Damn, stepped out on me for the first time today

[cbrookre]

Was driving on the freeway (Hwy 26 westbound just outside of the Sylvan Tunnel if you are from Portland) doing about 55MPH in 4th gear, about 6am. Had been raining the past 24 hours but was not raining this morning, just seemingly mildly wet. Was in the left lane, when a semi truck was hanging out in my blind spot in the middle lane. Did not stomp on it, just a little extra gas on a left hand turn (not a tight one by any means) to get him out of my blind spot. Back end stepped out, which was maximum pucker factor with a concrete barrier on one side (no shoulder) and semi on the other, would have been a really bad wreck. Got maybe 20-30% sideways (which seemed like much more at the time) before straightening it out. Holy Sh%#! The kicker was that I had it is rain/snow mode which I almost never do. Did not think it was possible in those conditions to get it to do that even while trying! Did not downshift, was not a "stomping on it" by any means. Makes me re-think if I should drive our Expedition on these days instead. Makes me think there must have been some oils on the road (very warm for well over a month before yesterday's rain).

Anybody else have this happen in similar conditions? Have been driving RWD for a long time without every having it step out on the highway! Makes me grateful for all the time spent on Forza 7/Horizon 3 with my wheel, counter-steering through turns while letting off and not stomping on the brakes. Whew!

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[IronG]

Was driving on the freeway (Hwy 26 westbound just outside of the Sylvan Tunnel if you are from Portland) doing about 55MPH in 4th gear, about 6am. Had been raining the past 24 hours but was not raining this morning, just seemingly mildly wet. Was in the left lane, when a semi truck was hanging out in my blind spot in the middle lane. Did not stomp on it, just a little extra gas on a left hand turn (not a tight one by any means) to get him out of my blind spot. Back end stepped out, which was maximum pucker factor with a concrete barrier on one side (no shoulder) and semi on the other, would have been a really bad wreck. Got maybe 20-30% sideways (which seemed like much more at the time) before straightening it out. Holy Sh%#! The kicker was that I had it is rain/snow mode which I almost never do. Did not think it was possible in those conditions to get it to do that even while trying! Did not downshift, was not a "stomping on it" by any means. Makes me re-think if I should drive our Expedition on these days instead. Makes me think there must have been some oils on the road (very warm for well over a month before yesterday's rain).

Anybody else have this happen in similar conditions? Have been driving RWD for a long time without every having it step out on the highway! Makes me grateful for all the time spent on Forza 7/Horizon 3 with my wheel, counter-steering through turns while letting off and not stomping on the brakes. Whew!

Maybe your tires? How many miles on them? Could be time for a new set.

 

[cbrookre]

Ah yes, forgot to mention that, plenty of tread. Got them about 15,000 miles ago, but they are decent all seasons and are not even close to being replaced (have been taking care of them, rotated every 5k miles). I am not the guy doing parking lot burn-outs.

Edit: To add, the temps were reasonable too, about 60 degrees F and I was about 20 miles into my commute.

 

[BlueThunder]

Tires. Somebody already asked, but my first guess was you were on the stock Pirellis which are like driving on an oil spill on a frozen lake. 55 in 4th, I'm not sure how much the rain/snow mode retards the engine (guessing normally you'd be sitting around ~2300rpm depending on your diff. ratio) but there's still plenty of power to break it loose.

All I know is going from the stock Pirellis to my Conti DWS06 (also went from 8.5 wide to almost 10.5 with wheels) made a ridiculous difference, even driving in snow. Living in the PNW, might want to look into the best tires you can get if this is a daily/all season car.

 

[99Zeus99]

Note to self, avoid Pirellis Glad you and your horse are ok man. I have the Michelins and rain driving is no problem so far.

 

[Norm Peterson]

As long as the previous day's rain was more than mist and light drizzle, the oils should have been cleared.

Just because a tire claims to have "all-season capability" doesn't mean they're going to be all that good at everything that comes their way. Limited-slip differentials - at least the clutch and cone styles - can make wet cornering on enough throttle to accelerate at all a bit of a challenge (been there, done that).

