it was dark and there was alot of traffic, i had no flashlight with me...

i plan to go check it out today once i get a rental.

 

Interesting comment. I would think the VDC would still be working to brake selected wheels as the computer would use all it has available to eliminate slide. No need to decrease throttle if clutch was in but it could not increase throttle either (if it has that capacity)

 

It's the car washes that are going to get me killed. Everytime I get it washed I try to pull out slowly into the fast traffic and I inveitably loose traction on the rear wheels... Even with VDC & TCS.

And as for the same corner you take every day, I agree. I have one near my house (US 1 South onto Fairfax county Parkway)
that I take every day, I was 80% done with the turn an almost going straight when I started speeding up. Back end kicked out to a 45 degree angle. I recovered and looked back and could see the tire tracks from water from a standing puddle I went through 2 blocks before. Front tires in the right lane, back tires in the left lane. Scared the crap out of me b/c I wasn't going that fast.

But, I gotta agree that the combination of power and summer tires spell trouble for alot of people out there.

 

DONT YOU WARRY ABOUT IT! Believe me, if insurance company doesn't have the history for the car, they'll figure somethin out. And all their possible risks and "taxes" (for having two seater sport car, etc) are already in your rate.

If insurance company doesn't have statistics, it'll assume high end of range... When they'll get statistics, they'll keep rates high anyway. You don't think they are bunch of filantropes, and are here to help you in case you are in trouble(in accident)?

 

Friend of mine got his Z with VIN# 10 000 (!) on January 2nd. That makes those few accidents look really insignificant

 

Its very simple. Its called using SUMMER tires in the WINTER. Very stupid. It does not matter if the road is clear. The compound can not handle cold temperatures. Its like driving on 4 plastic wheels. I put Blizzaks (one of the lucky few who squeezed the stock 18" sizes out of Bridgestone) and have yet to have a problem. You can spin the car with VDC on. But you have to be going into a corner too hot to do it. You can not spin by simply turning the wheel and flooring it. I experemented alot in a snowy parking lot with the blizzaks. I advise everyone do the same and find how the car reacts in different situations.

 

I remember watching on TV the Indy 500 in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. won. It was an unusual chilly day for June. What was really bizzarre was Roberto Guerrero had won the pole and during the parade lap while warming up his tires, he spinouts and slams into the retaining wall. I guess his tires weren't warm enough, but that goes to show that tires need to be warmed up (I'm not saying that this was moroccan mole's problem). Of course, if you live in the cold climate, I too recommend snow tires.

Too bad the tire pressure monitor only reports pressure and not temperature. I guess you can deduce that the tires are heated up as the pressure rises.

 

Vlad,

So, basically, you're saying that insurance companies are all a group of deceptive, fradulant scumbags? My insurance only went up $60 per year over what it was on my 2000 Civic Si for the same coverage. The Si insurance started out low until people driving that model started thinking they were being filmed for "The Fast and Furious." Even though I had no accidents or tickets in the 3 years I owned the car, my insurance went up dramatically. (BTW, it went down on my other cars over the same period.)

The Z's insurance will also go way up if the drivers are determined to prove that they are a higher risk. The ins. co's will not have to make anything up; we will determine that history for them.

WayneTN

 

Hasn't snowed much in South Texas this year.

 

Uh, unless you're one of the ones who's had an accident.....

BTW, why does a certain VIN make any difference to anyone else, either with their insurance rate or with their concern about accidents?

Your logic is very curious..........
WayneTN

 

Very simple! it means it's 10 000 car out there (I'm not sure in US, or total, though). I've read about 10 accidents probably. That makes 0.1% so far.

 

No doubt about that!

Let me tell you my story. My wife got into serious accident couple years ago (
http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/a...5-01-mich.html ). Thanks God, she looked okay, they took her to the hospital, with flashlights and all that stuff. It costed $800 for a 10 minute ride. Not that I regret money, or something, but I wonder how much it would be withou flashlights... ;-)

So total medical bill was over a $1000. We had an insurance which had to cover it. Guess what they did. They send hospital like $300. And waited. Hospital send us a reminder for the rest of money. Wife called insurance, they said that it's mistake and they'll send the rest... nothing happens... call again... they paid like $100 more... hospital send us bill for the rest... etc... etc a YEAR later hospital send us a warning, that they going to go to collection agency for the $37 still not payed! We send an official warning to the insurance that we going to sue. They paid immidiately.

During that time, also insurance of one of the other injured driver(bruced hand) send us 3 letters and called threatening to sue, if we not reimburse their expenses for that guy immidiately. Guy was from NJ, accident happened in MI. MI is no-fault state. Every insurance paid for it's driver. They knew it, so they contacted us directly. After I send them letter saying I'll sue them for mental harasment if I hear from them again, they shut up. They were just trying to make extra few bucks from the fellow americans. I knew a lot of cases were people payed even they didn't have to.

So, PLEASE, don't try to tell me, it's a good samaritans, who run insurance business.

 

If that's the case, then that's very low. Don't know how long those 10,000 cars have actually been on the road though.

Anyone know what the accident rate is for a similar car?

WayneTN

 

I've had the same car insurance company since 1975 and haven't had the first problem. Same homeowner's insurance since 1984 - no problem. Many people typically have their "insurance stories," especially health/medical insurance stories. Everyone's had to work out the details with them at times. Doesn't always mean they're out to get you...unless you're paranoid, then I guess it does.

But that's another thread...........even another site

See ya, Vlad.
WayneTN

 

Bloody damn right! I live 400+ miles North from where the accident took place and you can't drive on the OE Summer Tires in temperatures less than 50 degrees. We on this site have had many reports of members having their tires slip and slide on clear days with the VDC on or off. There may be, and probably are, other summer tires which don't turn to rocks and slide like you are on a skating rink, but the RE040s are NOT one of them.

I, and several others have repeatedly said, don't drive on the OE tires in cold weather, snow, ice or under 50 degrees. One guess besides the tire slippage is that the tire which had no air in it simply deflated, lost air, no blowout, just went down. These tires are also very sensitive to the proper psi, which Nissan recommends be 35psi Cold.

If the tire were underinflated, it could have lost pressure under spirited driving, no mystery, no foul and no wonder. Only an educated guess, I have only previous data I have just presented.

Boomer--my opinion, use it or lose it, I don't care.

 

I still dont understand why Nissan chose the 040s for the Z. They are a waste of money and are junk compared to S03's. The S03's are cheaper and grip better, so I cannot imagine why they chose 040's over them. My friend has S03s on his E46 M3 and in colder weather they grip fairly well for a "summer" tire. You Z owners should contact Nissan NA and tell them about how bad these tires are in colder dry weather. Nissan has a history of putting really shitty tires on their cars. The stock RE92's on my Maxima were worthless in rain or snow.

 

My tires were all set to 33 psi in 60-degree weather. When it dropped to below 30 the tires showed only 27 psi. That is a 6-psi drop due to colder air. Not safe at all. Right now it is around 5 degrees outside and all four tires are almost flat. If you are going to drive this car in cold weather get better tires and invest in a good tire pressure gauge. Be sure to check your tires as often as you check your oil. You do check your oil don't you?

 

Can you recommend definitavely what tires are good (Im in Seattle so probably need them) I dont care about summer tires, just something safe...

 

ditto

 

If theres no snow tomorow, Ill will be mounting my iForged wheels with SO3s and will give a full review of the tires performance as its gauranteed to be cold as a witches left tit tomorow.

The RE040s suck in the cold, and even worse in the rain. The stock shoes will slip in 30-40º weather when pulling away from a parking space.