The official "my Yaris handles bad on the highway/with crosswinds" thread

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by PetersRedYaris

Forget about all the tire pressure BS...

You don't think that tire pressure matters?

[Mead]

Originally Posted by arcath

Okie a update, I checked, max PSI for the tire is 44, and when i checked at the gas station 1/2 mile from work all four tires are at 48-50psi.

i got about 140 miles on the car so far this week. Picked her up monday morning.

Yeah, I have no problem with the car what so ever going under 60mph. Its a great car.

But since I am carrying a 2 year old in the back seat, the car should not feel like im driving drunk if I take the interstate. Say what you will about me, i dont care too much.

I have driven a 86 626, suburu loyale, taurus, f150, small japanese box cars when i was there, and a ranger. Small cars, big cars, none of them have handled like this at interstate speeds before for me.

Sorry if I'm a bit concerned for the safety of my family.

Hey no sweat, I'm not attacking anyone sorry for the misunderstanding... however bumping up beyond the recommended or even hitting max tire pressure is unsafe. It reduces contact patch and it'll be more dicey on the hwy, your stopping distance also suffers. Sorry againg for the misunderstanding.

[Mead]

Originally Posted by blacksan

Dude, my old CJ 5 would take about half turn port-n-starboard just to keep her straight on the interstate! It's kind of hard to explain to folks that have never driven short wheelbase/high center of gravity vehicles before.

yep I love the CJs... too rough around the edges for me to own one, guess I'm too old but yeah, SWB, high CG, and going doorless really teaches a you about physics

[arcath]

Originally Posted by Mead

Hey no sweat, I'm not attacking anyone sorry for the misunderstanding... however bumping up beyond the recommended or even hitting max tire pressure is unsafe. It reduces contact patch and it'll be more dicey on the hwy, your stopping distance also suffers. Sorry againg for the misunderstanding.

thats the thing. I didnt do it. It came stock from the dealership this way.

I was actually surprised when I checked and it was over the max.

::shrugs::

[PetersRedYaris]

Originally Posted by blacksan

You don't think that tire pressure matters?

What I'm saying is that the recommended 32 PSI is fine. I purchased my Yaris in Colorado, drove it 350 miles home on interstate and highway, and it handled absolutley fine; no mods of course, it was brand new. His car should not be "all over the place".

Regarding your high tire pressures- Check the pressures first thing in the morning. Tires sitting in the sun can get very hot and raise pressures significantly.

[ceres]

My car also blows all over the place if the wind is hitting it right. The worst is coming around a bend and having it go right under the front corner. You do get used to it, but if a strong enough gust comes along out of no where (like if you were protected by trees just beforehand), you need to react fast but also be careful to not overreact on the adjustment.

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by arcath

thats the thing. I didnt do it. It came stock from the dealership this way.

I was actually surprised when I checked and it was over the max.

::shrugs::

Don't be shocked at anything. My dealership actually used fine thread fasteners in the rear license plate even though the Yaris uses self taping front and rear. When I pointed this out they basically told me I was an idiot until I pulled the tag and demonstrated that there was no clip arrangement on the rear that would dictate the use of fine thread fastener. There response was that they really did not care and still wanted to argue with me when I demanded to mount the tag myself with the proper fasteners. The service writer and shop manager stood over my shoulder and kept telling me that if I striped the screw holes it was my problem and not theres. Mind you I was using my Leatherman Tool with screw driver bit and they wanted to use there 24V cordless drill with screw driver bit.

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by ceres

My car also blows all over the place if the wind is hitting it right. The worst is coming around a bend and having it go right under the front corner. You do get used to it, but if a strong enough gust comes along out of no where (like if you were protected by trees just beforehand), you need to react fast but also be careful to not overreact on the adjustment.

Believe, or not you even end up wrestling a tractor trailer in heavy wind gusts. Even more so if you are pulling a self contained trailer vs flat bed trailer.

[nsmitchell]

Originally Posted by Chris07LB

I drive 99% highway at speeds between 65-75mph everyday.

