Did a maintenance and bolt tightening, but then bought new tires and alignment.
Went up to 215/45/17 and 245/40/18 ps4s.
Now when the car is parked, when I turn the steering wheel it is loose before I could actually turn the tires. And of course it feels a lot looser on the freeway.
Before I go back to the service shop or the tire place, anyone have an idea? So I can know which place to go to and get it fixed
Easy to check pressures too. Fronts even slight high or at door placard suggestion make front feel very loose. Light car with no front weight really magnifies the effect. Most run front little below door placard number.
I agree with Phil
If you just got new tires, your tire pressure is probably 10-20 psi too high.
In order to set the tire bead on the rim, they have to over inflate the tire. Most tire shops, don't go back and release the extra PSI to the recommended setting that is on the driver door jamb. As such, the contact patch of the tire is probably just the center of the tire vs sidewall to sidewall.
To back up this thought, I too, had new tires installed, when I got home, I checked and my tires were set to 39psi Front 40psi Rear.
I immediately dropped that to 26/29psi F/R
You’ve also got a protective coating on the tyres that needs a few tens of miles (km) to wear off. It’s makes the tyres a little more slippery and as a result the steering wheel easier to turn. You’ve probably not noticed this before if all your previous cars have power steering. It’s very noticeable with the unassisted steering of the 4C. It’s also the reason not to go silly on new tyres. Bikers know all about it.
Ahh I see. I’ll give it some time then to wear down a bit and see if it makes a difference. It’s just so easy to turn the steering wheel now that it freaked me out a little.
You’ve also got a protective coating on the tyres that needs a few tens of miles (km) to wear off. It’s makes the tyres a little more slippery and as a result the steering wheel easier to turn. You’ve probably not noticed this before if all your previous cars have power steering. It’s very noticeable with the unassisted steering of the 4C. It’s also the reason not to go silly on new tyres. Bikers know all about it.
So... Check psi, drop front 2 below door; break in shiny new tires to get rid of release mold chems, and while we're at it, note that worn tires that wore down nicely are sooo good. You'll miss your ol' friends, even if the new ones have more grip potential. Tread depth on new tires kinda ruins the fun for a bit. Of course, if not aligned, get that done.
If the old tires were well worn...the new ones have lots of tread so some of that squirming is the rubber tread moving....that along with the protective coating. Finally with a bit larger diameter tire there is additional sidewall that flexes also.
With ps4 I noticed they're overall great tire but not quite as sharp steering response as p zero and not as stiff. Couple that softer sidewall with more tread depth as new tire and you could explain the feeling of looseness.
Of course the alignment specs could also be contributing as well...