Last night, as I was driving below 70km/h and slightly pushed the brake to slow down, in a straight road, I seemed to lose total control of the vehicle - the car seemed like 'floating in the air' kind of sensation and then pull abruptly to a side. This already happened like two more other times since November. On all occasions, the roads were [b]wet[/b]. On all occasions I was nearly wrecking on a side wall or some car in front of me. Most of the times the car will of course turn off.

I'm surprised mostly because:
1) Tyres (15") are less than 8 months old and are practically new
2) In one occasion I was driving at around 45km/h when this similar thing happened
3) In all occasions I was in a stupid straight road, meaning that i didn't brake while steering.

I don't think it's something from the brakes as they work perfectly well in dry conditions. What do you think I should check out? Or is it perfectly normal as I don't have ABS?

..and despite my nickname, I was perfectly sober

Check your brakes fella, it could be that your discs are either gone or warped (I think i've spealt that right) warped as in out of shape with groves on them as in not a flat disc lol.
Does it judder at all?
I reckon it's gotta be something to do with your brakes.

No it's perfectly silent when i push the brakes. And as I said before, in dry roads the brakes work perfect as in my eyes pop out of the orbits

Lol, dont know what else it could be then mate.
Thats weird.
Well anyways there will be far more clued up people that may be able to help you in the club, I just thought it may have been brakes but in this case it's not.
Hope you resolve your issues with this weird problem.

your car got ABS?

to cause such a reaction it sounds like you are gettin alot of brake power one side and nothing another, so dragging the car off the road. it will most likely be a front brake issue (though dont write the back off) as the bias is towards the front of the car.

mite well be a good idea to have the wheels off, check the calipers aint seized and that the discs and pads are indeed in good condition. we cracked the discs on a mondeo tryin to stop from 135mph and that didnt make a noise, it just didnt stop, so worth inspecting!

Arty

No it hasn't got ABS.

Don't get off by the sentence 'pull abruptly to one side' cos it just happened to me last night. Usually, the car seems to be thrusted forwards (i.e. it continues straight but I have no control over it until it turns off) when i push the brake in a wet road (although it's not always the case).

The issue is quite random in the sense that not everytime that the road is wet happens.

Guys after some reading I found out that this phenomenon is called "Hydroplaning".

When a car hydropanes, it is riding on a very thin layer of water between the tires and the road.

I also read that if the car skids, one doesn't need to panic nor steer or press abruptly the break - one has to steer in the direction of the skid and allow the car to slow down.

So I really believe that the cause is due to my cheapo tires - Good Ride they are called. They should have named them Ride into the wall!!!!

best set of tyres i ever had on mine were labelled 'barum'

[url]http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/barum/automobile/general/home/index_en.html[/url]

dont know which type they were tho.
they performed well in the wet and in the dry. have to say, the firestones i have on at the moment are good when its dry but naff when theres any amount of water on the road.

interesting. I've always thought its worth the extra money for a good set of tyres. Hope a new set will solve your problem

i've got some michelins on, can't really fault them. Get them on my mountain bike too!

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c321/maylander739/mochelin.jpg[/img]

ive got bridgestone potenza tyres on mine, yes they may be on the high side but i have never had any issues with them and in the wet they are fantastic! unless u really try, u will not slide.

I've had Eagle F1's on for years now. Even did a review too in Feb 04 [url]http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews-all-8046.html[/url]
Seriously good tyres - BUT definitely NOT IN THE SNOW

You should service the calipers chap, sounds like one sides pulling more than the other, which would defo cause you to lose grip on a wet road, whats probably happened is the slider bolts on one side have siezed, give em a good greasing with copperslip anad a good bleed of the system, along with the better tyres, you should be fine

m0053 if you like the barums check out National tyres at the mo. Up to 45% off on them.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/iow323f/winter_specials1.gif[/img]

PS. no i don't work for them or earn any commission

[quote="drunkenmunky"]Guys after some reading I found out that this phenomenon is called "Hydroplaning".

When a car hydropanes, it is riding on a very thin layer of water between the tires and the road.

I also read that if the car skids, one doesn't need to panic nor steer or press abruptly the break - one has to steer in the direction of the skid and allow the car to slow down.[/quote]

AquaPlaning...............

[quote="andym323"]You should service the calipers chap, sounds like one sides pulling more than the other, which would defo cause you to lose grip on a wet road, whats probably happened is the slider bolts on one side have siezed, give em a good greasing with copperslip anad a good bleed of the system, along with the better tyres, you should be fine [/quote]

I had greased the right hand side one, a couple of months ago cos it was giving me some problems. I believe that by the recent rainy days it needs more greasing which may be an important factor of my problem.

Sp the calipers seazing, is this a common thing?

eheh the question should be - is it expensive to replace?

all that messin around and u blame it all on aqua planing. we all know what that is lol :P

serve u rite for having DeathMaster - DitchFinder tyres :P lol

Arty

I've just bought Uniroyal Rainsport tyres and in the wet they are great and in the dry they are just as great.
I'd recomend them.

barum brillantis. thats the tyre i'd recomend. ive got them on mine and they grip far better than the avon's that were previously on (could be due to the fact they were pretty low on tread

pretty cheap too, and if im not mistaken,. there produced by continental.

cheers

jamie

Get a set of black diamond combi disks if you dont have ABS. Im still waiting for mine to get delivered.

I have spoken to may mechanics and peeps who have had them put in and every1 seems to recommend them as they say it makes a real diffrence.

Less Pad wear
Better stopping
no judering


I