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I'm currently running Michelin Pilot A/S on my car, I know they offer a few variations but I am unable to check the exact version on my car right now. There's a good amount of tread left on my current ones. These things slip all over the place and my ASR light continuously illuminates when it barely rains and forget about a bit of snow. The car hydroplaned earlier today which is the reason for my post. I drive the car short distances (7-8 miles) or less/trip, I am not sure if this has something to do with the tires not warming up properly.
I live in VA, I need a good all year round tire. I'm interested to hear what you guys run in similar conditions to me, please let me know what you feel is the best tire out there from your experience. I would appreciate your advise!
I have Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 for winter and Michelin Pilot Sport 3 and Nokian Z-Line for summer.
I'm getting better traction with Nokians, because they warm-up very quickly and are more suitable for city / short distances driving. They are noisier though so I prefer Michelins overall.
The best thing you can do to improve traction is to buy a Quaife LSD from James Bird UK. It is the best mod you can do to transform your car into a proper daily driver with tons of traction in every moment (wet, snow, etc.). The installation is straightforward and takes about 3-4 hours.
I have just returned from mountains and could easily keep up with my friend who brought his Subaru Legacy. On top of that, you can turn off your ESP and drive through every curve in a well-controlled drift.
As I said it has totally transformed my car and made it more usable in day to day conditions. I now look forward to driving in slippery conditions and leave faster/modern RWD cars with an open diff far behind.
The best thing you can do to improve traction is to buy a Quaife LSD from James Bird UK. It is the best mod you can do to transform your car into a proper daily driver with tons of traction in every moment (wet, snow, etc.). The installation is straightforward and takes about 3-4 hours.
That sounds amazing! I was blown away to learn that a car of this level and performance orientation did not come from factory with an LSD. Do you mind sharing the approx. cost of the LSD?
To the OP, I run dedicated summer/winter tires, it's winter 5 months of the year here, and with the open diff winter tires are a must.
Thanks for the feedback guys! Ian pretty much summed it up, I was under the impression that our car did come with an LSD similar to the one Jan mentioned, but at the same time I do realize these cars are designed to offer the optimum amount of raw hp at all times.
I adjusted my PSI to 32/33 which made a noticeable difference, if I were to consider running my car through the snow it would definitely need a dedicated set of snow tires or the LSD!! For the time being my car is good for making nice circles in an open parking lot when the snow drops.
That sounds amazing! I was blown away to learn that a car of this level and performance orientation did not come from factory with an LSD. Do you mind sharing the approx. cost of the LSD?
To the OP, I run dedicated summer/winter tires, it's winter 5 months of the year here, and with the open diff winter tires are a must.
Quaife LSD costs approx 1000GBP shipped in Europe. Installation up to 200GBP, including diff oil.
Thanks for the feedback guys! Ian pretty much summed it up, I was under the impression that our car did come with an LSD similar to the one Jan mentioned, but at the same time I do realize these cars are designed to offer the optimum amount of raw hp at all times.
I adjusted my PSI to 32/33 which made a noticeable difference, if I were to consider running my car through the snow it would definitely need a dedicated set of snow tires or the LSD!! For the time being my car is good for making nice circles in an open parking lot when the snow drops.
Cheers,
-Rob
Hi Rob,
no car is designed to offer optimum amount of raw hp with an open diff Such car is almost useless when it comes to anything else than spinning one wheel and sending no power to the other.
Open diff is good for "impressive" burn-outs but if you want true drifts and full control over your car, LSD is a must.
You will still be able to do donuts with LSD but in a controlled fashion, plus.. and this is important, when you straighten your steering wheel from a full lock to the straight line (basically point in the direction where you want to drive off), the car rushes forward with full grip. That makes donuts even more impressive.
I just put over 600miles during this weekend in winter conditions, even heavy fresh snow and I'm still impressed what a RWD car with LSD is capable of. Of course this is a combination of LSD + Michelin Pilot Alpin 4
01-17-2017, 09:19 PM
Such car is almost useless when it comes to anything else than spinning one wheel and sending no power to the other.
