Low speed tire scrub. Worry or not?
 

My summer tires had run out of tread on my 2002 E320 Benz.

I picked up a set of used (50%) tread left Continental Contisportcontact 5p. 235/40/18. Here in Japan used tires are ok to resell and the set I bought was good.

Tire shop balanced them easily and they ride smooth and handle nicely no vibrations.

However in the morning when I pull out of my parking space ( temps in the 40s ) at full lock. I get this very strange tire scrub/hop feeling.
I never experienced it before in all the cars I owned. Normal? Are Continentals extra sticky and need to be warmed up? I’ve had two sets of summer tires on this car before without any issues.

Any chance the tires are rubbing on the chassis or body?

No signs of any rubbing. My guess is it’s the compound of the Continentals. I did some research on tire rack and a few other people noticed the same thing.

I’ve noticed it on my conti’s when cold and making a u-turn at full lock, sometimes the outside front wheel will hop

Yep. That’s exactly what I feel. I guess it’s normal for Continental tires :(
Luckily I didn’t spend much on them and my Benz goes through front tires once a year.
I’ll be putting on the winter wheels soon anyways.

That's too much. A lot of turning with start/stop is assumed..being japan and all..

Has an alignment been done? Check ride height? Replace front shocks and bushings and sway bar? Tire rotation?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackermann_steering_geometry
Those might help in the long run.

Since it's a heavy car, an investment in more sidewall and harder compound might make more economic sense over time. Run the numbers.
And slow down. :D

some cars ackerman and scrub radius gets way out at lock. My fathers tahoe is like that it scrubs terrible when turning tight. You may have just not noticed it with the old tires. They say it can be fixed with alignment

This is normal on all my summer oriented tires.

All newer 911 chatter in slow, driveway type turns, especially in reverse. Wide tires and slow, full lock turns exacerbate the ackerman alignment...or mis-alignment at full lock. I don't think it's hard on the tires at 2 mph.

I might describe it as two tires that are attached thru steering linkage trying to proscribe different radii in a turning maneuver. Since they can't, one of them is forced to skip around the circle.

Race cars are prone to this phenomena, but if you ever experience it, you're prolly moving rapidly toward the scene of the accident.

Thanks for all the replies. I’m happy to hear it’s a normal phenomenon. Still a strange feeling that I probably won’t get used to...

have you had an alignment done.