fishtailing effect

[Rik]

I have had a couple of instances lately where my roadster starts to fishtail and jaunt side to side like I'm on a sheet of ice. Last week it did this with some light snow and slush so I chalked it up to ice-like conditions. Today, I drove in some moderate rain and same experience... driving speed limit on highway and a sudden shift of the car to left and right. It wasn't a major shift like I was going to do a 360 but enough and sudden enough that it's a scary feeling. I let off the pedal instantly and dropped to 40mph, which helped but still gave the occasional shift.

I have 6 month old tires on the rear and likely the original tires on the front. Both front and rear are the Yokohama Neova.

And, after checking the tread, I just noticed how the fronts have a ton of tread remaining and the rears are bald!

I recall a thread about rear tires lasting not so long, guess I just figured it out first-hand. I'll do some forum searching and looking for recommendations on best all-season tires. I am not looking for performance tires.

 

[Doug_G]

Get your suspension inspected. There have been a couple of instances of a tie rod coming loose. Toe out would cause instability. A suspension part coming off would spell disaster.

 

[ViperDoc]

I recall a thread about rear tires lasting not so long, guess I just figured it out first-hand. I'll do some forum searching and looking for recommendations on best all-season tires. I am not looking for performance tires.

Correct. The rears wear out about 3 times faster than the fronts due to the regenerative breaking that is constantly slowing you down (well, not constantly!) I have gone through 3 sets of rears and am probably about to swap out the fronts too.

 

[smorgasbord]

With Roadster VIN #630, you should have a v2.0 and so the tire thread for you will be: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/4864-2-0-2-5-Roadster-Roadster-Sport-Tire-Thread

I would avoid regular all-season tires, even if you drive in Range Mode (power limited) as regen is a big contributor to rear tire wear and my own experience is that lack of adhesion on rear tires causes traction control to engage, which is dangerous during regenerative braking. So, sticky tires aren't just for showing off, they're for safety.

 

[Doug_G]

Correct. The rears wear out about 3 times faster than the fronts due to the regenerative breaking that is constantly slowing you down (well, not constantly!) I have gone through 3 sets of rears and am probably about to swap out the fronts too.

Pretty sure the more wear is caused by pushing the pedal down than by lifting it up!

 

[smorgasbord]

Pretty sure the more wear is caused by pushing the pedal down than by lifting it up!

I don't think so. With mis-matched tires on the rear of my car for a few days, TC engaged far more lifting off the accelerator than mashing it down, even in Performance Mode. I know the g-forces on acceleration are higher, etc., so I can't explain it, but I can't deny what I saw.

 

[jbadger]

And, after checking the tread, I just noticed how the fronts have a ton of tread remaining and the rears are bald!

I recall a thread about rear tires lasting not so long, guess I just figured it out first-hand. I'll do some forum searching and looking for recommendations on best all-season tires. I am not looking for performance tires.

I've been fishtailing a lot doing hard turns lately, and when I took my car in for service found out that my tires are at 1/8 and below the wear bar. I got an upgraded suspension and they still only lasted 8-9 months.

I'm switching over to the R888s and hope they last longer, but the fishtailing can be fun if you're prepared for it

 

[strider]

It's probably the bald tires but also check lug nut torque, tire pressure, etc.

I get ~10k miles out of a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports in the rear. Car is my daily driver. I only got 7k miles out of the Yoko AD07's and I thought they made the car feel nervous. The MPSS's have a 15k warranty so you'll get 30% off your next set. Unfortunately you can only do that every other set.

I'm thinking about putting R888's on the front after rainy season ends. Don't expect they'll do very well in the wet.

 

[Rik]

strider - are you using 225 or 235 on the rear?

Thanks all for the quick feedback!

 

[Alan]

I don't think so. With mis-matched tires on the rear of my car for a few days, TC engaged far more lifting off the accelerator than mashing it down, even in Performance Mode. I know the g-forces on acceleration are higher, etc., so I can't explain it, but I can't deny what I saw.

Never seen the TC engage on lifting off but then again you say you did have mismatched tires.

I get around 20,000 miles out of the front AD07s
I get 2,500 to 4,000 out of the rear AD07s/08s

Others seem to get >10,000 out of the rears & fairly sure its totally down to how heavy your right foot is.

 

[wiztecy]

Never seen the TC engage on lifting off but then again you say you did have mismatched tires.

I get around 20,000 miles out of the front AD07s
I get 2,500 to 4,000 out of the rear AD07s/08s

Others seem to get >10,000 out of the rears & fairly sure its totally down to how heavy your right foot is.

Curious why I'm getting way more life out of my tires, I'm not treating them like a princess by far. My Roadster is my daily commuter where I travel approx 70 miles / day. I also use regen very aggressively on hwy 17 through the Santa Cruz mtns to and from work. I don't snap the accelerator off the line but roll it on then lay into full torque afterwards. Also safer at redlights/intersections since people can't judge that a vehicle can accelerate so quickly, always someone who'll just pull right in front of you without a clue.

I got 12.5k out of my original AD07 Rears. Changed out for AD08 Tires, I'm just over 28k now, so that's 15.5k so far on them and I think I can get 20k. My fronts are still the original AD07 tires with 28k+.. Just getting down close to the wear bars on the rear, inside camber wear is more but not feathering and wearing pretty nice. Front still has some life but I want to to a full swap this round, the AD07 have UV damage and the rubber lost its elasticity.

So the R888's look appealing but they look very unsafe when it rains and would hydroplane with ease. Looks like they hook up very well when dry but would be a nightmare around water since there's no channeling design built into the tire to flush the water away from the surface area that allows the tire to still connect to the road. The tire compound seems to work good when wet, but its when the water is puddling on the road and the tire begins to push it forward which it eventually rides up on.

About 4:10 below is where he begins losing it...

 

[djp]

I second the recommendation to have your alignment checked at the same time you put the new tires on. The Roadster is very sensitive to slight miscalibrations in the alignment settings. Mine felt a bit squirrelly off the line, even with new tires, until I had the alignment dialed in. Now it's rock solid. Try to find an alignment expert who's well known at your local track rather than using Tesla or a neighbourhood mechanic.