V12V tyre c*ck up! Urgent Help

[hornbaek]

In the UK with the national speed limit being 70 mph it probably doesn't matter too much which kind of tyre you use but going to Germany and maxing out on the Autobahn it might just carry a different importance. Otherwise, why should tyre and car manufacturers go through the tedious homologation process every time a new tyre or car is released. I just feel that this is an area where one should not nickel and dime it.

[Pentoman]

I've always found the car to have incredible road feel and feedback in terms of the grip being produced and the front/rear balance. I have only tried the OEM RE050 tyre.
Do the alternatives retain the road feel of this tyre? I must admit, some extra comfort wouldn't go amiss now and then.

[mikey k]

Pentoman said:

I've always found the car to have incredible road feel and feedback in terms of the grip being produced and the front/rear balance. I have only tried the OEM RE050 tyre.
Do the alternatives retain the road feel of this tyre? I must admit, some extra comfort wouldn't go amiss now and then.

I've had RE050's on 6 cars now and found Goodyear Asym 2 and Michelin PSS to give a lot better grip and feel
RE050's really dont like wet and cold and the feel goes as they hit 3mm

[controlz]

I'm so p*ssed off, on the verge of taking my car to a dealer tomorrow and just getting rid of it, so need some advice ASAP*

Been incredibly excited to pick up my car today as it's been with the dealer two weeks. It had a few minor bits done including an ECU upgrade, but the main upgrade for me was the Sottozero's...

Anyway, I've been driving the car for the past hour and it is HORRIBLE. The ride is terrible, the steering feels heavy, but most frustratingly the traction is absolutely disgraceful. The DSC light remains constantly illuminated right from 1st gear up until 4th if you give the car any welly whatsoever (it's dry outside). The car literally doesn't move - all noise and no speed as if it's like 6 of it's 12 cylinders. I upgraded from the Corsas as I wanted some comfort over the winter but now I'm regretting this really badly. I feel like I would have been better off burning my £1500...

I really need some advice ASAP as I'm at a complete loss and not enjoying ownership at all right now. Apologies for my frustration!

[mikey k]

It's way too warm and dry for winter tyres
The tread block will be like jelly!

[BravoV8V]

mikey k said:

It's way too warm and dry for winter tyres
The tread block will be like jelly!

^^^^This^^^^

Winter tyres should only be fitted when the average ambient temperature are below 7 degrees C. It's still around 15 degs C where I am (UK).

[controlz]

BravoV8V said:

mikey k said:

It's way too warm and dry for winter tyres
The tread block will be like jelly!

^^^^This^^^^

Winter tyres should only be fitted when the average ambient temperature are below 7 degrees C. It's still around 15 degs C where I am (UK).

And it looks like it's going to remain that sort of temperature for a while... I feel I should have gone for the regular P-Zero's now. What a waste of money.

Will the grip actually be better when it's colder?

[BravoV8V]

controlz said:

And it looks like it's going to remain that sort of temperature for a while... I feel I should have gone for the regular P-Zero's now. What a waste of money.

Will the grip actually be better when it's colder?

Compared to a summer tyre, yes.

[controlz]

All the advice I'd received and reading told me I should put winters on from around October to April, so that's what I've done. The car just feels awful.

[AdamV12V]

It's only just Autumn you know, and a rather mild one at that so far!

Go back to the Corsa's which are perfectly fine still until say mid December when the winter sets in. Might be worth getting some lessons in the delicate use of the right foot too...

[Fastra]

controlz said:

All the advice I'd received and reading told me I should put winters on from around October to April, so that's what I've done. The car just feels awful.

No!

You should put winters on when it gets cold FFS!
Recommended 7°C or below.
First site I came to:

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/winter...

[controlz]

This whole change of tyres came about after I'd had recent experiences with the corsas in rain (which makes the cars power useless), so I thought putting winters on would allow me to have much more fun when it's wet outside without jeopardising day to day dry driving. Turns out that this backfired...

If anybody wants to take these tyres off my hands then get in touch (I've done 50 miles on them!)

Edited by controlz on Monday 27th October 17:56

[roughrider]

controlz said:

This whole change of tyres came about after I'd had recent experiences with the corsas in rain (which makes the cars power useless), so I thought putting winters on would allow me to have much more fun when it's wet outside without jeopardising day to day dry driving. Turns out that this backfired...

Dear Sir.
I would suggest you have a serious problem with your right foot. Please book a PDC [performance driving course] through the Aston Martin website. Traction is usually a right foot issue!!!! If the DSC or traction control is intervening too much, it can be down to the wrong tyre sizes front/rear.
I don't understand why you would want to return your car??????

[AMDBSNick]

Seems you researched your tyre changes as thoroughly as your colour choice

[cayman-black]

AMDBSNick said:

Seems you researched your tyre changes as thoroughly as your colour choice

Ouch!

[controlz]

Update:

So, it seems there's something a little more sinister here. Just took the car for another spin, and it turns out that when I turn the traction control off, it makes things 100 x better. I can put my foot down and it is accelerating far more rapidly without any wheelspin. It seems that when the traction control is on, it's dropping the power to the car by at least 50%. The DSC on my MINI seems to just literally drop the revs the second it's activated, but on the V12 it seems to continue revving just with no power (so it gave the perception that the wheels were spinning).

So in conclusion, I have no idea why my traction is doing this when it wasn't with the Corsas? I installed the Winters to be more safe, but then turning off the DSC seems to counter this, so all a little weird! Hope you can help

[roughrider]

controlz said:

Need some urgent help here! FYI, I'm sticking to the original V12 Rims for winter as I love these so please bear in mind!

Just bought 4 brand new tyres for my V12. I bought from tyreleader in Germany as they are very competitive.

2 x 255/35/19 FRONT
2 x 295/30/19 REAR

I'm quite naive in terms of cars and didn't realise that there are different version of the same tyre for different manufacturers. As such, it turns out I've purchased MERCEDES fronts and LAMBORGHINI rears. My car is currently at an Aston Martin dealer who have now fitted the fronts, but I stopped them fitting the rears as soon as I found this out.

Is there a solution to this issue as I assume running Merc on the front and Lambo on the back is not a good idea. I've researched and found out that there are no official AM tyres in those sizes...

CHECK THE TYRE SIZES!! If the front/rear circumference ratio has been altered, it screws up the electronics...

[controlz]

AMDBSNick said:

Seems you researched your tyre changes as thoroughly as your colour choice

I'm only 25; probably a lot more fussy than the 'older' V12 owners

[controlz]

roughrider said:

CHECK THE TYRE SIZES!! If the front/rear circumference ratio has been altered, it screws up the electronics...

Tyre sizes / circumference are all identical to the original Corsa tyres. Aston Martin fitted these for me.

[AdamV12V]

controlz said:

I'm only 25; probably a lot more fussy than the 'older' V12 owners

Ahhh - that possibly explains both the z and the boolean boot problem...