Megane2 steering weirdness

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Haakon

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Thought the whole purchase etc went too smoothly...

Am getting reports of some weird behaviour that cant be put down to her adjusting to the artificial feel of electric steering. Although coming from the 306/Xsara platform, most cars feels worse in their steering/chassis feel!

When I got it at 14,000km from new, the OE Pilot Primacys drove perfectly and the car was a joy to drive - tracked perfectly, had decent feel (for electric steering...) and felt planted and secure.

But they were 6 years old and had age cracks, so i swapped them for some Conti PremiumContact 2s.

Which now pull to the right - even after an alignment and swapping the tyres side to side to eliminate a dud tyre. Steering is now inconsistent in feel, and randomly jerks one way or the other. When its not just pulling to the right...

wtf? Is this some weird combination of tyre and car, or coincidence with a steering fault presenting at the same time as tyres?

Or maybe just an age thing - its 6 years old and only did 14,000km in that time. Its done 2500km in the last couple of weeks so might be a bit shocked!

Has a warranty, so if they all say its ok I'll have to try another type of tyre. Still cant get my head around how tyre brand will make the car react like this though...

any thoughts/clues? :confused:
 
Hi Haakon,

Err,

Did the tyre people give it an "alignment"?

Wouldn't put it past them to feed the wrong figures into the wheel "aligner"

Were the old tyres worn evenly?

Cheers, Steve
 
I didn't get stefan to align upon fitment as it tracked so perfectly before and I was in a hurry...

Alignment done in hobart by the place that does all teh work for the "Renault service agent" - ie the place I need to use for the warranty.

So dunno if they got it right. They'll get another go at it on Friday.

But it drove straight and well on the OE tyres, and didnt on the Contis. This I find odd on its own...

I'll get Kirsty to send me a printout out of the aligenment results - what should they be putting in?
 
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Haakon said:
I didn't get stefan to align upon fitment as it tracked so perfectly before and I was in a hurry...

Alignment done in hobart by the place that does all teh work for the "Renault service agent" - ie the place I need to use for the warranty.

So dunno if they got it right. They'll get another go at it on Friday.

But it drove straight and well on the OE tyres, and didnt on the Contis. This I find odd on its own...

I'll get Kirsty to send me a printout out of the aligenment results - what should they be putting in?
Click to expand...

hmm!
i find this bewildering and as the person who recommended the pc2 to you, i feel a bit guilty too.
you seem to be doing everything right (lateral swap and re-alignment) and i can't see how tyres would do this.
usual story for pulling to one side is camber thrust which can be caused by tyres unevenly worn across the tread in ways different from side to side but first, these are new tyres and second, you did a lateral swap without effect.
the inconsistencies suggest to me a coincidental suspension or steering linkage fault of some sort and that's where i'd be looking
cheers! peter
 
Nah, you're right Peter - made my own decision there and I still stand by it.

Some very unexpected and odd results... Hobart is a pain for cars that follow cambers - not many level roads! I am hoping its just a freak combination of car and tyre characteristics that dont get along.
 
They get knocked out of alignment quite easily, I have had to have a few alignments and a couple of rim repairs done. They are not a good car to hit potholes in, tell her to slow down a bit and watch for potholes.

There was a report on AF years ago of a steering issue, the steering was found to have not been lubricated when the car was assembled.
 
It changed with the tyres though. Could be coincidence, but I doubt it.

I laterally swapped the front wheels to no effect, I'll get them to do the rears. The alignment wasn't really out, so something is being weird...
 
Haakon said:
It changed with the tyres though. Could be coincidence, but I doubt it.

I laterally swapped the front wheels to no effect, I'll get them to do the rears. The alignment wasn't really out, so something is being weird...
Click to expand...

They aren't a directional tyre are they?
 
No, but asymmetrical. Correctly installed.

They're a good tyre from a trusted seller/fitter. It will be unusual if its a manufacturing fault in one tyre (such as its carcass being a bit conical which I believe can sometimes happen).

