ZX Tyres

rossnunn · Post by **rossnunn** » 16 Dec 2004, 15:48

My ZX has locked a wheel twice in two days, under normal braking.
I first wondered after it getting very upset in cornering, it may have a ball joint done or similar.
But after these lockups I turned my attention to the tyres.
I've not long (3-4 weeks) had a new set fitted all round:
FRONTS: Trayal T400 185/65 R 14's
REAR: Stunner SV198 185/65 R 14's
Good / Bad??

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 16 Dec 2004, 16:30

They aren't wonderful tyre brands, but I wouldn't expect cheap tyres to lock wheels under "normal braking" you could have a snatchy brake. Have you checked your tyre pressures?
If your tyres aren't wearing incorrectly (check for feathering / non-uniform wear on shoulders etc) the suspension is most likely to be ok, it takes time for a slight suspension problem to show up in the tyres, but not very long at all for a big problem.

rashmore · Post by **rashmore** » 16 Dec 2004, 17:49

Never heard of front tyres. Roads are slippery anyway.
Haven't u just upgraded brakes to volcane. maybe beginning to bed in properly - new pads/disks, still getting used to them/ inbalance between calipers ?

VisaGTi16v · Post by **VisaGTi16v** » 16 Dec 2004, 18:02

Ive not heard of either brand! Budget tyres can be shocking bad compared to more expensive ones. You wont notice it so much in the dry other than a lot more squealing but in the wet the difference can be staggering. I first noticed this when i had 2 visa's before, one with £20 budget tyres on the front, the other with £45 pirelli P6000's, the difference was just stupid. Better tyres will have a far greater benefit to the handling of the car compared to stiffening suspension a bit etc

Jambo · Post by **Jambo** » 16 Dec 2004, 18:46

Ross - I had this problem for a while on a 306. It seemed to lock its n/s front wheel under braking that wasn't very hard. I left black lines all over the west coast of Scotland whilst on holiday! I did initially put this down to the cheap tyres, however, there was a noticable 'lag' between pressing the brake and retardation.
It turned out to be one of the bushes on the wishbone (the rear one) which was really on its last legs, allowing the wishbone a significant front-rear movement. I may be corrected, but isn't the fron suspension of the ZX the same as the 306?

rossnunn · Post by **rossnunn** » 16 Dec 2004, 18:52

I've been told Stunner are very good, I too havent heared of the fronts.
I've had the TD brakes on for at least a year & a half.
I'll check the pressures this weekend.
It used to corner really well, at first I thought it was me aquaplaining the car, but then it did it in the dry, no squealing, just locked one front.
On the cornering front - turning left is fine, it loads up nicely all is well. Turn right however & it doesn't seem to load up. The inital turn is good then its dead - making you turn in more, just like its going straight on, then it kinda grips and throws you into the bend - I've acutally stopped driving it as I nearly put it into the side of two cars coming the other way.
I'll cheack all & report back....

rossnunn · Post by **rossnunn** » 16 Dec 2004, 18:55

Thanks Jambo, I think I'll strip the brakes & service them, check all the bushes, ball joints & boots while I'm there.

VisaGTi16v · Post by **VisaGTi16v** » 16 Dec 2004, 19:04

Could be the shock or something. One just went on my 16v which resulted in that side bouncing a bit and having no traction at all

VLL · Post by **VLL** » 16 Dec 2004, 22:22

Sounds to me like the front wishbone bushes could be shot if your turning and it suddenly turns in tighter...had that problem with my ZX ages ago and get it about every 5K miles with a work Escort Van that was accident damaged a couple of years ago and never properly fixed.

sooty · Post by **sooty** » 17 Dec 2004, 01:07

allthough this nothing to do with your problem, but are'nt your tyres the wrong size
"FRONTS: Trayal T400 185/65 R 14's
REAR: Stunner SV198 185/65 R 14's"
I thought they should be 185/60 ???
I had a similar problem, where it was loosing the rear in a corner. Most suggested it was the rubber mounts, but some 50k later still the same mounts. It was found to be the tyres at fault (cheapee)from previous owner, then I fitted Goodyear ncts, problem solved.
Now I'm using Kumho Powermax 769, found them wearing well and just as good as Goodyear nct's in all aspects of driving mostly Motorway and Country roads at 25k/yr, only cheaper.

rossnunn · Post by **rossnunn** » 17 Dec 2004, 01:36

A good mate of mine fitted the rubber, he owns a garage & is a big xantia fan (most of his taxis are Xant's), I'll tak to him, see if he has had any problems with them.
The car has done 86K so would suspect the bushes

davethewheel · Post by **davethewheel** » 17 Dec 2004, 02:18

my old zx had some cheapo tyres on it and it was almost dangerous to drive in the wet, i had them fitted to the rear and the back end tried to come round on you even when going slow, not a nice feeling.

VisaGTi16v · Post by **VisaGTi16v** » 17 Dec 2004, 03:13

yer thats a good point, surely they should be 60 profile on volcane alloys and im curious as to where he got the tyres from as I said, ive never heard of them. The rears on my new car are also some unknown budget ones and they are a complete joke in the wet, giving me lots of fun though as the rear wiggles quite easily

oscarloco · Post by **oscarloco** » 17 Dec 2004, 21:13

My ZX came with Yokohamas A502 in front and Bridgestone cheapies in the rear and it was a b*tch to drive as the tail would come out faster than you could spell now.
I replaced them with Sumitomos SRIXON4 and now the car handles extremely well. The only downside of these tires, they are squealers.

sooty · Post by **sooty** » 18 Dec 2004, 00:11

If you're sure its not the tyres giving you grief.
Then from my past experience of this problem in another car would be to check the front bottom ball joints connecting to the strut on the wishbones. If these are worn, you can replace these with a kit, drilling out the rivets and bolting a new replacement in place, if its not been done before by previous owners.