Lastly, while the nannies (including more than just the reduced throttle sensitivity in wet/snow mode) may well have helped keep this episode from turning out really badly, they weren't good enough to keep it from getting started.


Norm

 

[Racerx009]

Hey if it's stock tires ditch them I drive on Bf Goodrich comp 2 A/S and the grip is impressive especially in the rain. I drive pretty aggressive even the rain old habit from law enforcement days. They get a excellent rating and it's a great price. I enjoy reviewing tires and seeing what they are rated by people . Traction starts with good tires.

Was driving on the freeway (Hwy 26 westbound just outside of the Sylvan Tunnel if you are from Portland) doing about 55MPH in 4th gear, about 6am. Had been raining the past 24 hours but was not raining this morning, just seemingly mildly wet. Was in the left lane, when a semi truck was hanging out in my blind spot in the middle lane. Did not stomp on it, just a little extra gas on a left hand turn (not a tight one by any means) to get him out of my blind spot. Back end stepped out, which was maximum pucker factor with a concrete barrier on one side (no shoulder) and semi on the other, would have been a really bad wreck. Got maybe 20-30% sideways (which seemed like much more at the time) before straightening it out. Holy Sh%#! The kicker was that I had it is rain/snow mode which I almost never do. Did not think it was possible in those conditions to get it to do that even while trying! Did not downshift, was not a "stomping on it" by any means. Makes me re-think if I should drive our Expedition on these days instead. Makes me think there must have been some oils on the road (very warm for well over a month before yesterday's rain).

Anybody else have this happen in similar conditions? Have been driving RWD for a long time without every having it step out on the highway! Makes me grateful for all the time spent on Forza 7/Horizon 3 with my wheel, counter-steering through turns while letting off and not stomping on the brakes. Whew!

 

[michail71]

I had a big thread on this also. The A10 will aggressively downshift and can get you in trouble under the right conditions.

I was trying to get a car out of my blind spot too.

 

[BmacIL]

I had similar happen in the first month or so of ownership. Stepped out rolling onto the throttle in 2nd in a straight line. It was one of those moments where it teaches you to respect it. Road crown, tire temp, road temp all can have an effect outside of probably just being a tad overzealous with the throttle

 

[Deleted member 35786]

Mine has done the same at a much slower speed. Surprised the ESP/ Traction control or Advance Trac did not activate. Hmm

 

[WildHorse]

Note to self, avoid Pirellis

And the the always stupid Pirelli comments. Glad to see your drinking all that interweb kool aid bullshit. Bothing wrong with em.

 

[michail71]

It shouldn't be too bad if you respond correctly to the situation by not turning the opposite direction and/or hitting the brakes.

 

[draph]

I'm not sure if I'm really a fan of the drive modes that change throttle mapping. Owner's manual doesn't specifically state how the software works...does snow/rain mode clip how far you can open the throttle, or does it just change the mapping so the first 50% of travel open throttle 20% to avoid spin outs when accelerating from a stop, and then when you get past 50% you have a multiplier effect so you'd still eventually get wide open throttle with foot to the floor? So, in a situation where the OP wanted to apply enough throttle to gently accelerate, he wasn't getting enough up to 50% travel, pushes it a little more, and then, *boom* he gets 30% more throttle with another 10% throttle applicaiton as the multiplier kicks in, causing the rear to step out? IMHO, I'd rather have 1 for 1 throttle mapping all the time, and simply learn how to feather the gas pedal in the given weather situation....but, perhaps the Ford engineers know better and I'd be doing accidental burnouts all the time with a true 1 for 1 gas pedal position to throttle opening ratio.

 

[Zombiefro]

And the the always stupid Pirelli comments. Glad to see your drinking all that interweb kool aid bullshit. Bothing wrong with em.

Your spelling gave me an aneurysm

 

[cbrookre]

Note to self, avoid Pirellis Glad you and your horse are ok man. I have the Michelins and rain driving is no problem so far.

Have driven all last winter with these tires, no issues in driving rain, slow rain, wet roads after rain (we get it all here in the PNW ). Tires are Proxes 4 plus, they had them at the local tire place Les Schwab and they have excellent service and support. Not the best tires out there but certainly not the worst either.

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