ATTN Car Dudes: My 97' Tbird has stability problems

[brxndxn]

I have a 97' Ford Thunderbird with a 4.6l V8, stock 15" chrome rims, size 215 tires (I believe). The tires have about 1/8" of tred left. The tred has no grooves in it.

When the ground is dry, my tires grip pretty well and the wheels seldom spin. (However, it is really easy to spin them if I push the gas any more than 1/3 of the way down from a stop.) When I make turns, the car doesn't usually slide into them unless I'm going pretty fast.

In the rain, it's a different story. It seems like I can't accelerate from the stop without spinning the tires. When I push the gas as slowly as possible, the tires still spin. Sometimes I'll fishtail when I'm going like 10mph around a turn. It seems that turns I usually can take at 40mph can't be taken at more than 5mph in the rain.

I would like to have more stability in the rain because it rains a lot here (Gainesville, FL) and I drive on the interstate a lot. Here are some options that have been recommended to me:

Get wider tires (I think 220's are what they said is the biggest that will fit)
Get Aquatred 3's
Put a couple 50-lb sand bags over each wheel in the trunk

Will the Aquatred 3's help at all? Also, is there anything else I can do to keep from fishtailing and spinning the tires?

 

[notfred]

Get new tires, dammit. Something that works well in the rain.

 

[XMan]

Get Aquatred 3's
Put a couple 50-lb sand bags over each wheel in the trunk

I don't know how good Aquatreds are, but you definitely sound like you could use some new tires. And any rear wheel drive vehicle will be benefitted by having weight over the rear axle.

 

[N8Magic]

I replaced the crappy stock tires on my Z24 with better tires, and it made a WORLD of difference.

Just make sure you get something that balances performance with wet-weather traction. The aquatreads would be a good tire, but they aren't very performance oriented. Just go to your local tire store, and get their opinion.

 

[brxndxn]

Also, are there any other types of tires that have an AA traction rating like the Aquatred 3's? The A3's are $105 each!

 

[notfred]

I have firestone Firehawk SZ50's on my mustang. I think all 4 of them installed was about $350. They're supposed to be good in the rain, but I havent had them long enough to test them. It only rains here in the winter.

 

[fastz28]

<< Firehawk SZ50's on my mustang >>



They rock. I got them on my Camaro, too. Good dry/wet traction. For nice, cheap tires, if you have Pep Boys, get their "Futura" line of tires.

Pepboys

 

[ISAslot]

Hey! I have the same problem...
Hmm, maybe it is a problem exclusive to Gainesvillians...
My tires are 225/70R15's Firestone Firehawks, and if I take off on a wet surface normally, and if my limited slip is disengaged, I'll get one wheel spinning.

 

[DonNiggera]

New tires, most definitely!

My mom has a '93 thunderbird, these things rock for burning out

 

[Emulex]

learn to drive and you won't have this problem

The gas pedal does operate in more than on/off mode

 

[Rifter]

LOL @ Emulex

 

[kimy9131]

ITS A FORD ! THEY ALL DO THAT !

 

[The Stigenator]

my toyota tercel does that.. noticibly in wet weather but in dry weather i can still do it.

Now if your car is a manual , in wet weather start off in second gear. There is way too much torque in first to move. The only way to get off first is to move the clutch in and out until it catches. So if it skids you put the clutch in and then procceed to bring it out.

As for the fishtaling well you got to have your wheels aligned and the wheels balenced. Go get some new tyres while your at it. I noticed between tyres and there tread differences there is a world of difference on how it holds in dry and wet weather.

Lately I dont spin that much (cluctch must be getting old).. but I still can if I want to.

By the way if your car is an auto, the torque converter is short.. But you can get away by setting it in second gear manually and control it that way (if it does in second then move to 3rd if available)