WillMartin Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 I assume the Firestone tires on my van are OEM. They are five years newer than the van, but it was county owned before I got it, and I suspect they just bought tires every five years from the dealership. There's no way they could have been worn out from mileage. So, here's the question. I get a lot of wheelspin from a standing start on hills when it's wet. This is unusual, since I don't drive hard. Is this normal, or do these tires just suck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Is that while you're facing uphill or downhill? It's all that power that you have under the hood. Ever notice the torque steer? Just kidding. Wheelspin on a wet hill, depending on the grade of the hill and the amount of water, is common for a lot of front wheel drive cars. Doesn't happen the same way with a rear wheel drive. But most rear wheel drive cars have larger engines, more horsepower, and torque. Laws of physics? You have a heavy foot? Common strategy with a stick shift on hills, is to use the parking brake until you feel the car starting to move, then slowly release the hand brake as you throttle and release the clutch. With good timing, car eases into motion smoothly. You can try setting the handbrake, then throttle lightly until the vehicle starts to move,, and releasing the handbrake and throttling at the same time. Or left foot braking works. Your brake pedal is wide enough. Next time you're on a hill, shift your left foot over to hold the brake. Then trottle until you feel the car going forward, and release the brake as you continue to throttle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 YouTubeTeamONeilRally. Left-foot braking is most often associated with rallying and high-performance track driving. It allows the driver to modulate the brakeswithout removing their right foot from the throttle pedal, improving reaction time.Jun 17, 2018 How Left-Foot Braking Can Be Helpful in Everyday Driving https://www.roadandtrack.com/car.../left-foot-braking-is-helpful-in-everyday-driving/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G B L Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 The wheels are at the corners on this rig, if you have any kind of a load the wheels will spin in the rain on a up hill start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrm223 Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 OEM tires are Continentals, at least on my 2015. My van wheelspins easily ever since new, completely empty (no heavy load), flat dry pavement or wet and still even with the 215/65R16 General Grabber AT2's that I had put on about 10-15K miles ago. These just have a lot of torque off a stop, so you need to keep real light on the skinny pedal, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy Kilowatt Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 The 2.5 (and I would bet the 1.6) has drive-by-wire throttle, and they seem to have mapped it to give about 50% throttle opening with the first 10% of accelerator pedal motion. Perhaps an attempt to fool motor journalists into thinking there's more engine up front than there really is. Anyway, it's hard to get a smooth takeoff even in good weather. jrm223 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 I haven't experienced any wheelspin at all regardless of weather and it's been rainy for weeks down where i'm at . I might get some wheelspin if i drove in the "S" mode but i haven't done that as the "Drive" mode performs just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoAl Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 I'm very careful taking off from a stop but it is way too easy for my 2016 LWB to spin the front tires (OEM). I agree the throttle is quite touchy from a stop which makes it hard to start smoothly. Exactly the opposite of my Volt which makes it interesting when switching from one to the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy Kilowatt Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 10 hours ago, PhotoAl said: I agree the throttle is quite touchy from a stop which makes it hard to start smoothly. It would be nice if there was an alternate, less aggressive accelerator map that could be selected with a scanner. Something suitable for a wedding-cake delivery business. "Limousine Mode", if you will. davidparker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 The guy with the work van, loaded with tools and material, going up a hill, probably thinks that the Transit Connect doesn't have enough power. herb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcconvert Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Backed out of the garage three days ago into about 6" of snow, sitting on top of solid ice. (We have not been above freezing for more than two weeks) I stopped and closed the garage door and then attempted to move forward. NADA! My sad OEM Cont's, with 18,000 miles on them just sat there and spun on top of the ice layer. There wasn't enough tread to grip the snow and pull me up off the ice sheet. Only an extensive rocking session got me moving enough to get back into the garage. This caused me to take a good look at the tires, and I realized they had a lot more wear than I would have expected at 18,000 miles. Working at home means I am not forced to go out every day, and can usually wait for things to moderate a bit before I attempt to go anywhere, but the massive fail behavior of those sad Conti's drove me to the computer to research some new skins. I spent almost an entire work day looking for a good alternative to the OEM's. Along the way I brought up reviews of the OEMs that came stock on my 2016. The biggest complaint was the shocking early wear - some people showed extensive wear at only 10,000 miles! Then there were the sidewall bubbles and