Tracking on grooved concrete

[brainpause]

I have only had my Sonic for a couple of weeks and haven't driven it that much. I have another car to drive and I will be using it to tow behind RVs that I am delivering from manufacturer to dealers.

One of the interstate that goes around Nashville is grooved concrete. The grooves are parallel to the direction of travel and aren't necessarily straight. When I travel on this road at approximately 60 miles per hour, it feels like the tires are following the grooves. To describe another way, it feels like it is very windy, and the wind is blowing crossways both directions.

When I am on asphalt, I never have had this sensation. Since I will be using this car for mainly highway driving, I'm a little nervous now because I know there are lots of concrete highways out there.

Has anyone else experienced this, and did you do anything about it?

Larry

 

[busterbrown]

Happened all the time on a certain stretch of highway with my 98 Nissan Maxima prior to its demise. I attributed it to very weak rear sway bar and solid beam on those cars....a common complaint on maxima.org. I don't notice it much in the Sonic as it rides stiffer and suspension components do a good dampening the lateral forces at speed.

 

[mitdr774]

Some tires track the groves more than others and it also depends on the actual groves. My winter tires track to a point that you might almost think I was driving while impaired on a couple stretches of highway. On other grooved sections it doesnt track all that much though. Either way, you wont loose control of your vehicle.

 

[Maddmatts]

The front wheels are specified to have a small amount of toe-in. If one tire has more grip than the other, it could pull the car slightly to one side.

 

[mitdr774]

This isnt a pull to one side or the other, its the tires following the grooves in the pavement. The car will wander both left and right based on the grooves. It is also more pronounced than a typical pull due to an alignment issue.

Its a lot less fun on a motorcycle where you can feel the bike squirming around under you.

 

[Hdmanny]

I had the same thing happn to me and bet you were on 440 like I was when it happened. It was not a fun ride as the car wandered and followed the groves, I thought it was my new tires that caused it but I guess it is the car.

 

[brainpause]

Yep. 440 in Nashville.

Just arrived in Rochester Indiana. Drove through several hours of snow and ice. The car performed quite well. I did have to turn off traction control in a parking lot trying to get out because the snow was so deep. However once I still got on the highway I did pretty well.

 

[Hdmanny]

I was on 440 Wednesday and it was worse after the snow and ice on the road. I wonder if there are other cars that have the same issue, none of my other cars had it.

 

[brainpause]

Have driven on 440 in no less than seven other vehicles. The Sonic is by far the smallest of those 8. None of the other vehicles did it.

 

[mitdr774]

Different tires will track different. I find that softer sidewalls are more likely to wander than stiffer sidewalls, and wider tires more likely to wander than narrower tires. The wander is more the result of the tires than the car.

 

[Brad Ferrell]

My Hankooks do the same thing here in Houston on I45. Can't wait to get the Michelins.

 

[brainpause]

Different tires will track different. I find that softer sidewalls are more likely to wander than stiffer sidewalls, and wider tires more likely to wander than narrower tires. The wander is more the result of the tires than the car.

I kinda figured it was more the tires, but the light weight of the car made it more susceptible to wandering.

Anyway, I just completed driving 700 miles in 5 days in it, and the only place I encountered any of it was right here near home. So, I'm not worried about it much anymore.

Larry

 

[Hdmanny]

The tires I have now are V rated instead of the H rated OEM tires, they are 5% taller but I did not think it would make that big a difference. It could be due to having a tread dept of 12/32 when new and the light weight of the car making it more noticeable.

 

[mitdr774]

This car is no lighter than previous GM cars that actually fit into the next segment up. Even when my 02 Cavalier was gutted and far lighter than my Sonic it didnt track horrible. It does come down to the tires. I have tires that make me look like a drunk driver on grooved roads, and tires that will track just fine with no wander.

 

[ahtoxa]

Agreed. It is all about the tire. Some tread patters are more inclined to follow grooves than others. Tires that have wide, parallel (to the direction of rotation) rain grooves will generally track worse.

 

[Hdmanny]

You should try them on a motorcycle, not fun at all.