Had new tires put on my 03 XC70. Now it's swaying down the road.

Markbbb · Post by **Markbbb** » 11 Nov 2019, 16:51

03 xc70. Had new tires put on last week and immediately felt swaying down the road. Barely move the wheel and the car feels swerving right and left. Took it to a mechanic who test drove it and said it needs shocks and struts, cost $1900. He’s not a Volvo guy. Asked if it could be tie rods, sway bar, etc. he didn’t think so. Worried about sinking that much in car if it’s not what he says. Help!!!

Post by **BlackBart** » 11 Nov 2019, 19:59

New tires didn’t suddenly ruin your struts if they were fine before. I’d guess you put on some very soft sidewall tires, and/or a too-tall sidewall, or soft snow tires....any of which will make it mushy and tend to wallow.

Post by **BlackBart** » 11 Nov 2019, 20:02

EDIT -
...or cheap tires that want to “tram line” or follow every groove and rut in the road. Is the alignment, and especially the toe, correct?

Markbbb · Post by **Markbbb** » 12 Nov 2019, 12:12

I assume alignment is fine. If I let go the wheel it stays straight. Tires I put on are cooper evolution winter 215 65 r16. Thanks for the responce

Post by **BlackBart** » 12 Nov 2019, 13:46

Yeah, probably really soft sidewalls - which is what you want in snow and ice conditions. I don't trust the typical tire reviews you see, but this did catch my eye....

"Dry handing is a little vague at highway speeds but it's a non issue for the winter performance you get. I switch to other tires for summer months so it's not a concern."

I've had several cars where the handling changed with soft winter tires, but that's the trade-off for sticky and compliant on bumpy ice.

Markbbb · Post by **Markbbb** » 13 Nov 2019, 17:25

Thanks. Never heard of this handling issue with tires. So confused what to do. 1900 for new struts and shocks or call Walmart and say these tires are going back and forth down the highway. Canvas struts and shocks actually cause this weaving. Seems to coincidentall

Post by **oragex** » 13 Nov 2019, 18:18

Markbbb wrote: ↑11 Nov 2019, 16:51 Took it to a mechanic who test drove it and said it needs shocks and struts, cost $1900.

Please don't fall for this. Please don't fall for salesmen. They just want to make money and sell their salad. I stopped long ago to listen mechanics blindly

First thing, make sure you have a decent 35psi of pressure - measure this when the car has been parked outside overnight - if they are inflated with regular air, the pressure will drop several PSI as the weather gets colder.

Second thing, on this site, another owner is saying about the same thing with poor car stability - check the neg review http://ca.coopertire.com/tires/evolution-winter

Yes, very probable a tire to have soft wall and also especially a cheaper winter tire can feel like 'waving' because the tall soft tread can be much less stable than an All season - I've driven many different winter tires and usually this difference is felt more at higher speeds. Also, the warmer the weather, the less 'stable' a winter tire will feel

Lastly, I did experience something similar when swapping my summer (All season) with the Winter tires. If your control arms are original, the worn bushings can cause a change in the front wheel geometry when installing a winter tire which possible have larger diameter (because of the deeper treads). Have a look first at the control arms, the rear bushing, turn the wheel and lift that corner, as see how it looks as the rubber is stretching when the car is lifted. If they aren't bad, do a geometry.

By the way, $1900 is horribly expensive for shocks. Even assuming is using genuine parts, it makes no sense. That's even more than a main dealer price - parts alone are under $600 for all four corners (unless you have the rear 4C), and labor is going to be under $150/corner. If replacing the control arms, really find another place.

Also try Fcpeuro for parts, ask us which are worth buying