Loose steering after snow tires...?

[TeeGeeThree]

New Jeep owner here. Love my '21 Sahara 4XE. When I first picked it up from the dealer (coming off a BMW and Tesla) it took a while for me to get used to the relatively loose steering. But after a 2 hour drive I'd gotten used to it, and liked the steering just fine.

Couple days ago I got snow tires put on the car. Suddenly I'm noticing the loose steering again, and finding it really annoying.

I have a hard time thinking snow tires would make such a difference. I use snow tires in every vehicle I drive, and I think I have a pretty good sense of how they feel when driving.

Is it possible the steering difference is exaggerated in a Jeep? Is it possible the tire shop did something else that would make the steering feel noticeably looser? Am I just crazy and need to keep getting used to my new Jeep?

I'm on 20" wheels, and the stock tires were Dueler H/L's, the new ones are Blizzak DM-V2s.

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[Rico1111]

So I have no reference for 20" wheels or what that would feel like, but i think that would definitely make for a squirrely drive along with(I'm assuming) maybe the tires have too much air in them. Check the psi they may be too high. When I first drove mine it felt very squirrely and read many posts that lead me to remove about 5 lbs per tire. They were set at 41 and I went down to 36 some even go further to 32. The 36 works for me but you have the added benefit of super huge wheels so that has got to be causing some added instability. Just my take! check the air first ...would venture to say that is your issue.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

New tires, especially AT, MT and snow, will feel a little squirrelly for the first few hundred miles. Also, make sure the tires are not over inflated.

 

[gsbrockman]

What you are experiencing is referred to as “tread squirm” and it is most prevalent in snow tires, mostly attributed to the softer compound used in snow tires, the additional sipes present in snow tires, and the tread depth.

 

[TeeGeeThree]

I’ve never felt tread squirm this strong before. Maybe because of the Jeep’s already loose-ish steering, it’s exaggerated? But if it will wear down I can wait.

PSI is 36 I believe, on all tires.

 

[Heimkehr]

I noticed almost no difference in steering after putting winter footwear on my JLU. Following the conventional wisdom, they are inflated 5 psi higher than the Michelins that I use in fair weather.

My average fuel mileage has gone down by 3 mpg or so, but the snow tire/steel wheel combo is a bit heavier (and has a softer rubber compound) than the factory wheels/tires. So, that's hardly surprising.

They were field-tested today in icy slush and hardpack, and performed superlatively.

 

[BlackGenesis]

Snow tires with deeper and softer tread along with softer sidewalls move quite abit more side to side on the wheel compared to regular tires.
You should also encounter delay responce to quick steering inputs/changes.
It would be much worse if you had snow tires on 17s due to more sidewall.

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