Weird handling on rain
#1
Weird handling on rain
Hello guys! I drive an Audi A4 B5 Turbo Quattro Sport (180 PS). Anyway my car is fully stock with Michelin Energy Saver tires which i have for like 10.000 kilometers. Today as I was driving home it started raining really bad and I was on the highway going 60-80 kilometers/hour and my car gave me the feeling that the rear wheels were giving more power. The result was that the car handling became very very sensitive and gave me the feeling that if I steer a bit hard I am going to spin. Any thoughts why this is caused? On dry surface my car handles well but everytime it rains its worse than driving a rear wheel drive..
The car kinda feels that all wheels are coupled together like having a diff lock.
The car kinda feels that all wheels are coupled together like having a diff lock.
#2
The quattro sends power to the wheels with most traction. So if your front wheels spin faster than the rear wheels, it will see it as the rear wheels having better traction and send more power to them. Check your tire tread. I was having hydroplaning problems when my tire tread got low.
#3
Yeah exactly it feels like it's floating! I couldn't remember the word! hydroplanning! thing is that it doesn't do it all the times...sometimes it's just fine. my Quattro is the 3rd generation which defaults at 50:50. so when it's raining I guess it sends power to the rear. is there a way to restore it back to default? like a maneuver or something? Michelin says that these tires go up to 50k Kk kilometers! I only have 10.
#4
Dude just buy yourself a set of new tires. I got the Falken Azenis PT-722 A/S tires at discountiredirect.com for $331 dollars, free shipping, plus I got a $60 dollar rebate so I paid $271 for those tires. They may not be great tires for snow and ice, but I will be buying myself a set of Nokian tires very soon for the winter. I've put like 1,000 miles on the PT-722's and I must say they are a very very good tire. They are priced right, well at least were, and they have great tread wear. The grip is also great. No point in buying summer tires unless you need maximum dry grip.
If I had too buy another set of tires for the summer, I would definitely buy the same PT-722's for that price. It was a great deal.
If I had too buy another set of tires for the summer, I would definitely buy the same PT-722's for that price. It was a great deal.
#6
There is some rumbling on high speeds...over 140 km...i think its one of my rims... I will do an alignment config. And I dont think its my tires....an as I recall Energy saver is all weather tire... I live in Greece so most of us dont change tires over winter or summer...we prefer all weather tires. which are good on all surfaces...but not excellent on any...
#7
I can almost guarantee it's your tires, just because they're new doesn't automatically mean they'll be good in the rain. You could also have some camber and/or toe issues in the back causing it to be more twitchy, but that by itself wouldn't cause serious issues. The quattro system has nothing to do with it, unless you're making 300+ hp and floor the gas everywhere you go. Do you really think these cars make enough power stock to break the tires loose at highway speeds?
#8
No I just find it really weird for a such a good tire like Michelin Energy Saver to be that sucky... Anyway I will try to switch the front tires with the back ones and see if anything changes... if the front ones are not as good as the rear ones that causes the spin...so if i reverse them the rear ones will spin and the front ones will grip.. if that happens..then its definitely the tires.. Or I get my friends continental and try them out....
Lets wait for rain.... in Greece....in the middle of the summer
Lets wait for rain.... in Greece....in the middle of the summer
#9
If you had camber issues with the front wheels, the front tires would have low tread on the inside edge. That would cause the front tires to hydroplane while the rear tires still had grip. If you kept on the gas at that point, the front tires would start to spin faster than the rear tires. Then the quattro would transfer more power to the rear wheels. It wouldn't be a huge amount because the front tires would have very little grip, but it would happen. I had camber issues with my front tires and in heavy rain on the highway, it would hydroplane. Once I started heading for the center concrete barrier on the highway, tried to turn the wheel to avoid it, and kept going in a straight line. I know you're not supposed to turn the wheel when hydroplaning, but when you're drifting towards a concrete barrier you instinctively do it.
#10
yes that's exactly the feeling. it's like you lose all the handling of the car entirely. My tire threads seem good... I'll take a picture later on. I am just frustrated having such a good car and losing all handling in wet highways!