Do you guys running 18's find that 265/35R18 gets squirrelly sometimes?

davemarco

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I recently switched from the OEM wheels/tires to a set of 18 inch Titan 7's wrapped in the new Michelin Cup 2 Connects (265/35). While putting them through their paces, I found that while they definitely seem to have a lot of grip under hard cornering, the turn in is much less sharp than the stock setup. But what's really been freaking me out is what I'm guessing is a combo of torque steer and tramlining.

When I'm driving at high speed on the highway, the car randomly tugs me to the left or right. I'm guessing that this is tramlining from the highway being an imperfect surface and the tires being wider and stickier. It's very unpredictable and a little unnerving. Is this normal on all 265 width 18 inch setups? If I were to increase my tire pressures (decreasing my contact surface), would it lessen this effect?

The other thing has been the torque steer, which is only really pronounced doing WOT pulls on a straight away. I have a FBO tune from DRob that pulls hard. On the OEM setup, the car tracks almost perfectly straight at WOT in any gear. On the 18 inch Titans (+45 offset), it definitely bucks hard to the left and right during lower speed WOT pulls. Is this a normal thing for this setup?

I really like the look of the 18's, and I'm wondering if there are any tweaks that I can make to help lessen these effects?
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TypeSiR

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R14344

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I've been having the same thing but I am still on stock tire/wheel/suspension. It's very alarming how much I fight the steering wheel under acceleration and high speed. The car dances on the highway. Sometimes violently moving between lanes with no steering input from me.

Now that the new wheels and tires have arrived before I swap over I will likely take the car in to Honda and have them check the alignment. As it stands right now the car actually scares the shit out of me.
 

NukeKS14

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Oh yeah. I had this issue on my 1LE running 285s. Going to a 305 track tire only made it worse, which was a shame. That car was a lot of fun but the steering was completely vague and numb. Alignment may help but no combination of tire pressure and that irascible electric power steering rack could get the car to talk to me and stop going off on its own course.

Maybe a less sticky all season tire could help? Im curious if anyone else has some good ideas here. Still on stockers with my FC3 but I'm already researching what I can fit up there/looks good...
 

NapalmEnema

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Sam3

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Tramlining should not be pronounced at high speed. I had a 2020 Shelby GT350 with 295 front and 305 rear on Cup 2's, and it tramlined badly at low speeds. At high speeds, I didn't feel any. With the Type R on stock tire/wheel dimensions, I never felt any tramlining at any speed, even with the Cup 2s.

Tramlining at high speeds and not being able to put the car on the line you want is dangerous and should be addressed immediately. Like others suggested here, you should get your car checked with a high performance suspension/alignment shop.
 

boosted180sx

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i dont notice any tramlining on my car.

as for torque steer, its a little more pronounced but its not really a big enough deal.
 
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davemarco

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Interesting thoughts about the alignment. I actually just put RV6 rear control arms and a rear sway bar on the car prior to switching to the 18's, and got an alignment at Honda right when the new wheels/tires went on. Theoretically, could an issue with my install of those parts cause the random side to side drifting on the highway? They seemed to be torqued to spec, and the alignment looked within OEM spec, so if not tramlining, I'm not sure what else it could be.

EDIT: just to clarify, the side to side drifting feels very subtle, happens randomly, and could be easily missed if a driver wasn't very well acquainted with the car.
 

Dream3r

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I would definitely take it to a shop to get some alignment done, also camber like TypeSiR said. Also double check if all are torque to spec also. Maybe even check (i know the wheels are titans but) the balance on them also. Just a double check to be sure. And check the tire tread, maybe something weird on em?

I swapped my OEM ones out to 18x8.5 +35 wrapped in 245/40. I haven't had any issues. I stuck with 8.5's cause running wider wheels on my others cars before did something similar I guess but nothing scary.

Just to note: Spoon sports believe that 18's are good for the Type-R in a recent video this guy did so I think it has to do with width and alignment.
 

Lust

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I get some tramlining or bump steer on really bumpy uneven roads but it’s pretty normal. As for torque steer on your setup, that sounds extremely odd that you’d feel anything significant. Something seems off and my guess is that your toe is out of alignment.

I have 18x10 +40 offset wheels with 265/35/18 A052s and I have no noticeable torque steer.
 


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davemarco

davemarco

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I get some tramlining or bump steer on really bumpy uneven roads but it’s pretty normal. As for torque steer on your setup, that sounds extremely odd that you’d feel anything significant. Something seems off and my guess is that your toe is out of alignment.

I have 18x10 +40 offset wheels with 265/35/18 A052s and I have no noticeable torque steer.
Would you say that it's unlikely that it's related to my new RV6 rear control arms and sway bar? I just checked and everything appears to be torqued properly. What toe specs do you use in the front and rear?
 

Lust

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Would you say that it's unlikely that it's related to my new RV6 rear control arms and sway bar? I just checked and everything appears to be torqued properly. What toe specs do you use in the front and rear?
I would say it's unlikely. I prefer 0 toe in the front and 0 toe in the rear but if you're looking for more stability I recommend some toe in the rear. Try 1/16" total toe in the rear.
 

Eugene_Fk8

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So currently using 595RR for daily, previous using Advan V601. tramlining kind of happen when the edge of the road has a uneven space (concrete edge line) or one side of the road is new and one side is old. But I wouldn't say it's unpredictable since you will see the difference in road. This will be improve when you got proper alignment, so go to the shop you trust and should have no worries. I believe it's more of a road issue since when I drive on track or nice highway, I never feel any unpredictable steering issue even at 135 mph.
 

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I’m on 18x9.5 et35 255/40/18 and it has a moderate amount of torque steer
 
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davemarco

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Ok guys, I think I solved this. I decided to check my tires pressures and found that a couple of them had lost a psi or two (passenger front and driver rear) relative to what they should've been. I went ahead and adjusted the pressures down equally in the front from 36ish to 30ish and the rear from 34ish to 28ish.

Now the car tracks straight as an arrow on the highway and cornering grip seems to be up, but on the flip side, my steering/turn in feel in +R has gone from stiff and heavy to light but direct. Is this a common occurrence when running lower psi on 18's for better grip? What sweet spot do you guys use?
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