The ride quality of the PC2 is not what I had hoped though (I did err towards performance to give some feel back to the electric steering). If I do try other tyres, might go for ComfortContact5 or Michelin MXV8 maybe.
 
Not sure if this a problem... Some odd readings I'll be interested to see if they can reproduce on Friday. Its still throwing me because it drove fine on its OE tyres.

I'm also told one needs to be careful that the steering position sensor is in the straight ahead position when aligning. One would just assume this means the wheel needs to be straight. but...
 

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Haakon said:
Not sure if this a problem... Some odd readings I'll be interested to see if they can reproduce on Friday. Its still throwing me because it drove fine on its OE tyres.

I'm also told one needs to be careful that the steering position sensor is in the straight ahead position when aligning. One would just assume this means the wheel needs to be straight. but...
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what was in the boot ?
 
Nah, that's positive rear camber when it should be negative.

im not convinced they got that right - one look at the car tells you it has negative rear camber...
 

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Haakon said:
Nah, that's positive rear camber when it should be negative.

im not convinced they got that right - one look at the car tells you it has negative rear camber...
Click to expand...

look at the toe figures

the only way they can be so far out is either it's bent, worn or there is something in the boot or backseat on one side that is weighing the car down
 
Haakon said:
No, but asymmetrical. Correctly installed.

They're a good tyre from a trusted seller/fitter. It will be unusual if its a manufacturing fault in one tyre (such as its carcass being a bit conical which I believe can sometimes happen).

The ride quality of the PC2 is not what I had hoped though (I did err towards performance to give some feel back to the electric steering). If I do try other tyres, might go for ComfortContact5 or Michelin MXV8 maybe.
Click to expand...

well, a conical tyre would certainly give camber thrust but Continental are generally considered second only to Michelin in tyre uniformity. Also, you have done a lateral swap.

The CC5 would be a dramatic shift to lower dynamic prowess. I generally like Contis but the CC series is to be avoided I think. The MXV8 is better but oldish. Jo Proffi speaks highly of the Bridgestone Adrenalin 002.

Meanwhile, I remain suspicious of the alignment.

Peter
 
Yeah, the toe figures are a worry - especially as Renault had a lot of hassle with poor tolerances in their rear beams and warranty replacements for excessive rear tyre wear - more of an issue on 17-18 inch rims and wide tyres. Which makes me hope I don't have one of those cars that wasn't apparent on the OE Michelins...

Bit if the camber wasn't read correctly, maybe the toe wasn't either. Fingers crossed they get it right next time!.

I know the car can drive well - it did up until the point the Contis went on... Its all very weird.
 
It was done at TyreRight in Nth Hobart - went there as they're the place used by the Renault service agent.

What's your thought as a local Peter? Send elsewhere for french friendly service?
 
And handling prowess is not something she is looking for as such - not tracking road camber and ride comfort are certainly appreciated and decent stopping.

That electric steering kinda negates the value of a good handling tyre anyway!
 
Haakon said:
And handling prowess is not something she is looking for as such - not tracking road camber and ride comfort are certainly appreciated and decent stopping.

That electric steering kinda negates the value of a good handling tyre anyway!
Click to expand...

I'm following this with interest, happily not with a similar issue myself.

My view on the steering (electric, that is) is that the handling is to do with the car changing direction and stopping properly. How the steering system conveys that performance to the driver is a slightly different matter.

Anyway, I'm with Peter. But I don't understand why the tyre change did this. I wonder if they messed with alignment and aren't telling you. Or maybe an apprentice messed with it and hasn't told his boss. Who knows?

Best of luck. And thanks for sharing this one.
 
The thanks will be from me if anyone in the brains trust has a bright idea!

Should also add the place I bought the tyres from is a very trusted source - in fact I was in workshop watching and yacking as he and a sidekick fitted the tyres. Nothing untoward was done there.

Hopefully its just a freak occurrence to punish me for thinking the whole car purchase and take it to tassie thing had gone smoothly :rolleyes:
 
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