back end feels real loose w Blizzack snow tires

At highway speeds my 04 140 2500 Nafta cargo is frightening if I am not very conservative with steering input. It fishtails like it has a flat tire. Im running MichlinLTX up front and Blizzacks on the rear. Front psi is55 , rear is 75. Tire size is stock225 75 16. Has any one else had this prob? Truck handled nice with the four Michelins.

Are the blizzaks 10 ply? How much air do you have in them?

My buddy had some Nokian Rotiivas and they were ten ply, but regardless of air pressure the van was as you descrive, all over the place with just the slightest steering input, just about dangerous at 70, not so bad at 60.

I did just get some Nokian "WR C Cargo" tires for my van and it drives awesome, totally solid at 75 MPH, I have 55 PSI in the tires currently, fwiw.

I too have a 300cc KTM

I am not sure "mixing and matching" tire types is a good idea sth modern tires. I personally wouldn't do it.

The Blizzacks are a very soft compound tire, and they wear extremely quickly whe the temp rises much above freezing.

I would second the question about how much air you carry in them.

Icarus

New tires are like that. Mold whiskers, mold release compound, nice soft fresh rubber, and all of the tread... You'll get used to it and it will get better.

Im running 55 psi front and almost80 psi rear per the sticker on the drivers sseat. Im not sure if Ill get used to it or die first. It does seem ok at speeds under 60.

My van was a squirrely when I first got it. Turns out all I needed was new shocks in the rear. Best/safest investment I ever made in my Sprinter. This *could* be part of your problem...

ktm 300 said:

Im running 55 psi front and almost80 psi rear per the sticker on the drivers sseat.

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I think the sticker assumes a full load, dropping tire pressure and getting a bigger tire contact patch should help a little, although the sidewall will flex more, but I think the squirm is from flex in the tread blocks. After experiencing the rotiivas on my buddies van I think some tires are just not stable on these vans. He did have new shocks too.

ktm300,
So, how much cargo weight do you have in the rear of your Sprinter, and how is whatever cargo you are carrying distributed
relative the the rear axle?
More cargo between the front and rear axles....or more cargo behind the rear axle.
Unless you have > 1 ton of weight in the back, you can drop the tire pressures quite a bit.
Best to go to a truck stop and weigh each axle then adjust the tire pressure from the "weight on each axle"
The ~ 80 PSI rear tire pressure is for a fully loaded RV or a Cargo Sprinter with about 3000 lbs. equally distributed
in the back of the van.
80 PSI gives the tire it's max. weight carrying capacity, but is completely unneccessary if you don't have the weight that
needs supporting.
Is the rear of your van "wiggling" around all the time, or is it "chattering" over bumps and road imperfections.
With heavy duty rear suspension, my 3500's have always "chattered" over little road inperfections if the tire pressure
is too high.
My first T1N 3500 was a real handful when I first picked it up.
The dealer had been dilligent and put 80 PSI in all six tires.
Took me half a day to figure out what they had done and drop the pressure (empty here) back to around
60 front-65 rear. Made the Sprinter so much easier to control. No chattering....no white knuckles.
Roger

I'll third the lower pressure if you aren't running heavy. I typically operate with the front at 50 and the rear at 60.

Do you have an owners handbook? Last page of mine has a table of tyre pressures for different weights on each axle - dang this means you need to know at least roughly how much you are hauling around, well it is a cargo vehicle by design....

My car feels very different (and much noisier) on winter tyres (all 4), I can imagine that having winter on 1 axle and summer on another would feel very weird. Winter tyre blocks are supposed to move around more to generate heat which helps them stick to the cold road better. Be interesting to find out if you are actually fishtailing (tyres slipping accross the road) or it just feels like fishtailing (rims moving around more relative to the tread on the road). My car is front wheel drive so I don't feel fishtailing, it does feel kind of spongy for the first month on the winter tyres though, I'll be swapping back once I get properly used to them!

tire shop had my tires at 65/65 10-ply. I lowered the front to 60 and it doesn't feel like I'm hitting a curb everytime there's a crack in the road anymore. Rear seems OK, nearly empty.

Jackbombay, The Blizzacks are E rated, correct for the van. Do you go to the Quarry Run in Hancock NY? The cargo question from Sailquik may have hit the .ail on the head. I only carry 500 lbs of tools. Perhaps 80 psi is too much! Im going to check the pressure chart for ea axle as recomended by boater. The van is not actuallybreaking traction and sliding, but more likely squirming on the treads. Still very spooky!. I bet David42s 50/60 front rear bias will be very close. Thanks to all. Brian

ktm 300 said:

Do you go to the Quarry Run in Hancock NY?

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Thats a long way from Idaho!

Tire pressure is an easy one to adjust, if the tires still squirm a lot I can highly recommend the Nokian WR C cargo, kind of spendy, but they can be run year round and still have the "severe service" snow flake emblem so do quite well in snow.

For some reason I thought you were from PA. Oops!

Driving a "06" Baby Sprinter. 118 wheel base . Had a set of 15 "Goodyear Cargo G26 that where inflated to recomended pressures when installed. I too only carry light weight. maybe between 300 to 500 lbs of tools. I blew through the tires in less then a year, They Cupped from overinflation.
Just switched to 16 " Rims and put on a set of Kumho Road Venture Tires - E Rated 10 ply two weeks ago. Currently driving with the fronts at 48 lbs and the rears at 44 lbs.It is a pleasure to drive NOW.. Extremely Comfortable behind the wheel.. If I ever have to put weight in it will hopefully remember to adjust accordingly.