[2007SIDAN]

Okay so the do-everything-but-grip Michelin MXM4 all-seasons on my Sidan are worn out and I'm replacing them ASAP. Last night, it was rainy here in GA after a period of months with very little rain. I had to stop on a relatively steep hill and when I started off, all hell broke loose. I leaned on the gas slowly and feathered the clutch, but the tires immediately lost traction and TCS tried to mitigate the situation. It cut power, it applied the brakes, it struggled.. finally after about 45 seconds (felt like an eternity) TCS was able to take advantage of what little traction available and the car pulled away. But during the struggle, there was lots of hard and violent wheel hop.

That can't be good. Can anyone explain to me, perhaps out of experience, what this can damage and what can be done to stop this from happening when traction is lost in wet or winter driving?

Thanks!

 

[nayilsi]

i think the road was very very slippery..... stock all seasons are lousy...but not that lousy

 

[FijiDeez]

It sounds like your tires need replaced ASAP. But for future reference you could start off in second. This sometimes help because you have less torque, so the wheels are less prone to break free.

 

[2007SIDAN]

It sounds like your tires need replaced ASAP. But for future reference you could start off in second. This sometimes help, I believe because you have less torque, so the wheels are less prone to break free.

I tried to start off in 2nd actually. VSA immediately cut power and it stalled, so I had to ditch that. I'm sure it wasn't even a minute it took to get going but it felt like forever.

And yeah, the factory all-seasons are clearly that lousy. They have had horrible wet traction since day one. I also had the misfortune of having these same tires on a TL and a loaner TSX that exhibited the same poor wet grip. Honda needs to put more serious tires on their vehicles, IMO. Our new G37 Journey coupe has factory Dunlops that are fantastic. Not a great comparison to my Si, but they put these same piss-poor Michelins on Acuras, too.

 

[FijiDeez]

Hmm. I have an 06 so no VSA. Can you turn it off? I do agree the tires blow however. I was driving on the freeway in some light-medium rain and did not feel safe until I slowed down considerably. Poor road feel and a few times felt like I was hydroplaning. Boo.

 

[mijc13]

Okay so the do-everything-but-grip Michelin MXM4 all-seasons on my Sidan are worn out and I'm replacing them ASAP. Last night, it was rainy here in GA after a period of months with very little rain. I had to stop on a relatively steep hill and when I started off, all hell broke loose. I leaned on the gas slowly and feathered the clutch, but the tires immediately lost traction and TCS tried to mitigate the situation. It cut power, it applied the brakes, it struggled.. finally after about 45 seconds (felt like an eternity) TCS was able to take advantage of what little traction available and the car pulled away. But during the struggle, there was lots of hard and violent wheel hop.

That can't be good. Can anyone explain to me, perhaps out of experience, what this can damage and what can be done to stop this from happening when traction is lost in wet or winter driving?

Thanks!

Wow, how long have you been driving on them?

 

[shutter13]

stock all seasons are pretty crappy, new tires are a great handling/safety upgrade....

 

[tommyroo]

I tried to start off in 2nd actually. VSA immediately cut power and it stalled, so I had to ditch that.

I'm sorry but I found it funny that this happens. I have an 06, so I'm clueless about this fancy smancy VSA stuff. :biggrin:

Hmm. I have an 06 so no VSA. Can you turn it off?

Not sure turning that off is the best thing in his situation either, then again I've been slipping and sliding in the Florida rain for years without it. :dancing:

new tires are a great handling/safety upgrade....

:thumb:

 

[2007SIDAN]

If I had turned VSA off, it would have spun out of control and I would have slid backwards down the hill into whatever was behind me. VSA's Traction Control function did save the day. It just struggled a lot because of the tires. Without VSA, the car would not have moved, I can assure you of that. So if I had an 06, I guess I would have sat there and waited for a tow.

VSA/TCS cut power significantly (which prevented me from attempting a 2nd gear start) and pumped the brakes to both front wheels and was able to finally make use of the very little traction available and get the car rolling. But the wheel-hop sounded and felt very bad.

The car has 20,000 miles on it - the tires have been rotated at every oil change and they don't look bad. But after this experience, it's adios Michelin. I'm gonna put some Kumho Ecsta ASX's on it, have had them on other cars and they were fantastic tires.

 

[Izzy]

Michelin makes some very good tires, sadly, the OEM all-season MXM4's are not one of them. Are you looking for good summer rubber, or all-season tires?

 

[ryker]

Okay so the do-everything-but-grip Michelin MXM4 all-seasons on my Sidan are worn out and I'm replacing them ASAP.
That can't be good. Can anyone explain to me, perhaps out of experience, what this can damage and what can be done to stop this from happening when traction is lost in wet or winter driving?

Thanks!

Tires that are just 1/2 worn have a HUGE loss in traction in wet weather.

When you loose traction in the rain and the tires are spinning then they hook up. SHOCK to the drivetrain! In powerfull cars it will break axles or cvjoints sometime the RP gears. Probably not an issue for the Civic.

 

[ryker]

General Exclaim UHP are awesome! Cheap enough to replace before saftey becomes an issue. Your traction issues on take off would be the SAME in an emergency stop. SLIDE right into something!