If you drive any car in the rain with bald tires you're asking for some serious pain.

S2000-specific, I believe that car has too aggressive of a rear toe setting for wet conditions. Much too skittish.

 

Glad you are undamaged. Hopefully you have made sure that you purchased the correct sized rear (and front) tires. Just as a reminder, replacement tires sizes are not the same as those marked on your OEM S0-2s. Actually you don't mentions what tires you had on the car when you spun, I'm just guessing they were OEM.

Regards

 

Nope. You're the first.

 

cvan1976,

You probably spun out because the tires were bald. After you get new tires, you'll be able to safely drive in wet conditions, provided you're careful and aren't too aggressive (i.e. don't drive like you do in the dry).

I spent last winter on the S-02's and this winter on Kumho Ecsta Supra 712's, and haven't found them to be too different in the wet. Both do fine if you're careful. I suppose there could be a noticeable difference in wet traction as you approach the limit, but I don't ever push the car that hard in those conditions.

And yep, I've spun the car out before, but it wasn't due to wet roads. It was due to driver error and over-aggressive driving. I take it easy in the rain and haven't had any problems at all.

 

Most of your spin was probably attributed to the bald tires. But, you should never try to turn the wheel when hydroplaneing (sp?). If ever again you feel the car begin to hydroplane, just let off the gas slowly and hold the wheel steady, this allows the tires to re-grip once the rubber meets the road again. You will likely feel the tires re-acquire traction and be on your way. Also, going 60mph during just about any steady rainfall in a car with a small wheel well is not a good idea, slow down and get over in the right lane.

 

CVAN, I had the almost exact same thit happen. I hadn't had my car very long, but I'd racked up miles fast, so I hadn't even thought about tires yet. And I went spinning across the median at 60 mph. Again, luckily there weren't cars in the other direction of the highway, and no concrete things in the median. I got really lucky. After you get new rubber on yours (not meant as naughty) you'll notice a huge difference in the driving again. Just like new. Here I am saying this, and I need new ones again.. It's hard to drop 800 bucks on something that used to cost less than half of that, when I owned a piece of schit car!!

This brings up a question. You know how tired sometimes get discolored? Sort of a reddish or "lighter black" shade. Is there a cleaner that helps this? I don't care about it at the moment, cause I'm getting fresh tread soon, but in the future, how should I clean em???????

 

Finally, a decent answer.

I don't care what tires you have, if you jerk the wheel while you're hydroplaning, you're going to spin. That said, you'd be less likely to hydroplane with better tires. Just don't forget this lesson. Learn to handle your car when it's hydroplaning, 'cause some day it will happen again.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dcak
This brings up a question. You know how tired sometimes get discolored? Sort of a reddish or "lighter black" shade. Is there a cleaner that helps this? I don't care about it at the moment, cause I'm getting fresh tread soon, but in

 

DCAK - rubber degrades over time due to the UV light. To combat this carbon (I think) is used to try to absorb some of this.

What happens is that over a period of time this breaks down and stops absorbing UV radiation and tyres tend to go grey (if you've even seen old ones in a dump you can tell). This is usually when the rubber starts to break down and fall apart.

To combat this use a tyre protectant product (like Lycean said) that has UV protection in it. This will stop them going grey and stop them breaking down. It is best to do this everytime you wash your car, to keep your new tyres looking new.

M@

 

Hi Clayne,

I have not had my S2000 long enough to tweak the alignment any yet, but I have been thinking along this very line. Do you happen to know the stock toe? Any idea of how much difference a couple of degrees make in the cars responses?

I drive on roads where slick surfaces are occasionally encountered, even in the dry, due to mining operations and trucks. The Honda is ever so slightly too skittish for the situation, but it does not seem to be so bad that a stiffer front bar is called for. Do you have some actual experience with tweaking your alignment?

Thanks,

RED MX5