Swaying/wandering from side to side on grooved concrete

[slyk]

My wagon has been "swaying" from side to side for a little over a year now. It's not terrible, but definitely noticeable. I've narrowed it down to it seemingly only happens on grooved concrete, and only with my all-season tires (Firestone champion I think??). I first noticed the problem a little after getting the tires replaced. I don't notice the problem with my snow tires.

So, it seems like it has to be the combination of my tires and grooved concrete, right?

My car could definitely use a suspension refresh, but I hesitate to do it as I don't put that many miles on it and "ride comfort" hasn't been a concern up to this point. I did recently replace the rear bushings to see if it fixed the problem (it didn't) and also just replaced the front LCAs (also didn't fix the problem).

I'm contemplating doing new strut bushings, new struts, new tie rod ends...but like I said, I don't really feel like pouring a bunch of money into the "problem" when I am pretty sure it's the tires. The sway bar bushings are reasonably new already, and the wheel bearings have no play in them.

Is there anything else I am missing?

 

[drucifer]

Go back to the place you bought the tires. Tell them what you're experiencing. Let them diagnose it. I'm leaning towards factory defects. I don't know whether this is the right way to say it but a chord may be broken or the tires are out of round. Run your hand over the outside of the tire. It should feel flat. No lumps.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

I just redid my suspension a while back and the tires that were on it were as id they weren't there--so to speak--and then I got my tires replaced and grooved concrete is a royal pain. Every couple of seconds the car feels like it steps right, then left, then, you get it. By chance are your tires the Prime Well PS830's? I am getting ready to go back to the tire shop and tell they need to fix the problem. I seldom ever drive on grooved concrete highways, but when I do I wish I had different tires...

 

[Tdijarhead]

I had this happen with some cheap kuhmo tires on my daughters Toyota.

 

[jettawreck]

Rear axle bushing

 

[slyk]

Rear axle bushing

That’s what I thought, so I replaced them. Didn’t help, but now I have new rear axle bushings!

I think the tires are Firestone champion fuel fighter tires. I bought them in Alaska a few weeks before moving down....so I can’t really go back there. The place was American Tire & Auto, I’ll have to see if it’s a chain with stores in Iowa.

 

[Genesis]

Some tire tread patterns do this on grooved pavement -- if that's the cause not much you can do about it....

 

[benshaw]

maybe your prob maybe not. if you need sus refresh check eng mounts too.
grab the engine near each engine mount and shake it, if its not tight change them with oem and the dogbone.
but its your choice.
buddies gearbox side was loose, engine side was tight. same wandering.
they got genuine from junkyard opened and filled it with builders silicon, let it dry till set and swapped it out.
it was tight and no wandering after.

 

[eddieleephd]

Grooved concrete in my experience does this with all tires and is more noticeable with more aggressive treads, I used to notice it a lot more with the AT tires on the truck. The vehicle will move with the sway of the road and the faster you go the more pronounced it becomes. The swaying is sometimes increased by the road even further when it has inconsistencies in its flatness. Sometimes changing lanes helps, sometimes not.