Michelins are very expensive.

Would anyone else concur with sticking with manufacturers recommended tyre makes? has anyone else had similar problems?

[john_h]

when i first got my car, on going on a motorway and getting my speed up to 70mph the steering wheel would vibrate loads. i had cheapo wheels, called focus.

anyways i go to my garage who i always go to and he replaced the tyres for kumho, they are not premium but they are not budget either. they are the mid-range...about £65 a tyre. anyways they told me my tracking was well out and that the budget tyres didnt help...now its smooth as ever

ive read on the net kumhos are decent, they guy in the garage even recommends them more than the pirellis, bridgestone, michelin etc etc

but yeah the clunking sound your hearing sounds like anti-roll drops links. take your car to another garage for tracking and balancing (2nd opinion). its a bit funny that its fine until he touched it...if that makes sense.

[Gibbo]

I had a similar problem on my last 307. It turned out to be a buckled wheel. No evidence of damage or kerbing but it was buckled. Swapped front wheels for back and the problem went away.