Are the RE040s really this bad? and how I almost crashed...
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From: San Diego
Are the RE040s really this bad? and how I almost crashed...
I was driving my wife to work this AM, there no traffic and we're coming out of the holland tunnel. Theres a LONG curve that loops around onto canal street.
Normally I take the tuurn kinda fast. However I was hung over, so i took my time. Going 20mph. The temp this am in NYC was much better ~30 degrees.
In the middle of the turn with NO warning, the rear end steps out..NO VDC...no slip light...nothing.
Lucky for me I happened to have both hands on the wheel and was able to quickly countersteer without overcorrecting. Thankfully the VDC stayed off. Normally, when the rear steps out and I see that SLIP light, i never countersteer - I let the computer do the work.
So I'm starting to agree with you guys when you say the tiures suck. The tire pressure was 38psi on the rear which is acceptable pressure. I'm not sure that they may have been *warmed* up as we'de only driven 5 minutes and I know that pressure and temp while related - there's stioll a diff btw the tire temp and ambient temp to be considered.
SO the moral of the story I think is that when you see that ICY indicator on, watch out! Even if its decent (anything above 20 is decent compared to the last week on the northeast) outside. I never remember having these probs when it was still 50s...lets let the cali and florida boys sound off on this issue!
Normally I take the tuurn kinda fast. However I was hung over, so i took my time. Going 20mph. The temp this am in NYC was much better ~30 degrees.
In the middle of the turn with NO warning, the rear end steps out..NO VDC...no slip light...nothing.
Lucky for me I happened to have both hands on the wheel and was able to quickly countersteer without overcorrecting. Thankfully the VDC stayed off. Normally, when the rear steps out and I see that SLIP light, i never countersteer - I let the computer do the work.
So I'm starting to agree with you guys when you say the tiures suck. The tire pressure was 38psi on the rear which is acceptable pressure. I'm not sure that they may have been *warmed* up as we'de only driven 5 minutes and I know that pressure and temp while related - there's stioll a diff btw the tire temp and ambient temp to be considered.
SO the moral of the story I think is that when you see that ICY indicator on, watch out! Even if its decent (anything above 20 is decent compared to the last week on the northeast) outside. I never remember having these probs when it was still 50s...lets let the cali and florida boys sound off on this issue!
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 823
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From: Long Island, NY
People, DUMP the CRAP tires that came with your Z and get yourself a decent set of tires! Nissan should be ashamed for putting such garbage rubber on the Z, especially in colder climates. In fact, I'll go as far as to say that it's negligent to do so and sell the car in NY and other colder climates.
See for more tire details and alternatives:
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ighlight=tires
See for more tire details and alternatives:
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ighlight=tires
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From: Noneya
The RE040s seem to be especially bad at low radius turns. I was drifting all over the road at the "tail of the dragon". Shred these as soon as possible, upgrade the wheel width and get some new rubber. Personally I'm gonna go w/ 18" silver Volk te37s and Kumho MXs.
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From: New Jersey
I couldn't agree more about the 040's. Not good, especially in cold temps. I've felt that rear shift way out on my a few times, as well. I'm going to go with the Pole Position S-03's. Only thing is they are made by Bridgestone too, which kind of bothers me.
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From: South Bay, California
Originally posted by BFG10
I couldn't agree more about the 040's. Not good, especially in cold temps. I've felt that rear shift way out on my a few times, as well. I'm going to go with the Pole Position S-03's. Only thing is they are made by Bridgestone too, which kind of bothers me.
I couldn't agree more about the 040's. Not good, especially in cold temps. I've felt that rear shift way out on my a few times, as well. I'm going to go with the Pole Position S-03's. Only thing is they are made by Bridgestone too, which kind of bothers me.
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From: San Diego
Originally posted by BFG10
I couldn't agree more about the 040's. Not good, especially in cold temps. I've felt that rear shift way out on my a few times, as well. I'm going to go with the Pole Position S-03's. Only thing is they are made by Bridgestone too, which kind of bothers me.
I couldn't agree more about the 040's. Not good, especially in cold temps. I've felt that rear shift way out on my a few times, as well. I'm going to go with the Pole Position S-03's. Only thing is they are made by Bridgestone too, which kind of bothers me.
