Big Traction issues

[HenriBedworth]

Hi All,

The last few days ive had massive traction issues on my m135i, i know this time of year isnt the best but its alot worse than normal, to the point now that the car slides around roundabouts when driving normal speeds. Under low acceleration the traction light is flickering like mad while the back axle squirms around.

Ive got my winter tyres on so i dont see that as an issue, pressures are exactly the same as what they have aleays been. Ive driven it on loads of different roads and its the same on all surfaces.


Has anyone else experianced this before? Any help is apricated

[marco_polo]

What width winter tyres are they? What age?

Winters are more groove/sipe that rubber, so if you've gone much narrower than the stock 245mm rears you're always going to struggle for traction.

[markhurley]

Hi All,

The last few days ive had massive traction issues on my m135i, i know this time of year isnt the best but its alot worse than normal, to the point now that the car slides around roundabouts when driving normal speeds. Under low acceleration the traction light is flickering like mad while the back axle squirms around.

Ive got my winter tyres on so i dont see that as an issue, pressures are exactly the same as what they have aleays been. Ive driven it on loads of different roads and its the same on all surfaces.


Has anyone else experianced this before? Any help is apricated

probably to warm for winter tyres ! also what brand winter's are you on ?

[HenriBedworth]

Current tyres are nankang, 225 front and 235 on the rear, i had them last winter and theyve been on for about a month and a half so far this year. Didnt have any issues with them last winter.

Currently about 5-6 deg here so its under the 7 deg reccomended for winters.

Left hand corners seem to have decent grip but turning right is terrible, could it be diff related?

[marco_polo]

Shouldn't grip differently left to right. For a quick experiment I'd swap the rear wheels from side to side, see if the problem swaps sides too.

If not, sounds like a suspension/bush/alignment/diff/brake issue.

[HenriBedworth]

Cheers, ill give it a go tomorrow and see what happens

[ClaretFozzy]

Width shouldn’t be a problem, rather the brand of tyre that is, depending on how they’ve been stored.

I’m running 215/45/18 Michelin Pilot Alpin 4s on the wife’s M235i (purely because I had a set left over from a previous car) and traction and handling is still very good.

[MLite]

I had similar last night. Winters, square 225 Dunlop set up, on for over a month less traction sure but not a problem (fun if anything) but last night like driving on spilt diesel! Today better but still silly trying to pull out of side roads with any lock on.

[dark_cobra]

Function of the amount of salt spread lately and the lack of rain. Greasy round my way too. Made worse by me not being allowed winter tyres on my company car (absolute madness from Alphabet lease Company!) Hoping a new set of summers will help in the next couple of weeks.

[markhurley]

I had similar last night. Winters, square 225 Dunlop set up, on for over a month less traction sure but not a problem (fun if anything) but last night like driving on spilt diesel! Today better but still silly trying to pull out of side roads with any lock on.

It’s to warm for winters at the minute, when I tried a set 2 years ago I found them horrific ! Especially in damp conditions above 3/4 degrees

I’ve said it before winter tyres just don’t work well with our sporadic weather,also they seem to have a very low shelf life after 2 winters people report that they just dont work very well at all.

Having said that if you live in areas prone to bad winters they ain’t such a bad idea and are probably worth investing in but at the minute (where I live south east ) they would be effectively worse than summer tyres due to the warmer damp weather.

Think x climate’s would be more useful as a all weather tyre opposed to a winter tyre imo .

[MLite]

Well thats a point (2 summers!) mine are 5 years old used 2 summers...

[sgb27]

You haven't recently put any tyre dressing on the sidewalls have you? Get a bit of that too far up the edge and it will makes thing fun...

As others have said, some days the roads just are really greasy, a combination of salt/grit/dirt, moisture, temperature etc. I don't find my winters any different up to about 8 or 9 degrees, at that point they don't really lose grip, but can certainly feel it's much "softer" going around corners. In a way it's easier to control near the limit because you get massive amounts warning that you're getting near the limit.

Don't forget winter tyres are designed to be able to run safely at their Vmax in much warmer temperatures than we have now. Places like Germany it's illegal not to run them in winter, and often near the changeover dates temperatures can be 20+ in places.

[SO8]

I have this issue too - on a BMW set of Continental winters. I have had Dunlop winters on a 330d and it felt really good ... the Continentals are far worse - or at least seem it (when online reviews sing their praises).

The pressures are right and they are about 400 miles in now so scrubbed off the initial newness ... yet they feel bad compared to the Dunlops on the 330d. Interestingly my E92 330d felt far more solid and planted generally than my M240i convertible does - normal tyres or winters. I wonder if the suspension set up (passive on both cars) gives this 'feeling'.

I need snow now, not salted roads ! Lol

[NISFAN]

I don’t understand this thread, in my experience winter tyres generally bring on the yellow DSC light much easier. I put it down to the floppy tread blocks that mimic ‘wheelspin’ at the best of times.


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[GeeDee]

I don’t understand this thread, in my experience winter tyres generally bring on the yellow DSC light much easier. I put it down to the floppy tread blocks that mimic ‘wheelspin’ at the best of times.


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I can't believe that tread movement will bring on the light.

Tempted to suggest, as others, that it's a combination of salted roads absorbing moisture from the generally damp conditions and creating "greasy" surfaces before the salt gets properly washed away with rain. I've had moments of extreme slipperiness recently.

One other thing, I noticed when I first put on my winters this winter that they initially had much less grip than expected - I think the tyres need to burn off a thin oxidised layer or rubber before working properly.