Hi all. I can't help but feel like I have the worst freakin luck with aftermarket wheels and tires.....

It took me a while to figure out what wheel and tire combo I wanted to put on my 08 V8 Pathfinder. I remember pulling up to a guy in a 2007 Pathfinder that had 20's and asked how he liked them. He said he was taking them off because the vehicle felt squirrely at higher speeds. I dismissed that as someone with a bad balance and cheap wheels. Anyway, I finally landed on some Boss Chrome 20's with 285/50's. It looks awesome. I was going to go with an ATR tire, but decided instead to go with something more street/sport that weighed a little less.

And now the nightmare ....

Anyone else running 20's on their vehicle? When I hit 60mph, I feel just about every little bump of the road in my steering wheel. It feels squirrely to the point of being distracting (sounds just like the guy I bumped into before buying). I brought it back to the guys I bought the wheels from thinking it was a balancing issue. They tried rebalancing 6 times and they agree as do I that it isn't a balancing problem. The dealer says there isn't anything wrong with the steering, that it has to be the wheels. The Director of Service at the dealership even drove it with me and agreed that the steering was too sensitive. I took it too another tire/wheel pro and they said it (the wheels) shouldn't have that kind of feedback at all.

I'm stumped not to mention pissed for having to waste so much time (and money) on this. By the way, this isn't my first SUV with 20's. I had an Explorer and never had this kind of problem..even with lower profile tires than what I have on the Path.

For those running 18's with big tires (31 + Diameter), do you have any problems at higher speeds?

Any ideas?

Thank you!!


S

Just my experience BB, I thought this truck was a POS when I first got it off the lot, steered itself all over the road with stock 245/75R16's, felt like driving a 1950's freaking gravel truck. Had the dealership put on a spec alignment and I still have to pay attention at 40 mph that it doesn't drive itself into a ditch. Imagine my surprise when I took it out on an extended run at 90 to 100 mph. ...tracks perfectly and returns to center all of the time, smooths right out and feels like something way more expensive.

Too bad I only get to do 90 mph runs in this area for about 20 - 30 minutes at a time. This truck would be awesome on European high speed highways.

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they are great at high speed ran my pathy at the top speed governor of 115 for 3 hours down the 5 it was great i really love the pathfinder

Well with 20's and that low pro tire there is no side wall for the tire to give some cushion on the steering and suspention. Why in the world would you do that to a PF? I hate the 20" look. The ride sucks and you can not carry weight in the back now and the stress from the extra force to turn them is going to kill your truck

If anyone thinks the PF steering sucks try driving a real 4x4 with a steering box, pitman arm, idler arm, centerlink and 33x12.50 or bigger The PF steering is great. I wish I had the 16" and not the 17" that came wiht my 08 PF
If it was up to me the PF would have 15x8 wheels and 31/10.50 bfg A.T

sent in a pm to Birdbath8


Message I got back-
Thanks for the insight. So, if I heard you correctly, if I went back to my original 18's with a higher sidewall profile I'd probably get back to a better ride? 18's x 8.5 with 285/60? What do you think? I definitely will not go 15's although I get your point.

Thanks. S

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If you got to http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos you will find that the two tires are very close in size. The main thing is the overall diameter and section width along with RPM. This way your tire will stay clase to stock to give you a correct fit in the well and your not messing with your speedo and loss of power.
specs- on 20" wheel and 18
20" --- 18" --- 18" stock
Results 285/50 --- 285/60 --- 265/60

Sidewall Height: 5.61 --- 6.73 --- 6.62
Section Width: 11.22 --- 11.22 --- 10.43
Overall Diameter: 31.22 --- 31.46 --- 30.52
Circumference: 98.08 --- 95.85 --- 95.88
Revs per mile: 666.24 --- 661.18 --- 681.52

As you can see the 20" wheel is sidewall hight is alot smaller than the 18" stock. This stlye of BIG RIMS on RUBBERBANDS is a Bad way to kill your ride and steering. Everyone says WOW 20" but they dont have to pay for it. Go back to stock and get a nice looking 18" aftermarket rim to complement you PF and you will be happy.

Granted, every vehicle is different, but my Tahoe with 295/45/20s in back rode great and was still able to pull 5000 pounds worth of loaded trailer with no problem at all. Had 265/50s in front and the steering and ride was fine.

