Rear end broke loose on wet on ramp

[Road Ruler]

I was entering the QEW yesterday on wet pavement. The ramp is a slow, small cloverleaf type of road that I have used a 1,000 times before. Near the point where the ramp straightens out the rear end of the G broke loose, lost traction and started to slide out. Fortunately the traction control activated almost immediately and the car regained control and set it straight.

I did have too much air in the rear tires (38lbs) which may have made them slick on the wet. The tires were Toko Avid V4's with 80% tread.

I am not an aggressive driver and in this case I thought my speed was reasonable. Apparently not.

[Q45tech]

Never can have too much air in wet tires [as long as you don't exceed 44/51 max rated psi].

Hydroplane speed is a function of PSI. Intermolecular forces to the road gain with more weight or a smaller tire contact patch AREA. Pounds per square inch of force.

[gwoods]

I'd guess you found a spot where someone leaked fuel or oil! The electronic controls on the G are amazing though.

I had a 2001 Altima that I slid into the curb hard enough to bend the rear suspension in a similar situation at the Kansas City Airport. It had just started to rain and I was going down a banked turn suddenly the back end of the car was against the curb and the wheel was bent out at the top and down at the bottom!

I'm guessing a fuel truck had spilled a little right before I came down cause I was only going about 10-15 mph.

Jeff

[G_whizz]

Glad your ok... QEW and what out of curiousity??

[SVTCOBRA]

YES, too much PSI will definitely cause you to loose traction on wet and/or dry surfaces!!!Try to keep them at the recommended cold PSI.

Stay safe!!

[mrputzy]

Geez, you crazy cannuck drivers! Actually, I'm one of you too, but living in Florida now. But I can hardly break free the back end of mine, even in the rain with VDC off. I have General Exclaim UHP's and they stick like glue, rain or shine.

[gwoods]

What size UHP's are you running?

[Road Ruler]

Glad your ok... QEW and what out of curiousity??

In Burlington. The on ramp from North Shore BLV to the QEW heading toward the Skyway bridge.

I will have a look next time I take that route. I suspect there may have been something slick on the road that day.

[SVTCOBRA]

Otherwise, how have the avids been? I'm looking to put a set of those on one of my G's soon. Were you also heading up hill? Having them pumped to 38 PSI was definitely a contributing factor.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

I had The General Exclaims UHP's on my Lexus is 300... I can't wait for the BF's to be wore out on My G35 to put the generals on... I will be putting 245 45 zr 18 on the sedan. Where did you get them from. I got mine at tirerack.com. Great Site and Great Customer service. I hit a curb with my lexus and blew out a tire that was like 4 weeks old and they sent me a new tire at half price... I didn't buy the road hazards lol

[Road Ruler]

Otherwise, how have the avids been? I'm looking to put a set of those on one of my G's soon. Were you also heading up hill? Having them pumped to 38 PSI was definitely a contributing factor.

The Avids are fine but I quickly saw that they were wearing faster than the Turanza's. It is interesting that the tread wear number on the Avids is a respectable "500" which is high for a V rated tire. The on ramp did have a slight rise to it.

I got 80,000 klm's from the Turanza's but if the wear rate continues on the Avids I will be lucky to get 65,000 Klm's from them.

Note. I have a tread depth gauge which I use to record and log tire wear every 10,000klm's.

Also.... I returned to the on ramp the other day when it was dry. There appeared to be a sweeping dark area that looked like something had been spilled from a vehicle. I suspect something slick was on the pavement that day that helped cause the rear end slide.

[SVTCOBRA]

Thanks for the info!You may already know this, but wear numbers are only good when comparing tires of the same brand. I check my tires with a gauge too. We have 18,000 miles on the Goodyear RS-A's and I'm at 4/32 on the rear and 5-6/32 on the front.So, the rear are gone and the fronts are close.

[TKLEI14]

If you lost control with VDC on. DON'T ever turn it off.

[coupleGs]

how many treads do you have left in the Rear?