NHTSA Complaint #10161821 — 2004 PONTIAC GTO

REFERENCE CLAIM OID#10116796. MY SPECIFIC PROBLEM: I NOTICED STRUT RUB ON MY FRONT STRUTS WHEN I ROTATED MY TIRES IN MARCH OF 2005 (3 MONTHS AFTER BUYING IT). MY SELLING DEALER, COVINGTON PONTIAC IN SILVER SPRING, MD CORRECTED THE STRUT RUB BUT NEVER TOLD ME WHAT THEY DID. I HAD LITTLE OR NO PROBLEMS AFTER THIS UNTIL REPLACING THE ORIGINAL BFG KDWS WITH THE SAME SIZE 245/45/17 PIRELLI P-ZERO NEROS IN JANUARY 2006 AT 19,500 MILES. EVEN THOUGH THE PIRELLIS WERE THE SAME EXACT SIZE AS THE OEM TIRES, MANUFACTURING DIFFERENCES EVIDENTLY MADE THEM SLIGHTLY BIGGER AND THEY AGAIN RUBBED THE STRUT. WELL, SINCE 2005 AND MANY COMPLAINTS PONTIAC HAS COME UP WITH REVISED ALIGNMENT SPECS WHICH HAVE DEALERS INCREASE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE STRUT AND THE TIRE BY PUTTING AS MUCH POSITIVE CAMBER IN AS THEY CAN. AFTER PUTTING ON MY NEW TIRES, ANOTHER PONTIAC DEALER, BOYLE PONTIAC, SET MY ALIGNMENT TO THE NEW PONTIAC SPECS PER PONTIAC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER'S SUGGESTION IN JAN 06. MY WHEELS ARE AT MAXIMUM POSITIVE CAMBER AND NOW ONLY SLIGHTLY RUB IF AT ALL, HOWEVER I HAVE NO MORE ADJUSTMENT LEFT IN MY SUSPENSION AND I AM NOT CONVINCED MAXIMUM POSITIVE CAMBER IS ALL THAT GOOD FOR MY TIRES OR THE CAR ITSELF. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE NEXT SET OF TIRES I BUY IN THE SAME OEM SIZE, END UP BEING SLIGHTLY BIGGER. I AM OUT OF ADJUSTMENT. IT IS RIDICULOUS TO LIMIT MY CHOICE OF TIRES TO ONE MANUFACTURER AND ONE TYPE OF TIRE OR HAVE TIRES THAT TURN AT THOUSANDS OF RPMS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS TO RUB ANYTHING. (AND THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE NEXT SET OF TIRES WONT BE BIGGER THAN MY ORIGINAL EVEN IF OEM TIRES ARE USED.) *JB