Deadly in Wet

[Mechan1k]

I think the Maxxis you have though are fine in the wet ... so get yourself 2 more for the rear ... Turbo_Nick works for Maxxis from memory too

They tend to wear a little quick ... but that's a trade-off for grip though.

[XCSEDAN]

mate, you rekon that's scary. try hanlding a 300rwhp XY falcon in the wet, with sumitomo tyres on it!
you can do it if your easy enough on the throttle, if you drive in boots, this may be your problem as you cannot feal the accelorator as much...

[GK]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

I think the Maxxis you have though are fine in the wet ... so get yourself 2 more for the rear ... Turbo_Nick works for Maxxis from memory too

They tend to wear a little quick ... but that's a trade-off for grip though.

Nick has given me good feedback about these tyres, and I have them on both AU's. They feel really good in the dry and ok so far in the wet. I don't push them though, and both my AUs are I6 Autos.

As for wear, they are rated 300 for wear rating, which means they should last a fair few thousand kays longer than say a SP3000a which is rated at 260 from memory.

A few thoughts.

BTW, I saw an BA wagon today that had Sumitomo tyres, with a treadware rating of 400! I'd hate to be driving on those in the wet! LOL!

GK

[GT290]

Originally Posted by XYSEDAN

mate, you rekon that's scary. try hanlding a 300rwhp XY falcon in the wet, with sumitomo tyres on it!
you can do it if your easy enough on the throttle, if you drive in boots, this may be your problem as you cannot feal the accelorator as much...

That my friend is a very valid point, I strangely by shoes with driving in mind. Sandshoes with boat souls are out. Thinner souls so you can feel the car throught your feet aswell as your hands. Do one of them courses they show you how to position your seat and mirriors, never to old or you can never know enough. When it comes to owning and driving a beast you will be better off with the knowledge and have a lot more fun driving it than if you go in blindly. Good luck with whay ever you decide to do, & just enjoy driving it safely.

[brenx]

Sounds like crap rubber to me. My little 205 yokie 706's I have no trouble in the wet.

[Autocade]

James 22
I believe the Maxis products are supposed to be very good in the wet and have done very well in independant tyre tests
Savas I know nothing of
Best tyre I have driven on in the wet is the Goodyear Eagle F1GSD3
I was amazed the first time i drove them in the rain
It took a fair amount of coaxing to break them free
Try Turbo Nick in the tyre forums
He has a wealth of Tyre knowledge and may be able to solve your issues
Cheers
Autocade

[SSVPom]

I've just put 4 Sumitomos on my VCT Ghia, mainly because they were cheap, ($90 ea) and boy, are they slippery!!

Hoping to upgrade rims sometime soon, and will spend out on decent rubber, but in the meantime, I get loss of traction in the wet at around 30km/h going round fairly gentle corners.

You get what you pay for I guess.

[NeishaXR8_347]

You should see my ute in the wet, 190rwkw, 3000stall with shiftkit and 3.9 gears is not a good combo for those wet days, especially when it hasnt rained in a while and roads are greasy. Its fun tho :

Cant wait for the stroker tho i will just have to breathe on the go pedal in the wet even tho thats how it is now.

[Orbit]

the goodyear eagle F1's are great.
love perrelli P zeros too...but damn costly.

[EFFalcon]

use less throttle...
any car is deadly in the wet if driven wrong.

[SileNceR]

It doesn't have to be wet for that statement to ring true...

[rodderz]

I have found that the single spinners can be more unpredictable, I had a V6 Rodeo before my XR8 and it was more dangerous with new tyres than the XR8 was with half-worn rubber and LSD with 240rwkw's

But in a nutshell, you drive to suit the conditions and use common sense. You spin out of control on the public road you might not get a 2nd chance

[xr8ute]

Are you sure there is not a problem with the car? What you are saying about "on" or "off" with the throttle has not been my experience at all...even with the cam, 3.9's, and behaving a bit "grumpy" at low speeds (cam with stock computer).

Also, MrJucy's comments about approach to driving in the wet are spot on IMO. Slow your steering movements, and let the car "settle" before rolling on the throttle or brake.

How you drive the car makes a MASSIVE difference to how it behaves....funny that ;)

[FPV8U]

Hrrm i drove my mums AUII XR8 220Kw in the wet quite alot and found it great to drive, i'd say your problem is tyres, get some decent ones all round and it should feel a bit nicer.

