hello all, if i put 4 equal size tires on my Z, will it mess with the traction control, i'm getting snow tires for all 4, all equal size, but i'm unsure if its going to mess with the VDC when the tires slip...

any insight?

Thanks,

 

I am 50 percent certain it can be done with no problem.

 

yeah i'm just worried that i will have to turn off the VDC, which would make it even worse in the winter...

 

Yes, it's going to mess with TCS/VDC - even when the tires aren't slipping. Some cars/setups seem to be more sensitive to the equal diameter tires than others. You might be able to get away with it but the only way to know for sure is to try it.

 

its a 2003 touring model Z, dont know if that helps with which cars are affected by it more/less.

thanks

 

It seems as though teh 2003/2004 cars were more sensitive to it. Either that or more of us early model owners tried the wrong tire sizes and had problems. In the later years, people knew better and didn't try odd sizes so didn't see the problem as much.

I use 265/18" on all four for autocrossing. I can drive to and from events with no problems with VDC. I'm careful and don't push the car on the street so TCS/VDC isn't a problem. There used to always be posts by people who had VDC/TCS kick in when accellerating and turning - almost always a result of square setups.

 

I use 245/40/18's all around with my snow tires. No issues with the VDC in normal driving.

 

When I had 255/35/19 F and 275/35/19 rear I had no problems and did not throw any lights.

Now I have 245/35/19 F and 275/30/19 rear and I'm always throwing the slip light....grrrr!!!


This is on a 2004.5 Enth. btw.

 

That's because your fronts are taller than the rears. A no-no for TCS/VDC:

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....1&postcount=45

 

Weird, I had those exact tire sizes on my 2004.5 Touring and never had any VDC issues. Slip would come on only during hard cornering while losing traction, maybe once a month at most depending on how hard I push my car. However 275/35/19 as Dave mentioned is the correct size.

 

I have a 2003 Touring model, all four the same size. I have no issues at all. /thread

 

You mention snow tires and the fact that you have VDC on your car. I don’t run all-square with my summer performance tires, but I do mount an all-square setup with my winter studless snow tires… so here is my personal experience.

• I have a 2003 Performance model (and, thus VDC).
• I run this setup in the winter: Dunlop Graspic DS-2 studeless tires, 225/55-17”
• I have never experienced any problem with VDC and this winter setup.

What I have seen:

• You will experience unwanted VDC/TCS activation if your front tires are taller than your rears.
• Having taller front tires than the rears is obvious if you install the wrong size, but the problem can be more subtle when running all-square. For example, you can violate this principle if you allow the psi to drop more on the rears than the front. Also, neglecting to rotate the tires (and thus allowing more wear on the rears than the fronts) can also cause a problem with VDC when you run all-square.

When you run all-square and have VDC, you’re at “tolerance” already, so you need to be careful. Be sure to rotate your tires so they wear evenly, and routinely check psi.

--Spike