Snow tires and lack of control

[gridley1530]

Howdy -
I'm new here, but hoping you all can help.
I have a 2011 Insight and put a full set of Blizzak WS60s on last week. We've had wet weather here and it feels like whenever I go above 55 that I'm either hydroplaning or plain losing contact with the road.

I put 100 pounds of sandbags in the back, which made it a little better, but having to fight the car seems like a losing battle.

Anyone have any thoughts?

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Moved to proper forum

Moderator Eli

[racer26]

Post in the 2nd gen insight forum?

This forum is for discussion of the 2000-2006 2dr insight.

[mrkcohen]

Not much info. Are you in the north, has it been cold enough to be slightly icy?

Did you go with the stock 175/65R15 size? What tire pressure have you been running since the switch? Has it been windy in addition to wet? Has the VSA/Traction Control kicked in? Did you keep the stock rims? Were the rims torqued correctly when reinstalled? EX or LX?

I would probably go with the Blizzaks myself if I decided to run snow tires, so I'm kinda curious how this plays out...

[talonmike]

No problems with my nokian studded

[ghammerly]

Had WS-60's on my smart car and never had problems in rain or snow.
If they are used tires worn close to the wear indicators or if you have wider tires than 175 you will be more likely to hydroplane.

[Zwolfe]

I have the same tires that will be mounted soon.

IMO, it may have something to do with new tire squirm. Not always noticeable depending on the tire, and the automobile, but sometimes my tires need to be broken in until the tire squirm fades away depending on the setup.

Anyway I'm otherwise at a loss aside from wondering what PSI you're running? If you've really got the PSI amped up, try lowering them down to stock (33 PSI or whatever, I forget).

The tread design tells me that the Blizzak WS60's should excel at shedding water.

Of course, once I get mine mounted and find the same problem ... I'll come back to this thread and bitch about it. Hopefully that won't happen.

[Zwolfe]

Here's another question ...

did the tires get installed in the wrong direction?

They're directional tires. If you tried running them in the opposite direction on water ... they probably would make the car feel like it is floating as the majority of the water dispersing pattern would suddenly act as a major hindrance.

[bish79]

Originally Posted by Zwolfe

I have the same tires that will be mounted soon.

IMO, it may have something to do with new tire squirm. Not always noticeable depending on the tire, and the automobile, but sometimes my tires need to be broken in until the tire squirm fades away depending on the setup.

Anyway I'm otherwise at a loss aside from wondering what PSI you're running? If you've really got the PSI amped up, try lowering them down to stock (33 PSI or whatever, I forget).

The tread design tells me that the Blizzak WS60's should excel at shedding water.

Of course, once I get mine mounted and find the same problem ... I'll come back to this thread and bitch about it. Hopefully that won't happen.

I would say that it is likely new tire squirm. I noticed it on the set I have on my Fit now but after a few weeks it gets better. Just keep in mind that they are not high performance dry/wet tires but they will do amazing things once the snow starts to fall.

[Cobb]

Id lower the psi 5 psi or so. Then check to make sure the arrows are rotating in the right direction. On the passenger side should be clock wise, on the drivers side counter clock wise.


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