no traction when wet

[hediki12]

ok im getting very annoyed. when its wet my car drives like crap. the back get very very unstable and i cant under stand why. the slightest movement of the steering wheel requires constant correction. and i feel like a driving a rwd on ice. honestly. my tires arent bad i mean there not new but it feels as if there bald. what do you thinks the problem. suspensions, bad dif, tires?

 

[Redwidow]

mine does the same thing and the tires arent horrible but im 99% sure its the issue.
I think its just not repelling the water like it should.

 

[All_Boost16G]

Maybe check your shocks and springs, might be weak and giving out, and not planting the rear end like it should be, which would give you a unstable feel, like going over a bump at speeds it will bottom out the shock and spring and give you a unsettled feel.

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

Coming from someone who has sold tires before, you can have 100% tread but if you have cheap tires on your car that have terrible water evacuation or are just old and hard you are going to have huge problems.

 

[rich3389]

I would get the car aligned.

 

[thewombis]

This wont help the wet issue, but just for giggles, check the wheel hubs/bearing assemblies. I had both front bearings establish some play, but at the same time not making any strange noises. I was able to wobble the wheels while it was jacked up quite a bit. This gave me a hell a ride at times as the wheels would steer all different directions sending me veering it all sorts of directions. =)

 

[rich3389]

How will it not help the issue? If his rear wheels are toeing in and can cause this problem.

 

[PIMking]

when my fiance put her celica gts in the ditch it knocked out the toe in the rear real bad. I would roll of a bump when it was wet and it was like fishtailing in a RWD car. Toe can cause it.

 

[thewombis]

How will it not help the issue? If his rear wheels are toeing in and can cause this problem.

, I said it wont help with the WET issue.. as in, This wont fix wet conditions, but it may fix your problem.

 

[turbo90gsx]

Sounds like crappy tires and a vehicle that is out of alignment. Worn parts can cause alignment issuses. Check all your joints and steering parts.

Excessive toe conditions will cause major bump steer or "fighting" with the steering wheel. Have the car checked out at an alignment shop.

 

[Killa_dsm]

Thats what happens when the road is wet, it gets slippery. jk. Like others have said have the alignment checked, and what kind of tires are you running?

 

[tenn-gsx]

I had the same Issue with brand new tires that actually perform great on my car now. It turned out that the bushings on my rear toe control arms were toasted. Mine were so bad that when I raised the back of the car I could twist the wheels in or out about 1/4-1/2 inch.

 

[MrBoxx]

What kind of tires, and exactly how much tread is on them? Don't just look at the outside tread, look at the tread across the entire contact patch. I work at a tire store and I've been fooled enough; tires look great on the outside, but once you get the car in the air or the tire off, you see that inside is down to the wear bars.

 

[hediki12]

kumos..... saldly they came with the car. ill check the bushings but the car is aligned. thanks guys.

 

[habitatguy187]

I was having extreme traction problems in my fwd when it was wet out. My tires had plenty of tread left on them but they were hard as a rock. I bought new ones for the front today and I can't believe the difference.

Like stated above, they just get hard after time.

 

[MrBoxx]

Kumhos tend to suck in the rain and snow. Keep in mind, most performance tires and "summer extreme performance" tires aren't meant to be driven in the rain either. Can you post a pic of one of the tire's tread contact patches?

 

[Bubbs Malone]

I bought my car with Kumhos also, I don't seem to have the same problem. I did have some excessive noise when on the freeway, so I had the wheels balanced and it took care of it, just a thought. If the tires wobble some you might break traction easier.

Or maybe it's just because I'm driving an N/T , no traction problems

 

[Captain D]

I had the same problem. It felt like I was driving on ice when the road was wet and the car felt like it wanted to fishtail a lot. My problem was fixed when I got a camber kit and wheel alignment. I had 2 degrees of negative camber which put most of my tires traction on the inside few inches of the tire tread. You won't need a camber kit because your car is not lowered but I would recommend a wheel alignment.

 

[whiteflash]

I bought my car with Kumhos also, I don't seem to have the same problem. I did have some excessive noise when on the freeway, so I had the wheels balanced and it took care of it, just a thought. If the tires wobble some you might break traction easier.

Or maybe it's just because I'm driving an N/T , no traction problems

Yeah that whole N/T part probably has something to do with it. haha

 

[Deepnine]

Old tires, huge spoiles and bodykit can also cause the problem.
It can be a little bit of everything. At what speeds do you have problems?

Stock FWDs get very unstable at high speed (above 130mph) but you have speed limits for this problem. i don't have experience with AWDs.