[GT290]

Originally Posted by xr8ute

Are you sure there is not a problem with the car? What you are saying about "on" or "off" with the throttle has not been my experience at all...even with the cam, 3.9's, and behaving a bit "grumpy" at low speeds (cam with stock computer).

Also, MrJucy's comments about approach to driving in the wet are spot on IMO. Slow your steering movements, and let the car "settle" before rolling on the throttle or brake.

How you drive the car makes a MASSIVE difference to how it behaves....funny that ;)

Very true, I changed the front sway bar and had to get use it again, got to be very gentle on the weel in a situation or else you will be all over the place before you know it lol.

[HLC]

Fulda Exelero's. top tire. check them out.

[ClassicAU]

if tyres are the issue, i run Pirelli and they are great in the wet! Just dont be a lead foot in the dry as they are quite soft and scrub up really easy.
Sorry to hijack, but i have a quick questing. Driving skills courses have been mentioned a few times, where would i go if i want to look into doing one of these? In particular the wet weather and car handling skills?

[SileNceR]

Originally Posted by HLC

Fulda Exelero's. top tire. check them out.

I've got Fulda Carat Extremo's on my MX5, where do you get the fulda tyres from generally can't seem to find anywhere in Warrnambool that sells them (not that I've looked really hard)

[Andy XR8]

Originally Posted by SileNceR

I've got Fulda Carat Extremo's on my MX5, where do you get the fulda tyres from generally can't seem to find anywhere in Warrnambool that sells them (not that I've looked really hard)

bob jane t-marts should have them.


i have the maxxis ma-z1's all round and have no problems with them in the wet.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by ClassicAU

Sorry to hijack, but i have a quick questing. Driving skills courses have been mentioned a few times, where would i go if i want to look into doing one of these? In particular the wet weather and car handling skills?

http://www.johnbowedriving.com/

[JC]

Originally Posted by xr8ute

Are you sure there is not a problem with the car? What you are saying about "on" or "off" with the throttle has not been my experience at all...even with the cam, 3.9's, and behaving a bit "grumpy" at low speeds (cam with stock computer).

I'm starting to wonder if the rear upper shock mounts aren't buggered. It would cause the rear end to play up and be unpredictable, but the on/off thing has me thinking also that maybe the TPS is buggered, or the accelerator cable is stretched or the right foot is just too heavy - maybe because the driver sits as far back as possible with the seat reclined? This would make it very hard to get the right pedal feel, which on a 4 or 6 is OK, but not with the instant torque of a 5.0 V8.!?.

James - try putting your seat in the following position:

1. Back rest upright. Not so far that you are leaning forward, but not reclined at all.
2. Make sure the wheel is adjusted up/down & in/out so that while holding the wheel in your hands, ensure your knees are slightly bent (about 30 degrees, I guess) and you can reach all the pedals.
3. Put your wrists on top of the steering wheel, and then adjust your seat base backwards/forwards so that in this position, your elbows are ever so slightly bent.
4. Adjust seat cushion height so you are sitting comfortably, and so you can see over the dash (only really applies to short people like my missus).
5. Adjust lumbar roll to support lower back properly.
6. Adjust mirrors to match new driving position, and you should be all good.

The above may seem a bit basic to you, and you may think I'm being patronising, but this is how I was shown to get the seating position right by an experienced driver instructor/race driver (one of the Luff boys, I think) at wakefield.

[DJL351]

Sava tyres are made by Dunlop. (Black and Gold Branding)

Like everyone else has said, throttle control and sh*te tyres on the rear.

[JC]

Originally Posted by DJL351

Sava tyres are made by Dunlop. (Black and Gold Branding)

Like everyone else has said, throttle control and sh*te tyres on the rear.

Have you ever actually used Sava? They are not made by Dunlop - they are part of the Firestone group (Bridgestone etc).

Sava tyres are actually not too bad - there are certainly better, but there are also certainly worse. The Savas are equivalent to Kumho Ecstas and Hankook Ventus that I have also used on various V8s.

[ClassicAU]

Originally Posted by Casper

http://www.johnbowedriving.com/

Thanks Casper, that looks awesome. Well, it did do untill i saw how much it costs! Seems a bit rich, but i guess thats just how much these things cost.