IMO, the problem the OP is experiencing is with the the steering of the PF, and the wheels just amplify the problem. I know you aren't supposed to need on on a rack and pinion setup, but I feel like this rig could really use a steering damper. Going to try and set something up soonish. I also wonder is maybe taking out a little bit of the toe would smooth the wheel out on the freeway. It isn't that it feels darty, just that the wheel shakes with the road imperfections(sorry, thinkng outloud here). I'll figure something out and post back up....

The other problem could just be that the wheels don't have a good balance. Before doing anything else, I would spend the money and find a place that can road force balance your wheels and tires, and see if the problem you have still exists.

Captain caveman wrote:
As you can see the 20" wheel is sidewall hight is alot smaller than the 18" stock.

it's a tick over a half inch all the way around the tire... I'd hardly call that "a lot".

Birdbath8 wrote: The dealer says there isn't anything wrong with the steering, that it has to be the wheels. The Director of Service at the dealership even drove it with me and agreed that the steering was too sensitive. I took it too another tire/wheel pro and they said it (the wheels) shouldn't have that kind of feedback at all.

Okay, I really paid attention to your original post this time... I feel like mine does this right now with the stock 18" wheels and tires. I can only imagine what a heavier would do. The only simple solution I can come up with is some type of steering damper setup, maybe even a dual setup with one damper on each side. I'll see if I can get something going and post up with the results. I want to use an adjustable damper, though, which would raise the price, but probably be worth it in the end.

Again, this is something I don't like about this vehicle and mine is bone stock.

Sorry for the multiple posts, just adding to this as I think more about it.

Captain and Billy, I appreciate your help. Will likely go back to aftermarket 18's. It definitely is not a balancing issue as it has been load balanced by the best machine on the market. I have had two different places confirm that the balance is perfect.

Thanks again.

S

Hey Billy T. Are you a mechanic? You mention steering dampers and trying to rig the Path for them...is this a long shot or a real possibility? Just curious.

Thanks for the help.

Ive been a mechanic for 7 years now. Yes a Steering stabiler will take some of the road imperfections(shakes) away from the steering wheel but it also hides bad(worn out) tierods and other bad steering parts. Like I said in my last post the PF steering is great. Try driving a 31x10.50/15r now that gives your steering wheel a loose feel. Every car/truck ive been in with after market rubber band wheels the ride and steering go to sh*t.
One thing is that a tire company has to make the side wall of low pro tires our of harder rubber were on a suv tire you can get them with a softer side wall. But some truck tires like BFG Mud / A/t tires have triple sidewall protection.

Do the 18"s with stock tire size

I know tires, Ive had trucks and cars with 31x10.50/15r to 33x12.50/15r and 255x40/17 and 265x65/17r

I would go with this tire first BFG long trails
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/findTi ... H4&rf=true

or go with Goodyear silent armor
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/findTi ... H7&rf=true

both tires are solfter rubber to give you a cushion feel on the road but you will get a softer steering too.
For me I would get the BFG I had them on a pickup and it was a great tire

Billy T. wrote:It isn't that it feels darty, just that the wheel shakes with the road imperfections(sorry, thinkng outloud here).

That's the only major complaint I have about my PF. I have stock 17's, and it's been a problem from day-one. I don't recall experiencing anything like that with any other vehicle I've owned (and there have been a bunch).

During my first week with it, I traded the original equipment General tires for Michelin Cross Terrains, and even had 'em road force balanced. That did not resolve the issue.

Let us know if you come up with a fix.

Birdbath8 wrote:Hey Billy T. Are you a mechanic? You mention steering dampers and trying to rig the Path for them...is this a long shot or a real possibility? Just curious.

Thanks for the help.

I own a VW/Audi performance and maintenance shop. Have built everything from 800hp VW GTIs to Jeep Cherokees on 34" tires and everything in between.

We could surely get it done. I've been messing with my old bug a lot here lately, but as soon as it is done, i will take a harder look at the potential for a damper setup.

Thing is, all of the rigs are pretty much brand new(mine has 6500 miles on it), so the potential for them to have bad tie rods is pretty slim. Not to mention, I noticed it almost immediately the first time I drove it.

Captain caveman wrote:Every car/truck ive been in with after market rubber band wheels the ride and steering go to sh*t.

ride quaility, yes.(even though a good ride is purely subjective) but steering will almost always improve with a lower profile tire. The OPs issue isn't with the steering per se, but with the steering setup in the PF trying to cope with the added weight of the new wheels, which is just amplifying an existing problem.

Bump steer is what we are getting, BTW. Shouldn't be that way stock, though.