failures. Not good! I searched for a good all-season tire that would give me a bit more grip in modest conditions than I had at present with the Conti's (none!). I didn't want to have to drive around on snow tires in an area that typically has more dry weather than anything else. The road noise in these cans is bad enough as it is, and I value my 27 MPG average mileage. I ended up settling on a Goodyear all-weather tire that had stellar reviews for all conditions and got raves about their long wear. Unfortunately, as is all too common for TC owners - these babies did not come in the TC's stock size. I could have accepted a taller tire, but I didn't want to alter my speedo readings. Bummer. Further local searches in my area for what the few typical tire stores (Discount, Big-O, etc.) actually offered left me disappointed. I was going to have to pick from what was available and offered in the TC's size. I ended up at Discount Tire, reluctantly taking the suggestion to fit a set of Pirelli Cinturato Strada AS's (a model exclusive to Discount Tires). I Drove off in the 22 degree weather on my new, very unexciting-looking $500 tires for the trip home, expecting to not notice anything different. BIG SURPRISE! The Pirelli's had completely changed the feeling of my van. The steering was lighter. The wheels pointed quickly in the direction I wanted. The van had a much tighter and crisper feel all-around, and maybe equally as welcome was a much reduced level of road noise! This made me realize what crappy tires I had been driving on for the last two years! I have since driven them through some packed snow and over some ice. These things are not winter tires, In truth, they are performance tires, but they do provide a higher degree of grip than the Conti's, and I expect them to be able to get me through modest winter conditions just fine. The best thing is that I feel like I am driving a completely different vehicle! So, here you are guys and gals...Need new shoes? If your needs parallel mine, I think you will find a lot to like about these pirelli's. Check 'em out. windguy and Bill Jackson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Any tire designed for performance will be a step up from OEM Continental. Any tire designed for economy will be a step down. Cheaper tires will not handle as well. Continental tires are not top of the line, so any top of the line tire will be better. Makes sense to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 I took tire purchases seriously with my Mustang V8 but with this underpowered 4 banger i just want something that wears well and isn't overly expensive . Ford has some type of warranty on those OEM tires and to have heavy wear at just 10,000 miles is ridiculous . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Tires are pro-rated. If they wear out after XXX miles, there is a certain percentage that they will apply towards the next set of tires. Pro-rated warranty is usually for battery and tire. They will usually not just give you a new battery or new tire for free. One exception, ever, that I could recall in my lifetime. Ex had a car which was only 4 years old. She drained the OEM battery, told the dealer she left the lights on overnight, and dealer refused warranty because battery failure was not a manufacturer's defect. Some guy her dad knew who owned a gas station installed an InterState Battery. Ex left lights on and completely drained her InterState Battery. She did not even have a receipt for the InterState Battery. Now, she's in the company of 5150. 5150 jumps the car with and drives it over to the InterState distributor. 5150 pulls the manager, tells him that battery is only XX months old as per markings on the top of the battery, battery will not take and hold a charge, and expects InterState to make it right for the little girl. A tech confirms with their fancy tester that voltage is low, not enough CCA to turn over engine (despite fact that vehicle was just driven into shop and turned off), alternator is putting out correct amperage. InterState Battery manager asked if lights were left on. 5150 replied, "of course not, stop trying to blame the customer for your defective product." Of course the battery looked new, looked clean, and looked great. Car was not old enough to have corroded wiring, ground points, or terminals. Store manager finally relented, after 35 minutes of him trying to find a reason to deny the warranty & me insisting that this was the 1% of their batteries which do fail. They finally accepted that they could not determine why the battery failed, or user error was involved, and installed a new battery. She got a brand new battery, with a dated installation receipt from an InterState Battery Distributor, and a full warranty which is supposed to be honored at every reseller. That car battery lasted longer than our relationship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrm223 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 This is the first I've heard of terrible wear on the Conti tires. I swapped mine out at 73K miles and they were still somewhere around 1/16+" above the wear bars at that point. I'll have to look again when I get home from work tonight. Since they still have a glimmer of life, those tires are still sitting in my garage at home, because the tire shop gave them back to me for "just in case" spares when I had the General Grabbers put on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) Tires wear at a different rate depending upon your driving. My OEM Continental tires look great. I do not tow, carry heavy loads, drive only on paved city streets and freeways with no sudden acceleration or braking. But there are better tires for handling, stability, traction, comfort......You can spend more and get better. I will be looking the other way. I want