Tramlining

[manamp27]

Like others, I find the car prone to tramlining. Just had my first service And requested a wheel alignment and wheel rotation, as I suspected the car came from the factory with poor wheel alignment. I was right. Tramlining reduced by about 75%. Hope this helps.

[allanv6gt]

Also, I changed from OEM Continental ContactSport2 tyres to Yokohama C-Drive....and tramlining went away (without a wheel alignment).

And, I can now drive with confidence in the wet (especially today thru the Blue Mtns).

And years ago, we changed the tyres on a Mazda 808 wagon from Barum to Uniroyal (still cheap but brand name), and the car stopped wandering all over the road.

Tyres can make a huge difference. Don't skimp.

[Riksta]

I had a wheel alignment done on my MC at its 15,000 service as I felt something wasn't quite right.

I honestly don't know what you mean by tramlining, but here's my symptoms so if it means this then that's what I've got: randomly starting to pull to one side (not limited to which side) for no apparent reason on a straight road; pulling to one side when one wheel hits a bit of a rut in the road (moreso than I've ever experienced). There's one spot of road I HATE here in Adelaide as everytime I hit it (slight left bend with a bit of a dip on the leftmost part of the road) it feels like I've lost a tyre and the thing pulls INSANELY to the left.

The wheel alignment really made no difference at all.

It really would be the ONLY gripe I've come to find with the car so far. Especially when it pulls towards a kerb and you're not ready for it, almost gutter bashed rims a few times now.

I'm trying to save a bit of coin to put Pirellis on it when it needs tyres, maybe that might help as Allan has said, guess its wait and see - bet when the time comes I would have had a random expense and I'll only be able to afford cheapies. I hate putting cheap tyres on, tyres & brakes I will never skimp out on cheapies.

[allanv6gt]

Riksta,
You have described it correctly.
I found when running along bitumen with the 'tyre track lane depressions' (make sense?) the front would grab the uneven bitumen and start pulling in that direction...this was on our local dead straight freeway on my daily commute.

With the Yokohama's, it just rides up over them and I can keep steering with fingertip pressure, not ham-fisted just in case it decides to take over. Much more relaxing now. And the ride is a bit softer too, I suspect due to more pliable side walls (effect of reduced speed rating?). Whatever, the change in tyre brand has fixed my major bugbear with the car.

And again, (repeat my wet weather comments above re OEM tyres).
The Contis' were 300kmh rated, the C-Drive Yopkohama 270kmh rated, but my speedo only goes to 260kmh, so they should be adequate. I paid $280ea, Vs $380-440ea for the OEM donuts.

[Riksta]

Originally Posted by allanv6gt

Riksta,
You have described it correctly.
I found when running along bitumen with the 'tyre track lane depressions' (make sense?) the front would grab the uneven bitumen and start pulling in that direction...this was on our local dead straight freeway on my daily commute.

With the Yokohama's, it just rides up over them and I can keep steering with fingertip pressure, not ham-fisted just in case it decides to take over. Much more relaxing now. And the ride is a bit softer too, I suspect due to more pliable side walls (effect of reduced speed rating?). Whatever, the change in tyre brand has fixed my major bugbear with the car.

And again, (repeat my wet weather comments above re OEM tyres).
The Contis' were 300kmh rated, the C-Drive Yopkohama 270kmh rated, but my speedo only goes to 260kmh, so they should be adequate. I paid $280ea, Vs $380-440ea for the OEM donuts.

Makes perfect sense, I couldn't figure out how to describe it myself!

Thanks for your input.

[Mpr_65]

Thanks to the OP after reading this topic I had a wheel alignment done on my 2011 Titanium after 6000 km and had experienced the same problem. After the alignment the car is MUCH better to drive and steer. Thanks again.

[b2428]

Does anyone know what causes the mondeo to suffer so bad from this. My car tracks massively, even after an alignment. My tyres are almost due so looking at some toyo teos so hope this may ease it. Ruins a great care.

[GT2]

What tyre pressure is everyone running?
I have my wifes MC Titanium Diesel set at 40PSI front & rear. The car drives very nice with no tramlining vagueness what so ever.

