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Thread: How can I get a grip?

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    How can I get a grip?

    I live in Athens, OH. Our cute little town has rutty, curvy brick streets, steep hills, winding roads, and all the things that would make a rally car driver green with envy. Including hundreds of drunken obstacles walking out in the road. And my '14 Mirage just can't get a grip.

    Even with brand new tires, I can't pull an uphill curve in the rain. The front tires just break. The rear tires track just fine, but not the front. And in the rare occasion when it snows, the poor thing can't start from a dead stop. Once it gets going, I can go almost anywhere I like, but there's just not enough weight to put the tires on the ground.

    Now, I don't have the very best tires money can buy, but I don't have the very best money with which to buy tires, either. I'm currently running generic 175/65/14 instead of the spec size due to the price. And because I deliver for a living, I'm HELL on tires and suspension. I'm aware of that. We even have an enormous speed bump at the entrance to our parking lot that I have to hit 30 to 40 times a night.

    So, what's my best bet to keep moving in the winter? And the answer can't be snow tires, because we get WAY more rain than we get snow, and I don't have a dry place to swap wheels out. Should I buy a more expensive tire? Should I go back to the stock size tire? Should I put some money into stiffer springs? Shocks? I absolutely have to have the ability to stop on a dime and to perform last-minute pedestrian evasion, or I'll kill someone.



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    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    I put Pirelli SnowControl 3 non-studded snow tires on my Mirage last week.

    It's like I wrapped my wheels in velcro and am driving around on a fuzzy carpet. I didn't realize how wretched the stock tires are until I put these on. They don't seem to be any louder than the Enasaves, but the thing handles so much better.

    You might consider running a non-studded snow tire year 'round if your traction needs demand it.

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    Snow tires perform SIGNIFICANTLY worse in the rain than all seasons, so they're not really an option for me. There's no "winter" here, it's more like cold-ass rain broken up by two days of snow, then a week of melt, then rain again.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cobrajet View Post
    I put Pirelli SnowControl 3 non-studded snow tires on my Mirage last week.

    It's like I wrapped my wheels in velcro and am driving around on a fuzzy carpet. I didn't realize how wretched the stock tires are until I put these on. They don't seem to be any louder than the Enasaves, but the thing handles so much better.

    You might consider running a non-studded snow tire year 'round if your traction needs demand it.

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    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 81.Chevette View Post
    Snow tires perform SIGNIFICANTLY worse in the rain than all seasons, so they're not really an option for me.
    Not sure where you read that. Snow tires just have a softer compound and more aggressive tread blocks than all-seasons. They also have channels designed into the tread to funnel away slush and water and minimize hydroplaning. It's performance tires that are way worse in the rain.

    Believe me, we here in and around Seattle know a thing or two about rain and how best to drive on it.
    Last edited by Cobrajet; 11-11-2016 at 11:49 AM.

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    Where's the leak ma'am? Marklovski's Avatar
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    Got my Goodyear snow tires on and I can confirm my traction is a lot better. Honestly feels grippier than the all-season Pirelli's I have on my Corolla s.
    Fuel Log: Good enough
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    Almost nothing in the way of summer tyres will grip well on wet cobble stone. Its just too smooth.
    The best you can do is to use snow tyres. They grip on wet cobble stone, because it is similar to smooth, wet ice.

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    Senior Member IchabodCrane's Avatar
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    There are a few "snow" tires out there that perform very well in wet conditions while giving you the grippiness you need on cobblestone.
    Hydroplaning Resistance
    Consumer Reports determines the speed a tire starts to hydroplane on standing water about 3/8-inch deep. Most all-season and performance all-season tires have good hydroplaning resistance, but winter tires can be great or miserable. Winter tires that have a tight tread pattern with lots of siping (slits) to bite into snow and squeegee on ice don’t resist hydroplaning well. These include the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 winter tire, which started hydroplaning at a relatively slow 45 mph, and not much better, were other popular winter tires including the Michelin X-ICE XI3, Bridgestone Blizzak WS80, Dunlop Winter Maxx, and Continental WinterContact SI. In contrast, tires with a blocky tread with lots open channels like the Firestone WinterForce do a better job of remaining in contact with the road. The Firestone started hydroplaning at an impressive 58 mph, just behind the best tire, the performance all-season Nokian enTYRE 2.0, which started hydroplaning at 59 mph.
    Last edited by IchabodCrane; 11-13-2016 at 03:18 PM.
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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE 1.2 automatic: 45.3 mpg (US) ... 19.3 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 54.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Moderator inuvik's Avatar
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    Excellent info, this is really relevant for someone like me who lives on the coast where winter consists of 6 months of rain but I occasionally need to go over the Cascade Mountains and into Eastern Oregon where it snows all the time.


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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


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