I just recently had a new set of wheels (15x6.5 Rotas) installed onto my box...

I don't know if the tire matters but I believe it's 215 50 15? (I'm not too sure)

but when I drive, the steerings feels "questionable"

what I mean is, it does not feel tight

unresponsive

lazy

and when I drive on the freeway at higher speeds the reaction time of the car is poor and when I have to counter-steer to adjust it "lags" so it will result in swaying in the other direction and quite frankly I feel unsafe...

another adjective I could use when driving on the freeway is "spongy"

it feels spongy when I drive...

1. is this normal when having a new pair of wheels and tires installed?
2. how may I correct this issue? cost?

Thank you

SENSEZ]

 

Is this relative to stock? Perhaps the lugs are not tight (or up to torque). Also check tire PSI. . . inflation matters, a LOT. A few PSI too much or too little can have a relatively large imact on steering feel. Finally, the brand/type of tires make a huge difference.

A big reason why people shy away from smaller wheels is that they often compare apples to oranges in terms of tires. A proper, high traction tire of equal width can exhibit excellent handling characteristics. However, cheap tires will perform exactly as cheap tires should.

But there is no question that smaller aspect ratios (shorter sidewalls) have less flex to them, however 99.9% of all race cars avoid rubber band tires for good reason. But an easy band aid to bad handling is a stiff, thin sidewall tire on an oversized rim.

In the tuner world, many choices often reflect quick band aids (ie sway bars). They work yes (I'm not discounting sway bars either, I'm actually looking into getting a set). . . but the idea is to find the root cause of the problem and address it.

 

it could be the tires I know one of mine is bad and causes a drift to the right.

 

The steering/handling should feel tighter when you get new rims/tires if only because your new tires are better than the stock ones.

Definitely check the tire pressure on all four tires like djct_watt said. That could be your issue. If the tire pressures are ok, then throw the stock wheels back on and check the steering again.

 

You have one or more low tires. A tire that's down on air produces exactly the symptoms that you describe.

There are other problems that cause these symptoms, but seeing as you have only changed the wheels and tires it is highly unlikely that it involves another system.

-Alex

 

thanks for the knowledge fellas... =]

my assumption is that the tire installation place "should" know the appropriate psi for the tires to be at... but then again, everyone "should" know that fire burns eh...

the tires are brand new falkens zeixx (im 99% sure that's what they're called) and i just checked outside that they're actually 205 50 15...

would an alignment aleviate this problem?

another adjective... it feels really sloppy =P

i am also running rs*r springs (if it makes a difference at all)

Thank You

SENSEZ]

 

did you change out those springs without an alignment after?? If so there is your problem!

Just stand back about 15 ft and look at your wheels direction from the front of the car, you should be able to see if one is off camber or mis-aligned

 

springs on a scion unless seriously butchered and completely installed wrong will have little to no effect on camber , toe and caster.

 

i kinda get that feeling on my tc with stock wheels. kinda wierd scares me too when i speed!!

 

Anytime you go with wider wheels, you'll feel the road alot more. I don't know if this is the effect you're getting, but going to wider wheels will cause you to feel variations in pavement angles, dips, level- and it'll all be felt directly in your steering wheel.

This is just a thought. There have been posts on here in the past about how people felt their steering was pulling on the freeway when the were on uneven surfaces-after going to wider wheels. Your situation may be more extreme, so I'd get it checked out.