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Tires for my 1993 940 T, can't find a tire that works in the rain

ktm450

New member
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Location
Cincinnati, ohio
Hello,
I hate to start another tire thread but, I have had 4 sets of tires on this car and everyone has been TERRIBLE in the rain. I mean white knickle driving everytime it rains. I know that in wet or snow conditions, it is all about the tires. The last tire I put on it (mistake! DO NOT BUY THESE TIRES) are the Toyo Celcius. I bought them, knowing that these are rated as a winter tire but, shouldn't they be good on wet roads too? WRONG! Uphill right hand turns from a stop, spins the right rear like a pickup truck with baogna skin tires on it, when they were new! Hydroplane on really wet roads etc. Is this car especially difficult to get tires to stick?

After drivng the sure footed (not as sure footed with bigger sways) 240's, for 40 years, I am stumped as to why this car (longer wheelbase?) is so damn hard to find tires that work?

I am going to costco to get Michelin Defenders this month. I have heard and read nothing but good things about these tires. I am hoping that they will work on this car. Any input, or suggestions before I pop for another 500.00 for tires would be apprecited. Thanks!

KTM450
 
Since you are in Ohio, it would pay to spend the bit of extra dough up front and get winter and summer tires. All seasons are a false economy when it's icy and snowy for a significant portion of the year.

Michelin X Ice 3 or Bridgestone WS80 for when it's snowy and icy, Continental ExtremecontactSport for when water turns liquid again.
 
I like the bf Goodrich G-force sport comp-2 a/s and have recently purchased general g-max tires which are also outstanding in the rain. My only complaint with the general is the tread pattern tends to tram line on grooved pavement where the Goodrich didn't.
 
I used the previous version of these and they were very good in heavy rain, as well as on wet roads as far as lateral grip and launch / take-off-from-a-stop. so when that set wore out, I bought the new version to replace them. I like that I don't have to adjust my driving just because it's wet outside.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ExtremeContact+Sport

I drove on a coating of snow a few times with these at half tread or better and the car did move, so I wasn't totally stranded. But I use snow tires when it actually snows, and so should you.


I had previously had some ~10yr old 205/55/16 all seasons that couldn't hook up from a stop at all, and rolling on the throttle in 2nd gear would spin so easily, it was frustrating. If you're trying hard tires (wear rating over ~500), they might just be hard tires that won't grip well when it's slick out.
 
Thanks for the responses. Redwood, Yes toyos suck big! They are only a year old, and they are coming off.

A little more info. I am in the extreme south of Ohio. Our winters are lame. Every once in a while, we will get some snow. So, if we ever get any snow, I will be parking the 940 T and driving my 245 wagon with general altimax arctic tires on all 4's. So, I am more concerned with wet than snow for this car.

Also, this car isn't ever driven hard. Mostly a grocery getter.

KTM450
 
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Pilot sport A/s 3+ Are the next gen and have better snow traction.

I had the pevious gen and am rocking the as3+ in the Acura. Still not great in the snow. Fantastic otherwise. Would still rather use a ps4s instead.
 
I've run the aforementioned Continentals, General G-max, and BFgoodrich for years, all really good in the rain. Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric are also really good/predictable in the rain, have had them on two cars now.
 
Since you are in Ohio, it would pay to spend the bit of extra dough up front and get winter and summer tires. All seasons are a false economy when it's icy and snowy for a significant portion of the year.

Michelin X Ice 3 or Bridgestone WS80 for when it's snowy and icy, Continental ExtremecontactSport for when water turns liquid again.


I agree, I've had good luck with Nokian's dedicated winter tires(look for mountain logo) & don't fool around with "all season" (waste of time) any more
 
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+1 for Continental

Since I started to use only Continental for summer (Premium Contact) and winter (Wintercontact TS860), I noticed what huge difference tires can actually make in the wet and snow (we get very slippery roads here sometimes in winter due to the salty slush). They are superior to everything else I've tried and they continuously rank on the podium in the tests of our local AAA and its German counterpart.
Worth to spend the extra bucks, but I'm not sure if you get these models in the US as well.
 
I had the pevious gen and am rocking the as3+ in the Acura. Still not great in the snow. Fantastic otherwise. Would still rather use a ps4s instead.

I don't think you can get the ps4s in 16". I would have much rather put Super Sports on my grey car but they're not available in 16's which is how I ended up in the AS3+.

Continentals ride like truck tires to me and I've always had good luck with Michelins. I'm sure any of the major brands top tier tires will be good tires. I'm always a little confused by people who will skimp 20-30 dollars per tire on something they're going to have for the next 40-60k miles and hours of their life. Like what's an extra $150 for something that you're going to have for the next 3-5 years and will NEED when things get weird outside. /rantoff
 
I don't think you can get the ps4s in 16". I would have much rather put Super Sports on my grey car but they're not available in 16's which is how I ended up in the AS3+.

Continentals ride like truck tires to me and I've always had good luck with Michelins. I'm sure any of the major brands top tier tires will be good tires. I'm always a little confused by people who will skimp 20-30 dollars per tire on something they're going to have for the next 40-60k miles and hours of their life. Like what's an extra $150 for something that you're going to have for the next 3-5 years and will NEED when things get weird outside. /rantoff

Coming from Cheapskate Extraordinaire, that's saying something :lol:

I had the opposite experience with Contis. All of the ones I have sampled tended to ride a bit better than Michelins. The Extremecontactsport is available in 16" sizes and is nearly as good as the PS4S.

My take is that these summer tires are better than winter tires at almost any temperature in the dry and wet. All seasons and winters are only good if there is freezing water forming on the road surface. You only need all seasons if you drive enough to wear out your tires in less than 5 years and have no room to store a spare set. Otherwise, separate summer and winter tires is the way to go.
 
I change tires seasonally and this past couple sets of winter tires I cheaped out and bought discount tires that were nos. The last set were three year old stock Falken Euro winter in 205-60-15. A good size for pot holes and bad roads of the winter. They were $250 for a set of four and they have been great in the rain and very good in the snow.

This is the cold rain of the winter. So a winter tire with it's softer compound will respond and handle very well. Also I didn't see mention of tire pressure. What do you run your tires at? If you use 40psi in your tires for example because you want maximum mileage. Your car is going to suck in the rain no matter what type of tire.

I run my winter tires at 33-34psi most of the time. But if I need traction I will lower it to 30. I don't like to run them lower than that. These are on the 93 wagon.
 
Contis tend to have softer sidewalls and ride better. Michelins theoretically last longer but are usually considerably more expensive. I'd probably recommend some Conti's myself. I've had a few sets and always been happy with them.
 
I use Contis on the MB for all seasons. Almost as good as Michelin Pilot Sport in the summer, excellent in the rain and not scary in ice/snow. They last wayyy better then the pencil eraser Michelins and are quiet for 75% of their life.
 
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