[DJL351]

Originally Posted by JC

I'm starting to wonder if the rear upper shock mounts aren't buggered. It would cause the rear end to play up and be unpredictable, but the on/off thing has me thinking also that maybe the TPS is buggered, or the accelerator cable is stretched or the right foot is just too heavy - maybe because the driver sits as far back as possible with the seat reclined? This would make it very hard to get the right pedal feel, which on a 4 or 6 is OK, but not with the instant torque of a 5.0 V8.!?.

I'd point to the right foot.
If it was TPS or rear mounts it would still play up in the dry too.
(maybe not as bad but I'm sure James would have said something)

If one of those rear tyres is not getting sufficent grip and the LSD is tight and working correctly, it will want to step.

Spin - Revs go up - driver backs off - car bogs down - picks another gear - car breaks loose again
- repeat until 17-25 year old man driver is RIP.

[DJL351]

Originally Posted by JC

Have you ever actually used Sava? They are not made by Dunlop - they are part of the Firestone group (Bridgestone etc).

Sava tyres are actually not too bad - there are certainly better, but there are also certainly worse. The Savas are equivalent to Kumho Ecstas and Hankook Ventus that I have also used on various V8s.

Owned - No.
Used - Yes.
Sold - Yes.

When ordered, while working for Ford, they were ordered from the Dunlop book and delivered by Tyre Marketers in WA.
(Goodyear/Dunlop state Distributors)

I drove many of the old parts utes and they were all run on Cargo G26's and/or Sava tyres.
You won't hear a bad word about them from me, I was refering to worn (sh*te) tyres, not refering to the brand.

D

[brenx]

The SAVA's I have on the mags for the front of my XB (225/50/16) are real ordinary compared to a Turanza. Yet my mates SAVA's (235/45/17) on his AU grip very well.

[Whoosha]

Originally Posted by ClassicAU

if Sorry to hijack, but i have a quick questing. Driving skills courses have been mentioned a few times, where would i go if i want to look into doing one of these? In particular the wet weather and car handling skills?

DECA also do driving courses there in Altona & Seaford ,or you can do the 2 day package at Sheparton
prices vary on what you want to do I did the $2500 5 day package includes food & drink skid pan, race track laps a real heap of fun :
Oh yeah it was in my truck & the boss payed :Reverend:
how ever I did a one day car course as well all good experiance and well worth the $$$$$$$$

[james22]

I was starting to wonder myself if the rear shock mounts are ******. Car makes a thumping noise when I decelerate/turn. I'm telling you now its not me on the pedal thats the problem.

It does feel like the TPS doesnt know whats going on, cause you are accelerating or decelerating. No cruise, unless i hold it back in 3rd where it revs a bit more. Then I can cruise because my foot is farther onto the accelerator and the TPS realises.
At low engine rpm & low throttle load it just hesitates real bad, doesnt know whether you want it to go or not.

And it still likes to step out in the dry...

[james22]

Originally Posted by JC

I'm starting to wonder if the rear upper shock mounts aren't buggered. It would cause the rear end to play up and be unpredictable, but the on/off thing has me thinking also that maybe the TPS is buggered, or the accelerator cable is stretched or the right foot is just too heavy - maybe because the driver sits as far back as possible with the seat reclined? This would make it very hard to get the right pedal feel, which on a 4 or 6 is OK, but not with the instant torque of a 5.0 V8.!?.

James - try putting your seat in the following position:

1. Back rest upright. Not so far that you are leaning forward, but not reclined at all.
2. Make sure the wheel is adjusted up/down & in/out so that while holding the wheel in your hands, ensure your knees are slightly bent (about 30 degrees, I guess) and you can reach all the pedals.
3. Put your wrists on top of the steering wheel, and then adjust your seat base backwards/forwards so that in this position, your elbows are ever so slightly bent.
4. Adjust seat cushion height so you are sitting comfortably, and so you can see over the dash (only really applies to short people like my missus).
5. Adjust lumbar roll to support lower back properly.
6. Adjust mirrors to match new driving position, and you should be all good.

The above may seem a bit basic to you, and you may think I'm being patronising, but this is how I was shown to get the seating position right by an experienced driver instructor/race driver (one of the Luff boys, I think) at wakefield.

I'll have a bash at it. See if it makes a difference