Slip'n Slide!

[FR-S_Tacoma]

Originally Posted by BuBlake

Awesome. I think 245s would make this car handle great and be able to handle all of the power adders besides forced induction. It would be great to even get some 225s in the front.

straight-line traction yes but probably overall u'd be better with 235s over 245s since then you wont get as much play in the sidewalls going into corners... but then again i'm no performance pro...

[st162celica]

1st world problems. gezzzz..

[BuBlake]

Originally Posted by FR-S_Tacoma

straight-line traction yes but probably overall u'd be better with 235s over 245s since then you wont get as much play in the sidewalls going into corners... but then again i'm no performance pro...

Respectfully, I disagree. A tire that is wider will probably have less sidewall flexion and more rigidity.

[FR-S_Tacoma]

Originally Posted by BuBlake

Respectfully, I disagree. A tire that is wider will probably have less sidewall flexion and more rigidity.

like i said i'm no expert so that may very well be

[BuBlake]

Originally Posted by FT86R

i took off traction control once .........then i hit a curb

Respectfully, I think I see why; All of your other cars were/are front-wheel-drive, weren't they? haha

[SkitterSkotter]

I thought it had decent grip on wet roads though...maybe it's because the roads around here are rough and not smooth.

[Synack]

Drove a FWD for the first time in a while yesterday here in Houston while raining. I was flooring it and it was losing traction like crazy but still super easy to drive and not a whole lot of problems. Don't drive in the rain with Trac Off if you don't know RWD.

[Ravenlokk]

I was driving home after work on a fairly rainy day, after a few hot dry weeks... with all the surface oil, and the standing water it was pretty interesting to say the least! U-Turns were fun, lol. Scared myself on one large sweeping corner though, cruising through at like 3k rpm in 3rd gear, and the end slid out pretty nicely- good thing the car is so balanced, it was really easy to reel it back in.

[Bristecom]

Yeah, it's going to be interesting for me. I'm used to all wheel drive traction where I can always floor it in the rain and it never lets go. But in the snow, it behaves more like a rear wheel drive car so I guess I'll just have to pretend like I'm driving on snow when I'm in the rain. But I will probably be getting good tires for it anyway which will help. One side of me wants as much grip as possible while the other wants to slide and play. I wonder which side will win out?

BTW, I am really glad this car has stability control (even though that's standard these days). I don't think I would want a rear wheel drive daily driver without the option of turning on stability control for tricky situations. And it's awesome that it has 2 different settings and the ability to turn it off.

[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by BuBlake

Hey peeps, I just realized that this car slides in the rain easier than anything I have ever driven! In previous vehicles, such as my 3600lb 350z convertible, I couldn't tell much difference when I turned off traction control in the rain. Heck, I don't even think that vehicle had stability control, but it was pretty much rock stable in the rain with its 225 front and 245 rear michelins.

I disabled all assists yesterday in the rain and realized just how much these 215 tires suck! I shifted into third gear and the car went into a slide at 4k rpm while I was going straight! I had to counter-steer and maneuver the vehicle to keep it in a straight path. I managed to keep it in my lane, but the truck next to me was freaked out and backed off. lol! Stay on your toes guys.

the tires do suck and they cant handle when there is a lot of oil on the surface, when there is no oil present the tires stick just fine, learn to modulate the gas, if anything i love this about this car, it will teach you the rules of engagement dependent on road conditions and condition of your tires combined with your own ability to drive the car.

if you take caution you will slowly learn the boundaries based upon the conditions, but you will only come out of this if you are slow and progressive with learning the car, the car in a way forces you to learn this way by swinging its ass around and shaking its finger at you telling you " NO!" lol

Originally Posted by neutron256

This is my one issue with these tires. While on dry surfaces the have a nice progressive, predictable breakaway, on wet surfaces they become unpredictable.

I had the same experience with the LRR tires on my Honda CRZ

this all depends on road conditions, amount of oil on the road aswell

last month me and a few forum members got together on a rainy day and were doing 60-80 mph on big sweepers int he rain with no issue

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17523

Originally Posted by Synack

Drove a FWD for the first time in a while yesterday here in Houston while raining. I was flooring it and it was losing traction like crazy but still super easy to drive and not a whole lot of problems. Don't drive in the rain with Trac Off if you don't know RWD.

this i do agree with, everyone should drive within their own limits at all times regardless if the safety systems are in place or not

[whateatsrabbits]

I have mad grip in the rain. I don't use aids, and I also don't speed to much. My old 240sx was a death trap in the rain, just the slightest bit to much throttle and your drifting. This car handles in the rain like the 24 did dry.

[CarGuyNeil]

The worst part was you disabled all traction control to experiment with other vehicles on the road next to you. If you want to play...take it to an abandoned parking lot or a track but don't be stupid on public roads with innocent people next to you. That is selfish and stupid!

[einzlr]

Originally Posted by CarGuyNeil

The worst part was you disabled all traction control to experiment with other vehicles on the road next to you. If you want to play...take it to an abandoned parking lot or a track but don't be stupid on public roads with innocent people next to you. That is selfish and stupid!

AMEN!!! Hopefully OP (and others) will heed this excellent advice.

An even better way to learn about how your car handles is to participate in a car control clinic where instead of just playing around you also learn about *why* cars behave the way they do in various situations and how to handle them.

[einzlr]

Originally Posted by BuBlake

Awesome. I think 245s would make this car handle great and be able to handle all of the power adders besides forced induction. It would be great to even get some 225s in the front.

In the case of the stock Michelin Primacy's, the lack of grip has little to do with the width and primarily do to the design of the tire. These are low-rolling-resistance tires selected to help meet the targeted fuel economy ratings. In all other aspects, they are poorly matched to this car. You can add a lot of grip by simply switching to something like Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs or Bridgestone Potenzas in the stock size.

That said, please be smart and responsible and drive safely with tc ON on public roads. Too many threads in car forums with titles like "R.I.P. <favourite new sports car> Le sad" after yet another young driver overestimates his abilities and wraps his car around a tree .