karrkrazzie Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 Just drove my 99 lumina LTZ for the first time in snow... DO NOT UNDERSTAND why the rear end was all over the road... I have driven front wheel drive cars before and never had any problems before, i am used to driving 2 wheel drive trucks and I thought those were hard to handle in the snow... the tires have decent tread on them, actually good tread. Any ideas why it is like this, or if it is common and what I can do to make it any better. Any input would be awesome Quote
Night Fury Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 If it's worse than a 2wd truck, something is SERIOUSLY wrong. Any more details as to what it's doing? Quote
carkhz316 Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 Need alignment, otherwise the strut tower to rear body/ area mount is rusted out and letting the whole strut assembly move around up top, much like a buddy of mines '95 Monte LS. It was a terror to drive on glare ice because of it. Squirrely as all hell. Quote
karrkrazzie Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Posted February 20, 2009 Well it is to me... I was taking a turn on a slick road. It was about half way to being a normal turn... more of an angled road. I was doing about 15 maybe 20, but i dont think so. and the back end just came around and there was absolutely nothing i could do. I just hoped for the best at that point. ended up doing a 360 with absolutely no idea what happend..... weird as shit. do not understand it at all. My brother said he started having the problem with his 93 lumina right before he got rid of it. but now he has an 01 impala and says he has never had the issue again. I dont get it at all. Quote
Regal_GS_1989 Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 Are the tires a matched set? Otherwise, check the alignment, and also make sure that nothing is rusted or broken. If there was some suspension components damaged, you would have felt it driving around on bare pavement, not just on the snow. If everything was fine on dry roads, then my guess is going to be that the rear tires are not adequate for winter use. It almost sounds as if there is a set of winter tires up front with none in the rear. Quote
spiderw31 Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 Rear brakes dragging a bit maybe? Your situation sounds like what I induce for fun in empty parking lots using the e-brake. Quote
MonteCarloChick Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 My back end fish tails a bit in slippery conditions. Nothing out of the ordinary though I don't think. I take turns a little quicker than I should. Quote
GOT2B GM Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 Put a set of 4 matched winter tires on it and report back. Quote
19Cutlass94 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 Well it is to me... I was taking a turn on a slick road. It was about half way to being a normal turn... more of an angled road. I was doing about 15 maybe 20, but i dont think so. and the back end just came around and there was absolutely nothing i could do. I just hoped for the best at that point. ended up doing a 360 with absolutely no idea what happend..... weird as shit. do not understand it at all. My brother said he started having the problem with his 93 lumina right before he got rid of it. but now he has an 01 impala and says he has never had the issue again. I dont get it at all. If the road was that slick then it would prolly happen to any car....... Quote
ns87 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 My back end kicks out a little more than I would expect from a FWD car. But have a look at what everyone else said and then report back Quote
Regal_GS_1989 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 Well it is to me... I was taking a turn on a slick road. It was about half way to being a normal turn... more of an angled road. I was doing about 15 maybe 20, but i dont think so. and the back end just came around and there was absolutely nothing i could do. I just hoped for the best at that point. ended up doing a 360 with absolutely no idea what happend..... weird as shit. do not understand it at all. My brother said he started having the problem with his 93 lumina right before he got rid of it. but now he has an 01 impala and says he has never had the issue again. I dont get it at all. If the road was that slick then it would prolly happen to any car....... x2 Once again, it comes down to the tires. I've driven my GF's Intrigue with brand new all seasons, and yea, it grips decent right up until the tires break traction a bit. Once that happens, your fighting to get it back. Take my Regal out on the same roads, which is running a set of Hakkapelliita Rsi's. That is where you notice the difference. Instead of gripping and then sliding around, the Regal can still slide out in a turn, however, you notice the difference once the tires start to slip. The Winters still maintain some grip while sliding and allow you to easily regain control of the vehicle. Same thing with braking, except that it takes far more to even get the Winters to slip than it does all seasons. We recently had a few days of freezing rain out here and every street and highway was a sheet of ice, and you could point out almost every vehicle that was running all seasons. They were the only ones that were sliding while making even the slightest maneuver. Quote
19Cutlass94 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 I have brand new Dunlop Graspic GR-2 on my car and I still slide around. Quote
Timm Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 Rear brakes dragging a bit maybe? Your situation sounds like what I induce for fun in empty parking lots using the e-brake. EXACTLY what I was thinking. E-Brake + Ice* = FUNNN! *Any slippery surface can be used in place of Ice. But if my rear wheels were dragging all the time, I would have been dead a LONG time ago. I'd lift the back wheels off the ground, and try spinning them by hand. Quote
88red4cyl Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 I have always run all seasons on my cars and never had a problem... The one time I did have a problem was when I had a damaged brake line in my Fiero... My grandpa and I tried to repair it with JB Weld (which didn't work btw , and the back driver brake wasn't working... It had rained outside and I started braking to make a turn, and the car spun completely around on me... Did you brake at all during the turn? You may have a brake out of adjustment or something paired with worn rear tires... Quote
karrkrazzie Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Posted February 21, 2009 I have General Ultimax on the front. And Kuhmo Solus KH16 on the back, i think it is KH... after looking at them closer then i had... they have quite a lot of tread on them and only8,000 on them... So to me they should work just fine... But idk maybe i just wasnt ready for it... It really does feel like the brakes are catching more then they should be because even why i apply light brake it exagurates the issue. Im not really sure... My front passenger side ball joint broke while driving today and the axel snapped so once i get all that stuff fixed and i take it to get it aligned i will make sure they do the front and rear Quote
CSI_MuNkY Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 All seasons FTL! Take it from a a Canadian, winter tires are FTW! Are you running any negative camber in the back? Jamie Quote
Addicted To Boost Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 Kumho Solus tires are terrible. Quote
BXX Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 Kumho Solus tires are terrible. no shit they are oe tires on newer shitbox kias and hyundais just to name a few Quote
kwk39018 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 Check your rear strut.I had the same issue tell i replaced my struts and strut mounts.If your a good driver you dont need snow tires.You shouldn't be driving if you have that much snow were you need them anyway. Quote
MonteCarloChick Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 All seasons FTL! Take it from a a Canadian, winter tires are FTW! Are you running any negative camber in the back? Jamie All seasons are fine.. I couldn't be happier with my Goodyears. Quote
GOT2B GM Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 It's not about how good of a driver you are. It's about everyone else. Snow tires can make the 25ft difference between avoiding an accident and writing off your car. If you have no traction, all the skill in the world won't save you. If I didn't drive when there is alot of snow, I wouldn't go anywhere for 4 months. Quote
CSI_MuNkY Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 All seasons are fine for the first season, after that they are crap, at least here You shouldn't be driving if you have that much snow were you need them anyway. You wouldn't last 1 winter in Canada Jamie Quote
GOT2B GM Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 All season tires are a compromise, they do everything mediocre at best. Quote
MonteCarloChick Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 All seasons are fine for the first season, after that they are crap, at least here You shouldn't be driving if you have that much snow were you need them anyway. You wouldn't last 1 winter in Canada Jamie Well this is the 2nd winter on them and they're great. Much better than the BF Goodrich's I had on in years prior. Plus I have 205 70's and they plow through the snow Quote
GOT2B GM Posted February 21, 2009 Report Posted February 21, 2009 Nichole, are your tires Goodyear Assurance TripleTreads? Those are one of the few All Season tires that are truely good for ALL seasons. At least for the first couple winters they are. Quote
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