[Mpr_65]

Funny that the issue is with both Titanium models as well as Zetec considering the wheel size and suspsension is different on each model.
I have my tyres at 38PSI front and rear. Although the problem improved greatly after a wheel alignment it hasn't disappeared completely.

[allanv6gt]

The XR5 has 40 profile x 18s.
I religiously check and maintain tyre pressure on all my cars, at around +2-4 psi more than manufacturer recommends.

Change of OEM tyre brand (problem since new), and no more problemo.

[whitetdci]

tram lining is a generally a road and tyre issue and doesn't have much to do with a vehicle itself. It can be exacerbated however by poor wheel alignment worn components and tyre pressure.
tirerack have a fairly comprehensive explanation here.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=47
I have found that certain tyres seem to be more prone to tram lining that others. Allan has pointed out the difference he found when fitting new tyres. The C drive Yokos are a very safe tyre that I have run on numerous cars. I can recommend them if you are after a touring tyre that will still perform well in the wet. It would seem that OEM tyres fitted are susceptible to tram lining and would only get worse with wear.

[ope126]

Originally Posted by GT2

What tyre pressure is everyone running?
I have my wifes MC Titanium Diesel set at 40PSI front & rear. The car drives very nice with no tramlining vagueness what so ever.

So GT2, does your Titanium have 235/45 R18 98W or 235/40 R18 95Y tyres from factory?

From what I can gather;

MA / MB XR5 Turbo; 235/40 R18 95Y
MC Zetec EcoBoost; 215/50 R17 95W
MC Titanium Diesel / EcoBoost; ???

[ope126]

Originally Posted by ope126

So GT2, does your Titanium have 235/45 R18 98W or 235/40 R18 95Y tyres from factory?

From what I can gather;

MA / MB XR5 Turbo; 235/40 R18 95Y
MC Zetec EcoBoost; 215/50 R17 95W
MC Titanium Diesel / EcoBoost; ???

After searching on Ford UK and Germany it appears that all MC models with OEM 18" wheels have 235/45 R18 98W tyres.

[ope126]

Originally Posted by Mpr_65

Funny that the issue is with both Titanium models as well as Zetec considering the wheel size and suspsension is different on each model.
I have my tyres at 38PSI front and rear. Although the problem improved greatly after a wheel alignment it hasn't disappeared completely.

Does anyone actually know if there is a difference in suspension / spring heights? In UK they have a Titanium X Sport; similar in specs to our Titanium with 18" wheels. It mentions "sports suspension" and in Germany they have the Titanium S that also mentions sports suspension (although I find it hard to read German!) They mention 10mm, I can only assume that would be a 10mm drop in ride height, thus the Titaniums here in OZ would be 10mm lower also? The only other mention is the OEM Accessory of Eibach Pro-Kit Springs which will provide a 30mm lower ride height.

[GT2]

Originally Posted by ope126

So GT2, does your Titanium have 235/45 R18 98W or 235/40 R18 95Y tyres from factory?

From what I can gather;

MA / MB XR5 Turbo; 235/40 R18 95Y
MC Zetec EcoBoost; 215/50 R17 95W
MC Titanium Diesel / EcoBoost; ???

235/45 18 factory Conti's on a Titanium diesel.

[mik]

my own theory is tyres that have all straight grooves only l l l l l l seem to tram line more , tyres with the v type tread seem to roll over raised bits in the road better, just a theory though, what do you guys think? i was going to go for the v type last set of treads but could`nt getem in my rim siize.
/\
/ \
/ /\ \

[whitetdci]

Originally Posted by mik

my own theory is tyres that have all straight grooves only l l l l l l seem to tram line more , tyres with the v type tread seem to roll over raised bits in the road better, just a theory though, what do you guys think? i was going to go for the v type last set of treads but could`nt getem in my rim siize.
/\
/ \
/ /\ \

From my experience I think this theory would be correct. Unable to empirically prove this myself though

[allanv6gt]

Have a look at those tyres which combine both straight bands on the inner side, with more agressive blocking on the outside half.
Also, consider tyre pattern harmonics Vs suspension setup.

I'm sure there is some science going on here......

[whitetdci]

There probably is but as mik said it seems to be the straight tread not the v treads that have the problem as they track along the lines on the road much the same as when a 4wd is stuck in a rut