Peeling out on wet roads/wheels locking when braking hard on wet roads

Discussion in 'Kia Niro' started by Dominica81, Sep 18, 2020.

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  1. Dominica81

    Dominica81 Member

    Does anyone have the problem of their tires spinning out on wet roads? I have the car in normal mode most of the time so it’s not like I’m driving with a leadfoot. But we live in an area where we get lots of rain and I’ve noticed a lot of problems that maybe I can fix with some of your suggestions. The first one is that if I am on a slight hill my tires will peel out from a stop if the road is wet. The other day I was driving out of my neighborhood and a couple was crossing the street so I had to break a little bit harder. My wheels locked and it made me skid a little bit until I let off they go pedal. The other thing I noticed last winter is I parked in a slightly muddy area when I dropped my son off at school. When I went to reverse the car the wheels spun for a split second and then the whole car stopped. I could not reverse at all after that. I had to pull forward and try again. Any thoughts? Shouldn’t the car have antilock brakes? And what about the wheels spinning out/stopping completely?
     
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  3. Hedge

    Hedge Member

    On spinning out, the motor simple has too much power/torque for a front wheel drive car. Of all the vehicles I have owned it is the easiest to spin the front tires. They can spin at 30 miles an hour if you step a little to hard, even in eco.

    On themlocking up- What do you have the regen set on? Can you turn on/off ABS? I would check Andre if it is turn on. Same for the wheels spinning the is a button the turns on anti slipping it has a picture of the car with curvy lane lines.
     
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  4. Paul-ATL

    Paul-ATL New Member

    Yep. This car spins out easy.
     
  5. Agreed, not much you can do except feather the throttle.
     
  6. Robert@SF

    Robert@SF New Member

    You can try running ECO mode, which moderates the throttle response..
     
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  8. As Hedge earlier replied, it’s a case of enough torque that the tires lose grip. As we all recall from high school physics F=µN (force = coefficient of friction times normal force). You can’t change N as it essentially the weight of the vehicle, you can change F by not pressing the accelerator as much, and you can change mu by replacing the tires.

    The Niro comes equipped with Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires which provide decent grip for all seasons while minimizing rolling resistance. Replacing (at least the front two) tires with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S almost completely eliminates “spinning out.” I have run them for 10k miles and can count on one hand the number of times the tires have slipped while accelerating, and even more importantly panic stops (I drive 55 miles daily in Dallas rush hour traffic) are now controlled and shorter.

    Unfortunately Kia specified 215/55-17 and that size does not exist for performance tires. I’ve installed 225/50-17 and although they are 4.7% wider I’ve never had any rubbing or interference. Additionally they are 1.7% smaller circumference, so range is reduced by same and your speedo reads 1 mph less at 45mph and 2 less at 90. Tiny sacrifices for the greatly increased safety.
     

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