North American Turbocoupe Organization



The wet traction of these tires.. wait.. WHAT wet traction?
Ryan H Offline
Posting Freak
#1
I found out the hard way that my TC can't take corners in the rain doing 5 under the limit in high gear!!! I was doing 40 just now in a 45 zone around a corner in 3rd gear and a car pulled out in front of me in the apex of the curve!! I tapped on the brakes (didn't wanna lock them) and managed to slow down but the rear end still slid out to the side and I ended up facing the other direction. Dumbass didn't even stop to see if I was okay!!! [Image: mad.gif]

I am going to blame it on the tires for losing control of the car. These things suck, REALLY BAD. They are Goodyear GP-H with about 5,000 miles on them I'm guessing. I inflate them to the proper cold pressure every 2 days, I know that wasn't a factor. Unless I drive hard, they don't seem to lose more than 1 PSI per 2 days. They just really suck with traction. I was pulling away from a stop sign and they broke loose the other day when it was relatively dry and the car ended up sideways... and I ended up looking like a moron. If the ground is even -remotely- wet, these things break loose under any "hard" condition!! Even if I gently start rolling away from a stop light, unless I shift at 2,600 the damn things start spinning in 1st gear. These tires are horrible. What do you guys recommend for a good all season touring tire that will make it on occasional 1,200 mile round trips? And please don't say Goodyear, I've had more than enough of this garbage!!

On edit, as a side note, I noticed about 15 minutes after I bought the car that these tires make it "all over the road", for lack of better terms. The sidwalls seem really weak. Even when they are inflated to the max pressure, the sidewalls look very flexed. I wish I just had the money to fork over for new tires, these things are seriously dangerous. It's usually a habbit for me to do 5 MPH over the posted limit on the highway, but I seriously don't feel safe doing it in this car! The only thing I can attribute it to is the stupid tires. I just 'feel' like they're going to let go of the road... and as an effect I'm in the slow lane 80% of the time on the highway, which really gets annoying after a while.

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Ryan Harris

88 TC, 5 spd, B&M Ripper Shifter, SPEC Stage 3, Walbro 190 LPH, Kirban, K&N, 3.73 rear, KS disconnected, BCS bypassed

[This message has been edited by Ryan H (edited 10-06-2005).]
'88 TC Smile Walbro 255HP, Stinger FMIC, PIT BOV, Pro 5.0, Kirban, RR cam, FRPP strut tower brace, T3
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trashline Offline
Posting Freak
#2
Ryan search my name i posted a tire survey a while back. but i got these kelly tires evo Z tires 130 a piece is what i paid. Z rating very nice tire I love them it is a brand new tire on the market as of May 2005. the only weather i havtn driven them in was snow but these things stick well when wet and dry . cant rmember the sidewall ply but i think it is 6.

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1966 mustang
1988 tbird
Finally have mods that I can post... 373 gears with a brand new t5. K&N cone. Gillis set to 15 psi. Walbro 255 lph. Kirban afpr. Kelly Evo Z tires. Energy suspension front swaybar bushings. Rebuilt topend with stock components.

Working on a FMIC w/ the stock IC.
Brian

www.BCPCustom.com

06 Cobalt SS
66 mustang 289 C4 handfully modded

Stingers IC install and tbird photos
http://community.webshots.com/user/trashline
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Kev Offline
Posting Freak
#3
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.j...&x=11&y=13

Here is the tire I put on my wife's 98 Intrepid about 30,000 miles ago. The Kumho Ecsta ASX. I had the tires mounted at my local Wal-Mart for next to nothing after ordering them from tirerack.com As soon as they were mounted, I took a 2 hour trip on the interstate at about 80mph in rain so heavy that you could barely see where you were going. I've never driven on a tire that performed so well in wet conditions. After 30,000 miles, it's about time to replace the front tires, but I expect that after driving the ozark mountains for over a year on them here in northern Arkansas. The rear tires will easily last 'til next spring as the tread is still nice and thick after the same 30,000 miles. I love the Kumho brand, and I have no idea how they can sell them so inexpensively.

The link I provided was for a 225/60/16 that is stock for the tbird, (and my wife's intrepid), but I went ahead and got the shorter 225/50/16 for better cornering ability. The tires cost $66 a piece.