I know exactly what you are talking about, and would suggest checking the tire pressure.

Since keeping mine adjusted, the car is perfect.

I must have missed something... Didn't you get a Fit? What ever happened with that? I'm glad you are still here though!

[brickhardmeat]

My dealer put an extra goddamn hole in my rear bumper for the license plate, you would think they could have accomplished this task correctly. Luckily they didn't touch the front.

I would agree the LB does feel "unstable" on the highway with totally stock suspension going 80 in high winds. Nothing totally crazy but it felt like a bit too much work to drive the car before I simply put lowering springs on it. I think giving the car any drop will help. I don't understand how lowering the car puts your children in danger.

Springs would cost you as little as 115. bucks and I think the car would feel great. No one should be over inflating their tires, this is dangerous, 30-32 pounds is perfect and tires aren't your problem

[DorytheYaris]

Originally Posted by blacksan

I have been meaning to ask this, but always forgot. How does the Yaris handle in the snow?

Personally, I think it handles better than my xA did. Way better in fact. It's amazing how versatile these little cars can be.

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by DorytheYaris

Personally, I think it handles better than my xA did. Way better in fact. It's amazing how versatile these little cars can be.

This is the first FWD drive car I have had in years and always had good luck with them in the snow, but was not shore about the super light Yaris. We really don't get that much snow around here, (thank god) and am glad that I have the FWD advantage during the winter.

[grampi]

Originally Posted by blacksan

If you over inflate without the factor of heavy load then you cause the tire to assume a more rounded, or U shaped profile. This causes less of a contact patch/profile in relationship to tire on the road surface. I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination so try to imagine the difference between this ) (over inflation) and this ] (correct inflation) in relation ship to contact patch with road surface. Which would you consider more stable?

Not true. As long as you stay under the max pressure listed on the sidewall, you'll suffer no ill-effects (with the exception of a stiffer ride, of course). Tires are made to hold their shape up to the max pressure regardless of vehicle weight. According to every tire expert I've talked to, running with the pressure listed on the driver's door plus 5 PSI is optimum for traction, handling, max tread life, and lowest road noise. The only benefit to running right at the recommended pressure is a smoother ride, but then everything else suffers.

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by grampi

Not true. As long as you stay under the max pressure listed on the sidewall, you'll suffer no ill-effects (with the exception of a stiffer ride, of course). Tires are made to hold their shape up to the max pressure regardless of vehicle weight. According to every tire expert I've talked to, running with the pressure listed on the driver's door plus 5 PSI is optimum for traction, handling, max tread life, and lowest road noise. The only benefit to running right at the recommended pressure is a smoother ride, but then everything else suffers.

http://www.thedieselstop.com/content...re%20Inflation

[nsmitchell]

Originally Posted by blacksan

http://www.thedieselstop.com/contents/getitems.php3?Proper%20Tire%20Inflation

Great article!

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by nsmitchell

Great article!

I didn't want to argue the fact, but I grew up in the heavy industry business and often pilot a vehicle up to and beyond 80K GVW. If I followed some of the advice given here I would have blown tires and killed myself, and or other innocent folks on the road.

[deebrown]

Originally Posted by blacksan

http://www.thedieselstop.com/content...re%20Inflation

no offense, but "the diesel stop" website looks pretty cheesy - like it was put together by some guy with Frontpage in his basement. Plus, and more importantly, the person who wrote the article doesn't list outside sources or detailed studies - seems like he's pretty much just giving his opinion...

[grampi]

Good article, but it doesn't specify exactly what is considered overinflated. If you ask around, I think you'll find most tire experts will say a tire isn't overinflated unless the max pressure listed on the tire's sidewall is exceeded. As long as you stay under that, you're fine. BTW, for what it's worth, driving on underinflated tires posses a much higher risk of a blowout than does driving on overinflated tires. Remember the Ford/Firestone debacle a few years back? Almost all of those accidents were attributed to underinflated tires.