Why have my tyres have gone off?

[Porkis]

I'm currently running four Kumho 235 55 18 on a Lexus RX.

Up until recently, they have been fine .. not anything earth shattering, but fine, no complaints.

About three weeks ago, I was out in the rain, and almost completely lost control on a roundabout .. not doing any great speeds I may add I then entered the next roundabout, and whoa! the back end totally lost grip!

At the next roundabout, the front end lost traction totally, and I simply went straight on? What the fk?

Now, being the scientifically minded type, I attributed this to diesel on the road? or the dry spell that we'd had before the sudden downpour resulting in the roads being now very slippery.

Since then though, and having gone back out in the rain several times, and dare I add, in a totally different area, I can conclude that although each tyre has 4 mm left, and at the correct pressure the car is now a complete and utter hazard in the wet.

You can lose either end of the car, in any sort of corner when doing speeds of more than 20mph .. seriously above 20 is lethal!

Give the car to an unsuspecting person, and send them out onto wet roads, I guarantee they would not come back in one piece .. it's that bad.
So .. what is going on?
Can tyres with 4mm left on them simply go off like that? if so, how/why?

[SHutchinson]

Could your wheel alignment be slightly out? A tiny bit on the front wheels can make changing direction in the wet quite hazardous.

[kambites]

Were these wet roads all after protracted periods of dry?

[aka_kerrly]

Best put the traction control back on

[Porkis]

Yeah the first day was after a dry spell, but after that no .. it was just really wet days.

It's absolutely lethal .. I won't even let the wife take it out anymore

I was coming home just the other day in the rain, and it was like the whole journey (45miles+) had diesel on every single mile of road.

You can feel it on motorways even, as well as backroads, A class roads, everywhere!

I have to conclude that the tyres have somehow gone off? .. but I've never experienced anything like this before

[Porkis]

aka_kerrly said:

Best put the traction control back on

That's the thing it's already on .. damn thing kicks in at every corner and not in a good way!

[slipstream 1985]

are you just too used to the grip roads have had with all the nice weather, and suddenly rain and super slippy roads is catching you out?

[Porkis]

slipstream 1985 said:

are you just too used to the grip roads have had with all the nice weather, and suddenly rain and super slippy roads is catching you out?

Nope, imagine that you're driving on ice .. that's what the vehicle is now like in the wet , it's that bad!

I've actually checked to see if someone/something has/is spraying oil on the tyres!

But in the dry, all is well again

[gaz1234]

Isn't the rx a bus?

[cslwannabe]

Check the pressures. Had a similar experience with Conti Sports Contact 3s - swapped them for michelin Pilot Sport 2s as lost all confidence in them.

Edited by cslwannabe on Wednesday 30th July 17:13

[Porkis]

gaz1234 said:

Isn't the rx a bus?

Well it aint a Carerra GT3 that's for sure

[Porkis]

cslwannabe said:

Check the pressures. Had a similar experience with Conti Sports Contact 3s - swapped them for michelin Pilot Sport 2s as lost all confidence in them.

Edited by cslwannabe on Wednesday 30th July 17:13

Yeah, first thing I checked .. they're all fine

[Viper]

read the markings to check how old they are

[steve_bmw]

I had similar problems with a pair of non premium branded tyres, they were ok until they got half worn, the noise and grip was terrible, switched back to Bridgestone and all is well again, even at 3mm they felt as good as new.
It cost me in the end as I had to buy new tyres half way through the life of the cheaper ones.

[Porkis]

Viper said:

read the markings to check how old they are

Made in 2012 apparently, so it's not that

[SHutchinson]

SHutchinson said:

Could your wheel alignment be slightly out? A tiny bit on the front wheels can make changing direction in the wet quite hazardous.

Could your wheel alignment be slightly out?

[Porkis]

SHutchinson said:

Could your wheel alignment be slightly out?

I suppose it's possible, but the tyres are all wearing normally .. and I've not hit anything lately

[cptsideways]

There is possibility especially if they gotten hot, they may well have hardened. You could always see how hard they are, poke a pen in a tread block it should leave a dent for a few secs, compare to something else you have, If not they have gone hard.

[jon-]

Someone like Kumho won't be using dual compound, however it could just be that a number of heat cycles have toughened them up, and when the roads get wet they have trouble getting heat into them, and offer no grip.

[Qwert1e]

Excuses

• Poor tyres
• Diesel on the road

Solution

• Get some decent tyres
• Slow down