finding the signal in an industry filled with noise
Over 3 years ago, I posted on the benefits of using your spare tire before it aged…
Recently ABC picked up on the same story, as you can see here.
Ordinarily I take pride in being ahead of the curve, but this time I’m just despondent at the number of people who not having read my blog have inadvertently put themselves at risk.
Tell a friend…
I’m referring of course to the Motor Trend long-term update that has a lot of people talking…
Now granted, automotive journalists are an agressive bunch, but I can’t see how a company known for products that don’t require much in the way of care and feeding can spec brakes and tires that wilt so easily… Not that soft tires and brakes are a bad thing – they usually bring with them better handling, stopping and feel from the driver’s seat. It’s just that in the LS’ case it has no excuse – no one’s every penned a flattering word on the car’s handling or braking; it’s not the car’s M.O…
The C30 feels busy over small bumps, and the big tyres on those handsome 18in rims feed a surprising level of noise into the cockpit on anything less than very smooth asphalt, which is a shame. I’d happily trade a little of the handling’s edge for smoother progress, especially as the soft throttle action and long gearing (over 100mph in third) give the C30 a leisurely gait. A car that looks so different – inside and out – to the fast-hatch herd should have the confidence to follow its own dynamic agenda too. – evo
Not to beat a dead horse, but the modern car has so much grip that there’s little opportunity to savor the sensation of just a whiff of opposite lock (one of the reasons the original MX-5 Miata was lauded in its time and is a legend today – even the tires were chosen to be more drifty).
Even the best and purest driver’s cars of today commit this mortal sin:
the Boxster is just too good. Even with the power boost, the Porsche feels like it could handle 500 hp. There is just so much grip that the near 300 hp engine is swallowed by the chassis. Sure, you can get it to understeer if you’re rude to the car but there is too much rear stick and not enough power to balance it with the throttle, at least on the street. And this is on the standard 18” wheels. The 19” setup should add even more grip. I kept hoping for a bit of rain just so I could have some fun. I remember that our long-term Boxster was far more enjoyable on winter tires than the summer tires. The loss in grip allowed you to exploit the full extent of the car on your local highway on-ramp. I guess my overall point is that I still love the Boxster but I wish it was not so good of a car. I like something that slides around a bit, likes to dance, and has lower limits on the street. – Marc Noordeloos, Automobile
(Even the engineers that get it right eventually succumb to market pressure for lower profile tires on larger wheels – look at what happened to the Elise and the aforementioned Miata…)
Not even a Lexus is immune to the laws of physics…
As long as the road is smooth, it’s a serene ride, but sealed cracks and potholes in the pavement kill the serenity. Even in its soft setting, the adjustable suspension can’t compensate for the reinforced sidewalls of the Dunlop run-flat tires. – Car And Driver
the ride – agitated, noisy and totally unable to deal with short, sharp bumps. Body control is good when you do decide to work the chassis hard, but you only discover its excellent neutral balance after ignoring all the signals that are screaming at you to slow down – at seven-tenths the 6 feels ragged and ill-sorted. The Sport package adds 19in wheels – and in combination with 35-profile run-flat tyres they really hobble the big coupe. It’s a confused and confusing car, reluctant to be driven like a sports car and without the sophistication of ride to be a true GT. – evo
It’s not quite common knowledge yet but some people are starting to understand that tires – because they are made of rubber – have a certain operating range within which the rubber adheres to the road surface. Go above that and the rubber becomes greasy and is prone to tearing, go below it and it reaches its ‘glass point’ and gets hard and slippery.
For this reason your average ‘all-season’ tire gets slippery on a dry cold day below about 40 degrees and your average performance tire gets slippery below about 55 degrees until you warm them up. It of course varies from tire to tire but something on the TireRack website got me thinking – apparently once you expose tires to extreme cold permanent damage can occur!
Like the motorsports tires this Extreme Performance street tire has evolved from, the ADVAN Neova AD07 radial’s construction and compounds have been tuned to maximize the tire’s traction and performance within a specific range of ambient temperatures. Therefore, unlike less highly-tuned tires, Yokohama’s care instructions specify that due to its compound characteristics, ADVAN Neova tires must be used and stored at temperatures above -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) to maintain its performance and avoid tire damage.
For the past ten years I’ve been trying to convince people that all wheel drives cars and SUVs need winter tires more than two wheel cars (due to the added mass the tires need to bring to a stop, and in the case of SUVs inherently inferior braking and handling and tires with hard rubber designed to take the punishment of off roading).
if a picture is worth a thousand words this video from Automobile is worth many times that.
Sure it’s spring again, but now you’ll be safer come next year…
Tire company Kumho has released a tire that gives off the scent of lavender after the tires are warmed from normal driving. No mention is made how much time was spent working on this rather than on say something crazy like say traction or who is expected to buy them.
I believe the answers are ‘too much’ and ‘no one’ (and no I’m not making this up).
When your tires were new, they had 10 to 11/32 of an inch of rubber on them.
To pass state safety inspection you are required only to have 2/32s. That’s only 18-20% of what you started with.
Here’s the thing – testing shows that you’d have to have a deathwish to drive with less than 4/32” (just over a third of the original) in the rain or 6/32” (just over half original depth) in the snow.
Most mechanics still follow the state minimum but given that tires are typically cheaper than insurance deductibles as the wet and slippery weather approaches I hope you’ll consider replacing yours a bit too soon rather that a bit too late.