to spend less. I could buy a cheaper tire and it probably wouldn't affect me at all. Edited January 7, 2019 by Fifty150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMartin Posted January 8, 2019 Author Share Posted January 8, 2019 The tires on my van are not Contis. They are Firestone tires of some kind, and they are loud! They hunt around pretty badly on grooved pavement and when the road is rutted, as it often is here. Studded tires kill the roads and then kill windshields when the road gets kicked up, but that's a different issue. Stock size won't be an issue because the van has a new set of wheels waiting to go on when it gets tires. I'm just too cheap to throw away a set of tires, even crappy tires, that have way too much life left in them. Maybe it's time to get over it and look into Pirellis. If they are about the right size and can take the 49 psi pressure Ford says the back tires should have, then they sound like the way to go even if they are expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windguy Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 On 1/4/2019 at 8:43 AM, tcconvert said: Further local searches in my area for what the few typical tire stores (Discount, Big-O, etc.) actually offered left me disappointed. I was going to have to pick from what was available and offered in the TC's size. I ended up at Discount Tire, reluctantly taking the suggestion to fit a set of Pirelli Cinturato Strada AS's (a model exclusive to Discount Tires). I Drove off in the 22 degree weather on my new, very unexciting-looking $500 tires for the trip home, expecting to not notice anything different. BIG SURPRISE! The Pirelli's had completely changed the feeling of my van. The steering was lighter. The wheels pointed quickly in the direction I wanted. The van had a much tighter and crisper feel all-around, and maybe equally as welcome was a much reduced level of road noise! This made me realize what crappy tires I had been driving on for the last two years! I have since driven them through some packed snow and over some ice. These things are not winter tires, In truth, they are performance tires, but they do provide a higher degree of grip than the Conti's, and I expect them to be able to get me through modest winter conditions just fine. The best thing is that I feel like I am driving a completely different vehicle! So, here you are guys and gals...Need new shoes? If your needs parallel mine, I think you will find a lot to like about these pirelli's. Check 'em out. Thanks for sharing your tire experience. Very good to know. The OEM Conti's aren't holding up very well for my driving conditions with only 18K miles on them. They will need to be replaced soon. I checked out those Pirelli's on Discount Tire's website (AKA America's Tire for those of us in SoCa). That's the shop I've been going to for the past 10 years or so as I like their service where other places have failed. The Cinturato looks like a decent tire and priced about the same as the OEM Conti's so I'm willing to give it a try. Please update us when you've had more experience with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMartin Posted January 20, 2019 Author Share Posted January 20, 2019 And what sizes are available. The stock wheels are going to go when the tires that are on my van go. They spun up again today, and it was mostly dry. They are absolutely awful tires. I'm guessing that the Firestones that are on my van are a step down from the original Contis, if that's what Ford put on TCs in 2009 when mine was built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLDSCHOOLFOOL Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 I had wheelspin when I first got the van. Changed out the original Continentals for a wider footprint and haven't had any issues since, wet or dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 A softer tire with better traction, will yield less in tire life. You'll spend more, to replace them more often. It's all worth it if you are gaining better traction. You will be safer. With a little tap of the throttle, the tires spin to gain traction. Imagine when the tires are already spinning, at a mile a minute, and you apply the brakes. Will your tires have to necessary traction for you to stop on a dime from 60 mph? Now change the road conditions from dry, to wet. Driving conditions vary, along with driving style. For my use, the stock tires are performing at a satisfactory level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMartin Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 I get my speed yayas out on the motorcycle. I drive the van like an old man, which is kinda what I am these days. The tires that are on it are awful! It needs side windows and a backup camera before my wife will drive it, but I think it needs tires before I want her driving it, too. She has a bit of a jerky driving style that will break traction too easily with the tires that are on this thing. If I can break traction so easily when I'm trying to drive smoothly, it will be messy with a driver who just stabs the accelerator and brakes and yanks the wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Try these out, and tell me how you like it. Yokohama Tornante All_Season Radial Tire-215/55R16 97H by Yokohama $1,198.12 $ 1,198 12 Prime FREE Delivery by Fri, Feb 1 Yokohama Tornante All_Season Radial Tire-215/55R16 97H by Yokohama Be the first to review this item Price: $1,198.12 Free Shipping for Prime Members Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMartin Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 $1200 per tire? They should make me a better person for that price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Over $5,000 after installation. How can tires be that expensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.