Hi all, I recently bought an almost immaculate '99 IS200 SE with the standard 17" alloys. I am very happy with the car apart from one thing I have noticed, mainly at motorway speeds, which is a tendency to wander.

The steering in general is quite light, which I put down to the rear-wheel drive, but if I hit any irregularities in the road surface the car will pull one way of the other quite noticeably and I have to keep correcting the steering.

I initially wondered whether the tracking/wheel alignment needs adjustment, however while washing the car today I noticed that the front tyres are from different manufacturers, is this likely to be the cause?

The car is fitted with a Michelin Pilot Sport and a Pirelli SP7000 on the front, the rears are both Pilot Sports. All are the correct size, the pressures are OK and they have plenty of tread left. Would it be worth swapping the Pirelli to the rear or would that cause more problems on the driven axle?

I would get rid of the Pirelli altogether - wouldnt have tyres from two different manufacturers on the car.

when you get it replaced, make sure they balance all the wheels - as that may be the source of the problem too

the pilot is a directional tyre, the pirelli is symetrical so contact between the tyres will be bias, my best advise is lose the pirelli, be it front/ rear it's not for the car, in addition what's on the spare...

Will I have a issue then, I was going to replace my back two Pilots with Goodyear GSD3s and that would leave two pilots on the front? Don't say I have to buy Pilots - they cost a fortune!!

same tyres on the same axle is a better situation.

its not something I would be happy about.


In fact, when I was in the same position with my IS (fed up with bridgestones, but only needed two fronts), I just bit the bullet and paid for Proxes all round

Sound advise for sure... it's better to bite the bullet than bend the barrier.

As WIM said, the Pirelli is non-directional so prolly good to keep as the spare - you might find that the tyre in the boot is a Pilot?

I have these on one axle of my GS (the other has PPSO3s) - they're great tyres and quieter than the Bridgestones

Thanks for the pointers guys, guess the Pirelli is getting (in) the boot! I'll let you know what happens.

done it yet?.................

I've never had any problems with having 2 of the same tyres on the front and two different ones on the back, say goodyears on the front and pirelli's on the back. The only thing i've ever heard is its not a good idea to put two different tyres on the same axle as it unbalances grip on that axle

Well, I got a Michelin Pilot Sport fitted on the front to match the other three and it has made all the difference, stable at speed and quieter as well, thanks for the advice guys..

excellent - glad to hear you are sorted out