Mondeo front end thumping.

[joolz]

HI all. Not sure where to put this but here it is. Ford says this is normal for a 2018 Mondeo on Continental tyres with 38k on the clock.
Almost full lock either way front tyres skipping sideways and making thumping sound in car. Worse on right turns under very light acceleration.
Radial noise at 53 and 81 km/h (Sounds like a V6 commodore with loud exhaust driving beside me).
Ford says wheel alignment cannot be done when tyres are worn but tyres not needing to be replaced yet.
Note side way marks on tyre tread. Also rear tyres feathering on the outside and fronts on the inside. The tyres were rotated a month ago from front to rear as a set.
No alignment done since new and no gutters or pot holes hit.
Any info on what is really going on and tyre recommendations would be appreciated.
I wont be going to Ford for tyres or alignment as they obvisly don't care. Cheers, Julian.

[GasoLane]

Moved to Mondeo Forum

[asteele-xr6]

I learned that there is no substitute for regular alignment of both front and rear wheels - and I do it at every service.

I have previously had to replace far too many tyres though improper wear - my Peugeot 508 was a shocker, Mondeo has been great - but I still re-align at each service to ensure it remains so.


Alignment can shift without hitting a pot-hole, and if left unchecked it can destroy a tyre well before you have driven the expected km on it.

If you don't trust that your dealer has the right equipment and sound minded mechanic to operate it, then go do a tyre centre that does - and they should be able to provide you with a before and after report too.

Hope this helps - good luck!

[joolz]

Originally Posted by asteele-xr6

I learned that there is no substitute for regular alignment of both front and rear wheels - and I do it at every service.

This I when I realised Ford don't care when they said "a wheel alignment cant be done when tyres are worn". In other words an alignment can only be done with new tyres!!
Great to hear your Mondeo is fine when alignment done at each service which is what I thought (every 10,000-15,000 k's)
This Mondeo is running 18"s and not sure what tyre to get. What brand are you running and how do you find them for handling, wear and noise?

Cheers for the feedback.

[asteele-xr6]

I am now on my 3rd set of new tyres, and have mostly used Michelin Pilot Sport 4's - but that's because Costco had a good deal at the time I needed them.

I am not sure I can make much of an assessment for handling wear and noise, but I am assuming Michelin have put some money into research and development... and they seem fine to me, and I certainly drive with spirit and enthusiasm!

I recon that the regular alignment and running them 2psi higher than is recommended is the trick to getting the best value and performance from them.

[evanlau]

Originally Posted by joolz

Almost full lock either way front tyres skipping sideways and making thumping sound in car. Worse on right turns under very light acceleration.

I noticed this recently on mine as well. Only done 15,000km with the original Continental SC5 tyres. Mostly when the ground is wet/damp with tyres turned either way, going over bumps (e.g. driveway to road). I assumed the tyres are doing exactly what you describe here - skipping and thumping. Also experience a bit of wheel spin in wet/damp conditions when taking off, e.g. at roundabouts, even without putting the foot down too hard.

Is this a thread issue? It's just been for a service and told no issues with tyres..

[thebigd]

joolz.
I cant relate to your thumping issue, but since there's been some comments about OE tyre performance...
I've been lucky enough to have had two new Mondeo company vehicles allocated to me in 14 months. The first one (build 1/18) had Michelin Primacy 3 tyres. My new one (7/18) build has the Conti CS5's. I wont say chalk and cheese, but the Michelin is a far better product IMO. Clearly much more quiet on the rough stuff, and better grip in those just wet / slippery conditions.

[bundybear75]

I'm still staggered at the fact you have got 38,000km out of a set of tyres. ��

[NX74205]

Check alignment, check tyre pressures. When I had this issue on mine, I noticed that it happened mostly on wet roads, and saw that the front tyres were worn on the outside. Replaced the front tyres and that fixed the problem.

[AlanD]

We exit our estate facing uphill onto a road with an 80 kph limit and if I'm turning left I have to be very careful with the throttle, otherwise I will lose traction on the inside (passenger) wheel of the car.

Now for those mechanically minded the following might be teaching people to suck eggs - Sorry !

But for those who are not, the MD diesels ford import to Oz have a first gear ratio of 3.583:1 and its final drive ratio is 2.905:1 (SFAICT). These two numbers multiply together and the result multiplies the torque figure from the engine by the same value.

So with that sort of multiplication there could be as much as 4150 Nm being fed to the driving wheels. If the tyres have any kind of limitation in terms of grip then losing traction when cornering is not very difficult to do.

I have the same problem backing out of the drive - especially in the wet - and the problem is worse in reverse because reverse gear is a higher figure than first gear (4.843).

So my view is that it has little to do with alignment and a lot to do with the engine torque figure. Motto: gently does it - especially in the wet.

Oh I'm running Continental Contisport Contact 5 tyres that will need replacement in a couple of thousand ks when they will have covered about 35000km. I don't think I will be putting the same tyre on the wheels.

I can say the "problem" has gotten worse as the tyres have worn.

Cheers