Driving on wet roads (not drenched or standing water) taking a slight left hand curve in the road at normal speeds my car just started sliding right, completely flat slide, rear did not kick out, front did not oversteer . About 25 - 30 mph (posted limit is 35) TCS on ( no indication of it being off on the dash but ti did light fine when I switched it off to check)

Car came back after a few seconds after lifting off the accelerator (no brakes). I repeated this the other direction on another curve and again the other way on a powered right turn without a stop.

There was no TCS light warning on the dash when all this went on but I am not sure the system even does that ( it did on my saab) and I heard felt no adjustments (again on the saab you heard juddering and felt brakes being applied.

I am not sure the TCS intervened or is even working. I was not in the mood to turn it off and potentially see if I slide more and the TCS actually saved my *** because my tires are the suck (yes they are)

Tires are walmart specials, seriously ( I bought the car after a trade off-lease so the prior owner spent a whole $75 a tire to trade it.) So the car has about 15k on new tires. The tires have plenty of tread, are All season, treadware 500, Temp A, Traction A. I actually originally felt the tire was adequate and I picked up new wheels, (still looking at summer tires) for summer and keep these as winter.

Car recently 3k miles ago had 4 wheel alignment

So my questions:

When in a powered slide how does TCS feel on AWD? Similar to this?

How can you tell if TCS is working properly? I have a code reader. Would there be a code (its the better jlr one)

Am I an idiot for driving such a great car on the cheapest tires I have ever owned? ( nvm, I know the answer to this one.)

 

For all the tech and luxury in your car, the tires are the only part that actually touch the road (on a good day). I have seen more than one car crash because of tire choice.

What is the brand of tire?

Knowing what I do of tires, a $75 is not going to give you the performance or safety you want. Either drive them conservatively until you get a decent set, or swap them for nice all seasons, which is what I'd recommend for this awd car.

By the way, how do you like the AP tune? Best first mod for this car?

 

They are Maxxis brand tires. I mean it when I say Walmart tires. I have only seen them in walmart.

I liked how they performed on the highway in wet. Seems quite good, no hydroplaning.

I hit a pothole and got a flat. went to Firestone to see about tires for my staggered set ( I usually buy FS RE0 tires, like how they performed.) and told him I thought they wre decent tires. His response was, "you hit a pothole, got a flat, nuff said) lol yeah tires should not go flat on a pothole.

Anyway, I am more curious about my DSC. The car went into a flat slide and it seems like I got no response ( not lights on the dash no feeling of it kicking in) I am wondering if that could be a problem) It was a flat slide not a swerve so it recovered nicely. I am not sure the car expects that the tires would be THAT bad and give out totally and is not programmed to correct for that. Car recovered nicely none-the-less. I was not panicked or felt out of control at all. So maybe the car felt is was not necessary.

 

I'd think a flat slide or hydroplane would not initiate the DSC because there is no feedback to the system - there's just no traction? Maybe the even wasn't long enough for the system to kick in?

I hit a huge puddle that pulled on the wheel hard this morning. The car definitely got tugged and then the tires found purchase and jerked the car back into line. No lights or alarms on the dash for me.

 

Maxxis are a mid-range tyre brand not really super cheap Chinese rubbish.
I had the Maxxis MAZ1 Victra tyres on my car (not a Jag) some 10 years ago and they were fantastic in the wet, masses of grip, more than any other tyre I have ever used (and that includes the legendary Michelin Pilot Sport 4S!)
But they were very noisy, hard riding and quick wearing, seems they were designed for wet road grip above all else.
They are pretty much the top-of-the-range for Maxxis so maybe the OP has different/cheaper Maxxis?

 

I checked my tires again and realized they are Walmart specials Radar DIMAX Hence my confusion.

I am looking at cheap tires again for my 20" staggard set up ( remember my car was a cheap fun to tune car not a lux ride)

I found that Nankang in the right size discounted 40% (set of 4 for $360) I can;t see paying 800-900 for a 10k car with 100K miles that I will drive into the ground Looking on line found several good reviews and comments on car blogs saying they are quite nice for the money...

