Odd noise/stuttering from front tires when turning hard

Originally Posted by speedworks

It is definately just the tires, and should only feel it in the cold temperatures. I have recently had it come back, now that it is starting to get cold up here. Essentially the tire tread rubber gets stiff in the cold weather, less flexible and scraps, giving you that feeling. Not a real problem, and may happen in warmer temperatures, but the rubber is probably more flexible and it doesn't scrap making the noise/feeling. Now, in my opinion it is a poor design (being a former tire designer), and shouldn't be on the car - they obviously didn't do much winter testing. I won't complain, not worth the hassle, since it only happens when the temperatures are low, and the tire is cold. It doesn dissappoint me every morning as I leave my driveway and have the issue occur. Just means I look forward to my first set of replacement tires.

Originally Posted by speedworks

Not necessarily the manufacturer, but the actual design. OEM tires are designed, developed, and tuned for that particular car, every manuf/model being different. They are tuned for dry perf, wet perf, noise, rolling resistance, wear, comfort, uniformity, look, etc. You can't have an all around perfect tire, because as one factor increases, usually another factor is reduced. in my opinion, this particular tire was poorly evaluated in cold weather. When I worked at both Michelin and Ford, this would have been found during cold weather testing, and eliminated. As a designer, it is dissappointing. But, what can you do - but buy different tires.

Originally Posted by kannibul

It all depends on the application. Otherwise, we'd all be using R-Compund tires with just enoguh groves cut in them to make DOT happy.

Originally Posted by speedworks

I'm talking the OEM tire that comes with the car, and all the characteristics come by the design team (usually lead chassis engineer).