New tires 245/45ZR18

BlackIceLSC

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My 98 LSC came with Michelin Pilot sport A/S tires....they were ok...smooth, lasted a long time but are pricey! Even when worn BEYOND the wear bars, they were smooth as silk, and quiet.
it was time for some new ones. I am a service manager at an auto repair shop. I decided to try some Ironman iMove 2 A/S

https://d2gvvn2873sxv5.cloudfront.n...etire/logo.png,0,0,1)/tiregallery/11638/1.jpg



....They are made by Hercules, which is owned in part by American Tire Distributors, one of my leading suppliers.
I got a great deal, so on they went. I developed a huge balancing issue/vibration at 2 speeds: 45 mph I had steering wheel wobble, like a OOR tire. I rebalanced them, and they were barely off. I suspected our balancer was out of calibration so I recalibrated it. Now the vibration changed from 45 to 70-73 mph. Under light acceleration the rear felt off. When coasting, the front felt off. It would come and go, so I suspected it was the car. I rotated them front to rear and nothing changed. I was sure it was the car. Some days there was no vibration....I was perplexed. But knowing I bought cheap tires, I contacted ATD and decided to turn them in and try something else.
I did some research and found tires designed in Finland for "heavy, performance cars"....well, guess what? That's what I drive!

I bought Nokian Z-line tires. Their reviews talked about great wet-weather handling, smooth quiet ride and decent tread life.

https://www.nokiantyres.com/summer-tyres/nokian-zline/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm-FodKRM0M

I installed them late Friday after work. They balanced out beautifully, with hardly any weight. all wheels are perfectly round, I use hub-centric rings, and properly hand-torqued all lugs. The valve stems were lines up with the wheel lock and the yellow-painted wheel stud on the front. The tires have no movement when spinning on the balancer, nor do the wheels so nothing is OUT OF ROUND.

from 1-68 mph they are hands-down the BEST tire I have ever driven on! At 70-73 mph the vibration is horrible.
I am not sure what else to do at this point. it feels more like driveline related but as we all know, when lifting the vehicle the driveline never changes angle.

I run 245/45R18
wheels are Speedstars with hub-centric rings. Again, the old bald 4 yr old Michelins were smooth.

I suppose I should pay another shop to check/balance the tires for me just in case our balancer is on the fritz but we sold 4 sets of tires yesterday and I test drove the vehicles when they were complete and they were perfect...even a Dodge Ram 2500 with massive 305/70r16 Cooper STT-PRO tires (very heavy and agressive).

Thoughts or suggestions are appreciated as I hate to cause excessive wear to the car. Until then, I'll drive under 70 mph at all times.

The Nokian Z-line tire is AMAZING though....and very inexpensive if you can find them!
 
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