Apparently they are the oldest and largest Chinese tire maker ( but do not do R&D, they just copy competition). They also make many Yokahama tires ( and I iked them when I ran them in the past I am holding off pulling the trigger until I get more feedback

I am only looking for a touring tire, all season, not a summer performance tire

 

I had BFG Supersport+ all seasons and they have great traction in the dry and great wet, handled well, decent wear and cost reasonable. The downside is they ride hard as rocks and they are noisy in the car like you are riding on the rims (exaggerating a little).

Kuhmo are good in the dry, suck in the wet and wear is mediocre, ride is mushy and sidewalls are soft so handling is ok. Loudish. Price was great

Dunlops Sp5000 were mediocre grip in the dry, crap in the rain, Wear ok, mediocre noise and ride. Mediocre price, just the most mediocre tire I have used. Meh

Michelin AS3+ were awesome in the Dry, Awesome in the wet, Great handling, Wear is great, the price was reasonable for how long they last, Super quiet and good ride.

Falken Azenis 615 were good in the dry, sketch in the wet, great handling, the poorest wearing tire I have ever driven on, Harsh ride, loud and kinda pricey for the horrendous wear they give.

Yokohama Advan S Drive were sorta good in the dry, a little better in the wet, great ride, good wear, handling was soft, very quiet, kinda pricey slightly above average overall.

Continental DWS Sport+ Decent dry traction, Non existent wet traction, ride ok, wear is $#!* almost as bad as the Falken, Ok noise, Crazy expensive and the worst pothole protection on the planet (had to replace TWO of these new from 1in deep potholes hit at 30mph. Cut right through the sidewall and cracked the wheel. Never buy these excuses for a tire. They were rated 500 tread wear and wore out faster than a 150 tread wear tire with no skidding, racing or burnouts of any kind and good alignment like less than 5000miles from new to cords. Stay away! I had to weld a rim from being cracked with these tires. They soak up nails like a squirrels picking up acorns. Can you tell I hate these tires at all?

Firestone Indy 500 Hands down the best all around tire I have purchased for a performance car. The best dry grip, best wet grip, best handling, best feel through the steering wheel, great ride, quiet (really!) decent wear (340tw), and they are the cheapest tire out of all the ones I listed. I want these on all my cars from now on. I bought a set for my XFR and have had them for a year and 4 months or so, and buying a set for my GS460 and my SC too. The only "street" tire that hooks first gear in my XFR that is not a race only tire like a r comp or drag radial. I am not sponsored or embellishing at all. These tires are the best I have used to date for any price. They cost like half of a Michelin SS and perform as good or better IMO. There is a back order nationally I think on these. If you can get them, they are awesome A++++


On your TCS, I believe it is programmed for forward or backward slipping with a little yaw angle, a 90 degree sideways slip when the tire is technically turning the same speed as the ground would not necessarily trip it to trigger a cut because it is turning the same speed as the all the other tires and would not sense anything was wrong until there is a difference between them. Most of these systems compare wheel speeds and when there is a difference the system detects the slip and kicks in. All the tires turning the same speed sliding sideways the car can't detect there is anything is wrong. There is no ground speed direction sensor.

This is just my habits I have made but has served me well for nearly 30 years driving with not a single accident; If it is raining, and there are no cars behind me, I will get up to speed and hit the brakes progressively harder until the abs kicks in (you can feel and hear it) and THEN I KNOW what kind of grip I can expect to have on that road. Once I know how light or heavy I can be on the brake all the other inputs (gas, steering) are lighter than braking and can gauge how much grip the car has based on that real world test in inclement conditions. It has served me very well, try it and use it if you like. I like it because it does not attract attention and is relatively harmless to do in a straight line.

my $0.03

 

That's one nice car!, thanks for the write up, nicely done

. I will play wiht the braking on these tires to see when they brake loose. The lside was well controlled but unexpected... so maybe it did not activate the DSC and for $400 installed may just try the nankangs...

 

So you never commented on the tune - good first mod?

I am thinking the AP tune and a lower pulley upgrade.

 

Tune is awesome. AP service is great too...

I have a lower pulley from AP I am selling cheap. AP will provide a tune to go along with it if you order one for the pulley ( they know I am selling it.) You can PM if you are interested. You just make to make sure its the right one for your car, (that was the mistake my mechanic made and why I have the pulley)