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another case of the know-it-all knowing SH*&
just like the pig viruses that said "sure you can put the 6MT touring wheels on the AT touring," (WRONG!) the know nothings are back with their bridgestone 040 suck..blah...blah..blah!
the tires are fine, unless its cold and they have not had a chance to heat up, AKA you have not driven a few miles!
why professor do u say that? cause they r a summer tire and when summer tires are cold handling sucks, but only the first few miles or so, ya know, until they heat up. try basic chemistry and engineering to find out why tires grip better as they warm up!
up until the winter months, my tires have been rock solid. now that its cold, temps between 5-20 degrees, they are a bit twitchy. when they r cold, the first few miles, i am careful, until they heat up, sometimes in the early miles of a morning drive the rear end swings out, i just watch my speeds until the tires warm up, then its ***** to the wall perfect. haven't you windbags ever listened to a nascar broadcast, you always hear drivers talk about running badly on cold tires, trying to warm them up, etc...gee, guess u know more than a professional race driver
the tires are fine, sure there are better ones, there will always be something better than what u have, so if u want them, buy them, but know why something happens before you open your mouth and release your stench you gasbags!
the tires are fine, unless its cold and they have not had a chance to heat up, AKA you have not driven a few miles!
why professor do u say that? cause they r a summer tire and when summer tires are cold handling sucks, but only the first few miles or so, ya know, until they heat up. try basic chemistry and engineering to find out why tires grip better as they warm up!
up until the winter months, my tires have been rock solid. now that its cold, temps between 5-20 degrees, they are a bit twitchy. when they r cold, the first few miles, i am careful, until they heat up, sometimes in the early miles of a morning drive the rear end swings out, i just watch my speeds until the tires warm up, then its ***** to the wall perfect. haven't you windbags ever listened to a nascar broadcast, you always hear drivers talk about running badly on cold tires, trying to warm them up, etc...gee, guess u know more than a professional race driver
the tires are fine, sure there are better ones, there will always be something better than what u have, so if u want them, buy them, but know why something happens before you open your mouth and release your stench you gasbags!
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From: California
So lets make a new thread.."How to survive the first 20 mins while your tires warm up" huh...thats a 20 min window where u better not dare exceed 25mph (by some accounts) or risk ur life? this is worrying...
Its not that bad... and it doesnt take 20 minutes either. 5-10 should do fine.
as for gripping power, I just drag raced 10 times on tires in 35degree weather. while traction was very bad, there should not have been any problem with that kind of power on the street. Im guessing a little bit of ice or pebbles in the road. maybe a little extra power by accident?
the tires do indeed suck, but I promise the car has 10times more traction than other cars Ive driven. just realize that you cant do andretti style driving till the tires are warm, otherwise as was suggested, grab some new tread.
as for gripping power, I just drag raced 10 times on tires in 35degree weather. while traction was very bad, there should not have been any problem with that kind of power on the street. Im guessing a little bit of ice or pebbles in the road. maybe a little extra power by accident?
the tires do indeed suck, but I promise the car has 10times more traction than other cars Ive driven. just realize that you cant do andretti style driving till the tires are warm, otherwise as was suggested, grab some new tread.
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Joined: Dec 2002
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From: NYC Area
Today I was taking a cruise. My tires(stock) were fully warmed up. I was at a stop light, I started to accelerate lightly at first up to 15mph or so (was on 1st gear) then I pressed it 3/4 way. I started to fishtail! on smooth pavement. No debris clean. Damn my car has power! By the way I was on manual mode.
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From: Chicago, IL
Re: another case of the know-it-all knowing SH*&
Originally posted by chitownZ
just like the pig viruses that said "sure you can put the 6MT touring wheels on the AT touring," (WRONG!) the know nothings are back with their bridgestone 040 suck..blah...blah..blah!
the tires are fine, unless its cold and they have not had a chance to heat up, AKA you have not driven a few miles!
why professor do u say that? cause they r a summer tire and when summer tires are cold handling sucks, but only the first few miles or so, ya know, until they heat up. try basic chemistry and engineering to find out why tires grip better as they warm up!
up until the winter months, my tires have been rock solid. now that its cold, temps between 5-20 degrees, they are a bit twitchy. when they r cold, the first few miles, i am careful, until they heat up, sometimes in the early miles of a morning drive the rear end swings out, i just watch my speeds until the tires warm up, then its ***** to the wall perfect. haven't you windbags ever listened to a nascar broadcast, you always hear drivers talk about running badly on cold tires, trying to warm them up, etc...gee, guess u know more than a professional race driver
the tires are fine, sure there are better ones, there will always be something better than what u have, so if u want them, buy them, but know why something happens before you open your mouth and release your stench you gasbags!
just like the pig viruses that said "sure you can put the 6MT touring wheels on the AT touring," (WRONG!) the know nothings are back with their bridgestone 040 suck..blah...blah..blah!
the tires are fine, unless its cold and they have not had a chance to heat up, AKA you have not driven a few miles!
why professor do u say that? cause they r a summer tire and when summer tires are cold handling sucks, but only the first few miles or so, ya know, until they heat up. try basic chemistry and engineering to find out why tires grip better as they warm up!
up until the winter months, my tires have been rock solid. now that its cold, temps between 5-20 degrees, they are a bit twitchy. when they r cold, the first few miles, i am careful, until they heat up, sometimes in the early miles of a morning drive the rear end swings out, i just watch my speeds until the tires warm up, then its ***** to the wall perfect. haven't you windbags ever listened to a nascar broadcast, you always hear drivers talk about running badly on cold tires, trying to warm them up, etc...gee, guess u know more than a professional race driver
the tires are fine, sure there are better ones, there will always be something better than what u have, so if u want them, buy them, but know why something happens before you open your mouth and release your stench you gasbags!
qirex already said his tires weren't cold.
