Long story short. Went and got new 225/40/18 tires put on at a shop near where I work. Normally I wouldn't go near this place because they are a used car dealership / auto work shop but they cut me some serious $$$ off the new tires I wanted because of who I worked for.

So they install the tires onto my new wheels, and my new wheels onto my car. Driving home it feels like my suspension is now..."squishy".

Let me try to explain, when I change lanes really fast...it feels like the front of the car stops but the rear keeps trying to go over and then it comes back too far then stops...like a minifish tail...but barely there.

Is that the new tires? The new tires I have are directional DiamondBack T968 tires and have...like 3/4 to an inch of DEEP tread. Is this just the new tires playing tricks on me? I am also on 18" TRD rims.

What I am suspecting is they jacked the car up on a rear sway support (look at picture) You can see clearly the metal has been messed up a little.

If they jacked the car up on both sides using this piece of metal, could this have messed my rear suspension up and be causing me lots of rear sway...or is it the brand new tires?

If anyone knows or could give an educated guess, please let me know, I am due back on Monday because a weight was thrown 5 minutes into my drive and I have a minor vibration...if there is a suspension problem, I need to address it tomorrow.

The picture is of the "L" piece that attaches to the rear of the suspension and attaches to the body.

 

your new tires could be alot softer than what was on there...what tires?

 

Did you check your tire pressure?

 

Yeah...

RR was 37
LR was 36
RF was 35.5
LF was 34


I am glad they are consistent.

Oh and the tires at DiamondBack TR968 400/A/A


If you guys haven't heard of this happening when you jack it up on those points, then its just the new tires and I am relieved.

Something like this happened to me 1998 Contour SVT at Discount Tire Co....they had to pay for the rear right strut bar to be replaced because someone jacked it up in the wrong spot.

 

id still be ____ed that they bent metal parts under my car

 

You have tread squirm. It's because you have new tires that have a very deep tread pattern to them, as well as being softer than your old tire. If you had the factory tires before the Diamondbacks, this might be the answer to your question.

 

yeah its bent, that's the rear suspension lower support. I'd make them pay for that damage, but it'll be tough to prove it wasnt there before they lifted the car. so many mechanics out there that dont lift with the real lifting points (jacking points). ive had to stand over lots of tire places and argue with them telling them to lift the car the way the engineers designed it.

and the squirm is from the tires, tread squirm from being new. i'm sorry for that damage and you might wanna save your money and replace that crossmember, that's just my standards. and id never go back to that place.

 

Okay, well at least you guys confirmed it is tread squirm...but does that lower support affect handling or alignment in any way? I am going to replace it, but if it doesn't affect anything terribly, I can save my money vs just throwing myself into a hole money-wise.

And my old tires were Kumho KH11's on the stock tC rims...but they tread was down pretty good so there wasn't any tread left to "squirm" on my old tires.

Thanks to all who have helped, I really do appreciate your input in times like these, I just don't know this car that well at this point to know how she behaves...I am NEVER going back to this shop.

If the car is okay with those minor bends in the lower support, I am just going to stay away...but if it really is going to cause problems, I am going to try and go back.

 

It looks fine. Just spray some paint on it to prevent rusting if you are seriously worried about it.

 

Not worried about looks. Like I said, Discount Tire messed up my rear suspension on my 1998 Contour SVT...the car swayed HORRIBLY on the highway and almost made me lose control because they bent a bar similar to this.

As long as it is not structurally compromised..I am fine.

 

yeah some tires have more "squirm" when new than others. I know the bridgestones i've tried in the past were like that when new. But the Toyo Proxes4's were good right away, just more grip, no real squirm.

the bends which of course I don't like since it's a structural reinforcement for the rear suspension. It doesn't need to be ripped out right now, but if it was my car, I'd save up the money to get the part and replace it later. I wouldn't go back to that place, they'll probably screw more up on your car! And the alignment, could be checked out sometime to see if that part was causing anything odd.

oh another thing, are your tires XL rated? it's called Extra Load. If so, they usually require more air pressure than the stock SL (standard load) tires to have the same feel. Mess with the air pressures and you should be able to get a better feel.

the summary? save your money to replace it later

 

It looks like that piece is a just a lateral support so as long as it didn't change the 2D geometry of it, you'll be fine leaving it as is but I do second the idea of painting it to prevent rust. Rust = Bad mmkay? Trust me, I live in Florida with it's wonderful salt air and long rain seasons

 

wow i can't believe you're telling someone to leave a structural reinforcement alone when it's bent. and that painting it is more important due to rust than actually deforming the structural integrity of such an item. You don't even know that it's supporting part of the lower rear control arm. wow, just wow. that is just wow

no they shouldn't leave it as is, save the money and replace it. simple. and if you want to leave bent things alone then go bend your suspension pieces and find out what happens. wow!

 

Learn to read. I said it "looks like a lateral re-inforcement". I didn't take the time to really dive into the subject. My point was to explain the importance of corrosion prevention. If it is indeed vital to proper suspension operation, then I agree with you. Anyone would be an idiot to not address it as needed. No need for the pointless finger pointing. Just correct me if I am wrong like an adult or go back to your coloring book.

 

mm hmmm *yawn*

 

So do you think that these two pieces having the car jacked up on them could cause my rear swaying? I just really think the car handles way differently now. I really didn't think new tires could make the car feel all squishy and spongy.

 

Honestly it doesn't look bad to me. Sure, it is dented, but if it were to be a problem you would notice the dents turn into bends. I doubt what you are feeling is from the picture you showed. The squishy, spongy feeling could be from different rubber compound or more likely your shocks are messed up. Sometimes it is in your head and you just think it feels different. If you just look at it after awhile of driving, you can most likely see if it is progressively getting worse.

 

^ x2 car looks good!

 

don't discount your instincts. If you think it's not right, then it's not right. Try this, take your fingers and just wiggle the tread blocks on the tire, and then see if that wiggle/squirm is what you're feeling.

also if you think the handling has change there is a simple test, get it up on an alignment rack and see if the camber has wildly changed from stock. when do the alignment check make sure you have a full tank of gas. Alignment specs change with weight in the car.
The rears are -0.9degrees for camber and toe is usually around 0.14-0.15inches (each tire) then you'd have the proof of what it is, and you wouldn't have to second guess yourself.

It is possible that it altered the rear suspension slightly but the only way to really know is to put it on an alignment rack and see what the readings are as they are now. If it has changed, like the camber on the side that was bent, then yeah put in a new reinforcement and then check the alignment. I know it's a lot of work but then again to find out but at least you will have an answer and you wont have to wonder/think about it since you have an answer.