Spinning wheels in wet weather.

So it's been about 25 years since I've had a rear wheel drive car. When I drive my recently acquired 1998 Tacoma in the rain, and give it any amount of gas from a start the wheels spin like nobody's business.

Am I too much of a lead foot with my 2.4 liter auto trans taco truck? Or is it that I might have cheap tires? They're "Sumitomos" or something like that but they're almost new.

My others car has awd and is nearly impossible to spin the tires in wet weather. Do I just need to lower my expectations and lay off the gas?

 

It could be the tires, but more than likely its you not being used to driving a truck. There is not much weight over the rear axle to help with traction. Just take some time to learn how your truck handles and you'll be fine. You can also look into getting street or all terrain tires with good sipping on them to help. Or place some kind of weight over the rear axle to help. I grew up driving trucks, you can spin the tires without effort, but I'm not in high school anymore and tires cost too much these days.

 

sumi's are bottom of the barrel.................that said, throw some sand bags in the bed

proper tires will def help tho.

 

well the trucks 2.4 engine isn't very powerful so its geared down which adds to it spinning tires easier.

that said tires make a big difference but go easier on the gas pedal and you will get used to it or as others mentioned adding weight in the bed helps get better traction but it also burns more gas too.

I think your main problem is you need more time for getting used to the truck

 

Get some tires that aren't PISS

 

I say it's a combination of both. Go easier on the gas pedal and get better tires.

 

I guess you missed the part where he said IN WET WEATHER

he is also coming from front wheel drive where you can press the gas all you want and cant hardly spin the tires.

going from front wheel drive to rear wheel drive takes getting used to and the biggest problem is too much pedal when you start off on wet roads.

to prevent this he would need gumbo mudders and 100 lbs of weight added in bed of the truck.

that said it can have something to do with the tires but you guys are just to quick to blame it on the tires when the man told you this is the FIRST REAR WHEEL DRIVE HE EVER OWNED and its happening IN WET WEATHER so its not all about the tires unless they are completely bald in which case I think he would know better

 

Trucks are generally geared lower than cars, right? I don't remember ever spinning the wheels in my '72 Celica.

Based on some quick research, the power to weight ratio of both cars is the same, but the Tacoma has about 1/3 more horsepower and torque. My guess is that more power pushing a bigger vehicle would result in spinning wheels. Especially if most of the weight was in the front.

I can do a "burnout" on wet pavement with my bicycle if I put my weight over the handlebars and use the smallest chainring and biggest cog (aka "first gear").

So I guess I answered my own question. I also remembered back to my loadmaster days in the Air Force when we would have to load any pickup trucks into the plane. We always backed vehicles in, no matter what they were, and pickups were a huge pain because backing up the ramp the wheels would almost always spin due to shift in weight cause by the incline of the ramp.

 

Get new tires, then start getting used to your new truck again.

 

I would check the age of the tires by looking at the date code stamped into them. Granted if the truck came from Arizona they may dry and crack early on in their life span. Then I would look for small cracks in the tread to determine if they have dried out. Next thought is to drop tire pressure a bit, 5psi or so below what they should be at to see how that effects traction.

Braking shouldn't be too much of an issue, the front wheels do most of the braking - where most of the weight is anyway.

I have an '03, in wet weather turning a corner from a dead stop I have to be careful with the accelerator, the inside rear wheel will break loose easily.

I actually find it fun to drive in wet weather, its a good way to learn to drive with limited traction without having to go too fast on public roads, especially cornering.

 

Lowering psi tends to flatten out the face of the tire and increase hydroplaning iirc compared to a properly filled tire pushing/cutting thru the rain.

 

That brings me to my question. I just picked up this truck about a month ago. The front tires are not waring evenly they are thinner in the center. It looks like over inflation to me. What pressure are you guys running? It's a pre runner, the door sticker says 26/29. I have never run tire pressure that low on the streets. The tires are rated at 40, and had 40 in them today when I checked. I dropper them down to 35. What are you running and how are your tire waring?

 

35 is still too high. Drop them down to what the door sticker says.

 

Yes, an overinflated tire will make less contact on the road and can contribute to your loss of traction problem.

 

Just because the tire is rated for 40 doesn't mean they should always be there. Mine are rated for 80 but I've never had them past 50. Follow what the door sticker says and the do the chalk test to fine tune the pressure.

 

I read some reviews on the tires I have (Sumitomo HTR T4)

Most say their traction is crap on wet pavement.

My problem is that the tires are almost new and my "accountant" has only agreed to let me keep the truck if it didn't cost her any money (we already have two other cars).

 

I would just try to explain it's a bit of a safety issue. Nothing worse than trying to merge and your wheels just spin and spin

 

Over-inflation won't help. Lower the pressure down. OEM recommendations are 29psi.

Aside from that,its totally normal....... Rear wheel drive with no weight on the rear wheels. It's a truck.

Tires can play a part....but getting quality tires isn't going to make things that much better. I have Dueler Revo's and my tires spin especially when the roads are slightly wet / greasy.

 

Here ya go.

Best tires I've had to combat this were the Pirelli Scorpions; GREAT TRACTION. The only negative to Pirellis is you have to balance them perfectly; they really don't like almost balanced.

 

The problem is just from a standing start. More embarrassing than anything else.