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Joined: Jul 2002
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From: kc
You guys are really starting to scare me with all these posts about losing control. Thank god for VDC. I probably won't be here today if it wasn't for active handling (VDC for the C5)!
What is the recommended tire pressure for the z? 38lbs seems awfully high. I am running 28lbs in the rear for my C5 and the recommended pressue is 30lbs. It seems like lower pressure allows a bit more traction.
On a side note, recently got the Kumho's for the rear (originally had Pilots) in 295/35/18's and so far I am fairly impressed by ride/handling. These were about 1/3 less than the Pilots.
What is the recommended tire pressure for the z? 38lbs seems awfully high. I am running 28lbs in the rear for my C5 and the recommended pressue is 30lbs. It seems like lower pressure allows a bit more traction.
On a side note, recently got the Kumho's for the rear (originally had Pilots) in 295/35/18's and so far I am fairly impressed by ride/handling. These were about 1/3 less than the Pilots.
Last edited by sbkim; Jan 27, 2003 at 10:00 AM.
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From: Great Lakes
Re: Are the RE040s really this bad? and how I almost crashed...
Originally posted by qirex
SO the moral of the story I think is that when you see that ICY indicator on, watch out! Even if its decent (anything above 20 is decent compared to the last week on the northeast) outside. I never remember having these probs when it was still 50s...lets let the cali and florida boys sound off on this issue!
SO the moral of the story I think is that when you see that ICY indicator on, watch out! Even if its decent (anything above 20 is decent compared to the last week on the northeast) outside. I never remember having these probs when it was still 50s...lets let the cali and florida boys sound off on this issue!
Driving them at 30 is like sticking your fingers into power outlet, and then be suprised you've got electroshocked. Or jumping from 10th floor and be surprised that you broke every bone (if you are still alive).
No surprise for me here. Get winter tires, or at least some A/S if you don't see snow.
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some crying towles for wash-u
need to brush up on ur reading and comprehension skills
check out the paragraph from quirx's original post
"So I'm starting to agree with you guys when you say the tiures suck. The tire pressure was 38psi on the rear which is acceptable pressure. I'm not sure that they may have been *warmed* up as we'de only driven 5 minutes and I know that pressure and temp while related - there's stioll a diff btw the tire temp and ambient temp to be considered"
so, when somone says ther are NOT SURE if tires were warm, that means what.....driving 5 minutes...not sure if they were warm...boo hoo, you had me then u lost me!
i spoke to engineers at nissan, and at roush racing, they both agree, cold tires, twitchy traction, colder it is outside, colder the tires are, twitchier the traction..
check out the paragraph from quirx's original post
"So I'm starting to agree with you guys when you say the tiures suck. The tire pressure was 38psi on the rear which is acceptable pressure. I'm not sure that they may have been *warmed* up as we'de only driven 5 minutes and I know that pressure and temp while related - there's stioll a diff btw the tire temp and ambient temp to be considered"
so, when somone says ther are NOT SURE if tires were warm, that means what.....driving 5 minutes...not sure if they were warm...boo hoo, you had me then u lost me!
i spoke to engineers at nissan, and at roush racing, they both agree, cold tires, twitchy traction, colder it is outside, colder the tires are, twitchier the traction..
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From: Atlanta
Originally posted by BFG10
I couldn't agree more about the 040's. Not good, especially in cold temps. I've felt that rear shift way out on my a few times, as well. I'm going to go with the Pole Position S-03's. Only thing is they are made by Bridgestone too, which kind of bothers me.
I couldn't agree more about the 040's. Not good, especially in cold temps. I've felt that rear shift way out on my a few times, as well. I'm going to go with the Pole Position S-03's. Only thing is they are made by Bridgestone too, which kind of bothers me.
I totally agree! These RE040's are horrible in cold weather. I'm in Atlanta (25 degrees out), and am sliding all over the road. Its been kind of fun because I can kick my back end out in turns with ease, or even while backing out of the driveway! I'm upgrading to a real tire a soon as I can (TS-1 toyo).
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Joined: Jun 2002
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From: upstate ny
We should start a class-action suit. Anyone here a lawyer?
The tires really are dangerous, and especially life-threatening in very cold/wet/snow conditions. they should have given me a tire that had acceptable cold weather characteristics.
The tires really are dangerous, and especially life-threatening in very cold/wet/snow conditions. they should have given me a tire that had acceptable cold weather characteristics.
Last edited by Subw00er; Feb 19, 2009 at 07:56 PM.