Kev
Kev
1988 TC 5spd
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grey88smokin Offline
Posting Freak
#4
I have goodyear eagle hp's. I have no experience in wet weather, but they hug the road in good conditions. Slam on the breaks at 70 and its hard to lock them up. They keep me pinned against the door before they start to make noise.

What happened to the ABS ? [Image: biggrin.gif]

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My TC
84 SVO 1C
08 MKZ
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superfastkyle Offline
Junior Member
#5
I'm still loving my stock size bridgestone potenza g009. Seem to be more than enough tire for our cars. Its fun to get on the highway in the pourring rain and floor it and not have to worry about spinning.

Also are you sure a coil isn't broken on your rear springs? If they are it will make your rear end feel really loose. I find it hard to believe that its just your tires.

[This message has been edited by superfastkyle (edited 10-06-2005).]
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#6
My opinion is that any 60 series sidewall is going to wallow side to side. From that standpoint i noticed a big difference when I went to +1 size (235X55X16)

Don't buy Dunlop SP5000. They have a very high "wet" rating and they are down right dangerous in the rain. I got them in 245x50X16 and I really belive they are too wide for rainy conditions
Pete Dunham


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Matt S Offline
Posting Freak
#7
I have yoko AVS DB/S2's stock tire sizes and I really have to work (5+psi in 1st gear) to break the rear loose in the rain around a corner. They are also rock solid going through puddles. And anyone who's driven up here knows the middle lane on the freeways is actually rutted from everyones studded winter tires. I can mow through the inch of standing water at 60mph in those ruts without any squirrleyness at all.
Sold it Sad*
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FLUKE Offline
Junior Member
#8
I've got Eagle HPs on my 86 TC as well, but I can tell you with confidence... wet traction is bad, lol. I spun tires at low RPM at an intersection yesterday trying to take off slowly in some light rain. They are awesome on dry road though! Just don't go gunning it any in the rain or you'll spin it pretty easy.

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1986 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, 5-speed, white exterior, black interior. Power everything, remote entry/power trunk/alarm. Lots of new parts including sports rack n pinion, new sports power steering, bigger alternator, full Streetglow undercar neon kit (blue) and lighted interior, and lots of other things.
1986 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, 5-speed, white exterior, black interior. Power everything, remote entry/power trunk/alarm. Lots of new parts including sports rack n pinion, new sports power steering, bigger alternator, full Streetglow undercar neon kit (blue) and lighted interior, and lots of other things.
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powered by turbo Offline
Member
#9
Quote:Originally posted by Kev:
http://www.t irerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?startIndex=0&width=225%2F&ratio=60&diameter=16&manufacturer=Kumho&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&x=11&y=13

Here is the tire I put on my wife's 98 Intrepid about 30,000 miles ago. The Kumho Ecsta ASX. I had the tires mounted at my local Wal-Mart for next to nothing after ordering them from tirerack.com As soon as they were mounted, I took a 2 hour trip on the interstate at about 80mph in rain so heavy that you could barely see where you were going. I've never driven on a tire that performed so well in wet conditions. After 30,000 miles, it's about time to replace the front tires, but I expect that after driving the ozark mountains for over a year on them here in northern Arkansas. The rear tires will easily last 'til next spring as the tread is still nice and thick after the same 30,000 miles. I love the Kumho brand, and I have no idea how they can sell them so inexpensively.

The link I provided was for a 225/60/16 that is stock for the tbird, (and my wife's intrepid), but I went ahead and got the shorter 225/50/16 for better cornering ability. The tires cost $66 a piece.

Kev

Just beware, those Kuhmo Ecstas wear down VERY fast, at least in my experience. They have great traction for about 15,000 miles, and it's all downhill from there. By 20,000 they were almost bald.

I'm currently running BFGoodrich Traction T/A, V rated tires, stock size with a 60,000 mile warranty. I am happy to report that they are rock solid, even in wet conditions. They grab well on wet or dry pavement, and even after 10,000 miles they still look like brand new tires.
1986 Mustang SVO
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Ryan H Offline
Posting Freak
#10
Thank you for the replies everybody, it is much appreciated. I think I'm gonna take Pete's advise and go with 235/55/16. I hear lots of good things about the BFG T/A tires, I'm thinking about those.
'88 TC Smile Walbro 255HP, Stinger FMIC, PIT BOV, Pro 5.0, Kirban, RR cam, FRPP strut tower brace, T3
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