e-man

Hi all. I just bought a brand new set of A/S Plus on Friday, and I have the dreaded pull. I've done some searching and I see that this has been a fairly common issue with the A/S Plus, although it's been quite some time since the topic has been discussed. Does the pull eventually go away after the tire breaks in a bit? Is it possible to reduce or eliminate the pull by filling the right side tires to a higher PSI than the ones on the left?

Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

chuckGS350

I have same PSI on both sides. A little pulling to the left side. After a couple thousand miles on the tires, I don't feel it any more. The tires have 12K miles.

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

Rotate the tires from left to right. That should help the pulling, if not I would contact michelin.

Also has the alignment been checked?

e-man

Thanks for the replies guys.

Chuck -- I had the A/S Plus for the past 50k miles with no pulling at all. I tried the A/S 3s for a month, but they were much louder and were very harsh riding (mostly due to the higher load rating, 97XL, as well as the fact that they are made with a harder rubber compound). I switched back to the A/S Plus and the quiet comfortable ride is back, unfortunately with this pulling that I don't recall ever having before. I'll ride it out a bit longer. Hopefully it will go away because it is really getting to me. Do you feel that your pull has gotten better over the last 12,000 miles or is it just that you're used to it?

Ibidu -- the car didn't pull with my first set of A/S Plus's and the car drove perfectly straight with the A/S 3s for the month that I had them. It wasn't until I put the new A/S Plus's on that the pulling developed. Because the car drove so straight for the past 2 years, I decided against getting an alignment. Given the fact that the car drove straight with the original A/S Plus's and the A/S 3s, and is only pulling now, it seems like it would have to be the tires. Unfortunately, I can't rotate them from side to side because they are directional. The only thing I can do is rotate the right side from front to back. I am pretty sure, though, that that won't fix the problem. I think it has something to do with the fact that the tires are new, directional, and are tracking every groove in the road. On the highway, the car drifts right in the lanes that are pitched to the right, but when I move over to the left lane (which is pitched slightly left), the car drives perfectly straight.

Very frustrating because I really love these tires.

e

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

Ya get an alignment, sometimes toyota dealer will offer $50 specials on alignments if you search there site. Explain to the alignment guy the vehicle pulls in one direction.

chuckGS350

e-man, the first 5K miles I felt a bit pulling to the left. After the tire rotation, I didn't feel it anymore.
The car drives straight on the high way. What is your tire pressure? I have mine at 35.

e-man

Can it really be the alignment though? The car always drove perfectly straight until I put the new tires on and I haven't hit anything that would throw me out of alignment.

e-man

I have mine at 32 all around. I may try upping it to 35 on the right side to see if that balances out the pulling (higher PSI on the right side means less rolling resistance, which might compensate for the pulling).

When you rotated your tires, you rotated them front to back I assume. It's strange that you were feeling the pull to the left. Most people who complain about the pull experience the pull to the right (probably due to the fact that most roads are crowned from left to right for drainage purposes).

I intend to post up my review of the A/S 3 in another thread. GS guys with 18s really need to be careful if they intend to go from the A/S Plus to the A/S 3. It's an entirely different animal altogether. I can't understand why Michelin would up the load rating from 93 to 97XL and not give the option of a SL tire.

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

You would be surprised at the smallest things that can throw off an alignment. A lot of places have free alignment checks. Its a small price to pay for peace of mind that will save your tires in the long run

e-man

Quick update. So I increased the PSI on the right side tires to 36 (leaving the left side tires at 32). The idea here is that more PSI decreases rolling resistance, and the car will naturally pull to the side that has more resistance. If the car was pulling to the right before, by increasing the pressure on the right side, this should have the effect of causing less rolling resistance on the right side and, at least relatively speaking, more rolling resistance on the left side and eliminate the pull.

Interestingly, the pulling is less this morning. It's still there, but the increase in tire pressure on the right side definitely had an effect. Obviously, this is more of a band-aid than a solution. Also, I don't like the increased ride harshness with the tires at 36, so that's not a good thing.

e

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Michelin has had issues with the Sport A/S pulling since way back in like 2003 on a variety of different vehicles, most specifically, higher performance luxury cars, Mercedes was the one I remember with the most problems... There was even a redesign of the original A/S, but we still didn't install them on certain vehicles after the revision... I assumed it had gone away with subsequent A/S designs, but have also intermittently heard about this issue continuing as well...

What does your alignment look like? Possibility they are just more sensitive to alignment variations than other tires...

e-man

Hey Mistu. My tire woes continue.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the alignment, but I will definitely have it checked soon. Like I said, I had A/S Plus before and never experienced any pulling (although admittedly I drove them for the last 25k miles of their life as I bought the car CPO). I wonder if it's just because they're new and they're following every groove and crowning of the road. If true, that would mean that the pulling should wear off over time as the tread breaks in.

rockyman

How did the as3 s go? Thinking about that or the Conti DWS?

e-man

In 245 40 18, the A/S 3s were very noisy on the highway and harsh over bumps. I must have called Michelin and Tirerack a combined 10 times over the course of the month that I had them. It comes down to this. In that size, the A/S 3 is a 97XL load rating, as compared to a 93SL rating on the A/S Plus. This made a huge difference. The higher load rating in an XL meant that the A/S 3 had reinforced sidewalls that transmitted every single bump and road imperfection into the cabin. Now granted, the car handled like it was on rails, truly unbelievable, but in my opinion, it's not worth the price you pay in the form of road noise and a harsh ride.

As between the A/S 3 and the DWS, I can't say because I never tried the DWS. I know the DWS gets really good reviews, but on the negative side, there are some common threads -- really soft sidewalls that are prone to bubbling and sometimes blowouts, premature tire wear, noise after a few thousand miles, and flat spotting if the car sits for too long.

When this set of A/S Plus wears out, I'll be faced with a tough decision. I might consider the A/S 3 again, but in a V rated tire as opposed to the Y rated that I had (although the V rated tire in my size is still a 97XL). Now Michelin says that you can't tell the difference in feel between a V and Y rated tire. Tirerack says the opposite. Not sure who to believe.

e-man

Quick update. I've got about 1,000 miles on the tires, and the pulling has definitely diminished. I believe it had something to do with the fact that the tires were new and sticky, and the directional tread pattern has a tendency to follow the crowning of road surfaces. I'll report back in another 1,000 miles or so.

e