Tires or brakes and stopping distance

[rcs]

Hi Everyone,
I am having an increase in concern with my tires, or maybe it is the breaks? 3 times now on dry pavement someone 2 car lengths ahead of me, (that is the distance I stay away or even 3 car lengths away) has hit their brakes which of course makes me hit my breaks. My car has slid forward. This scares the you know what out of me, thinking what if this was rain or snow, I would be in trouble, especially since I live in Michigan! I have the Michelin Defender Ice and Snow tires, they do not make these anymore. The dealership states the tread is still very good, I can say the tread is still very deep. They are only about 1 1/2 to 2 years old now, I do not drive too many miles on a daily basis. But hitting the brakes on smooth or bumpy pavement has given the same issue/response going 40 mph. And I have never stopped hard before and heard my tires screech! They are inflated to specs on the door 35, and actually 1 psi higher 36. I have a 2015 Honda Pilot.

What are your thoughts on this? I am going to take it to the dealership and have them test drive it. Thanks in advance for your responses and time.

 

[Jetronic]

Winter tyres have abysmal performance on dry pavement, especially braking. But doesn't you car have ABS, it should not slip, just have increased stopping distances.

 

[rcs]

Winter tyres have abysmal performance on dry pavement, especially braking. But doesn't you car have ABS, it should not slip, just have increased stopping distances.

Agree, my SUV does have ABS. So maybe I am not acutely aware of the increased stopping distance? Hard for me to say because typically in the past, when I hit the brakes the car stops, and does not slide to a stop and I have never heard my tires screech!. Is this what you are speaking of when you mention increased stopping distance? I am not a fast driver, think middle aged women, going to work, grocery store and church LOL that's me! So I am not a speed demon LOL. I thought maybe it was oil on the roads? But our roads have been bone dry for about 1 week, no rain.

 

[eljefino]

The rule of thumb is to be two to three seconds behind the car in front of you. This only correlates to car lengths when you're going very slowly.

But since you feel something is up, go and get your brakes inspected. Most likely you have a front caliper hanging up-- they slide on pins and the pins rust in place and get stuck. An ABS activation should be noticeable, with pulsing and noise. If you can't activate your ABS on dry pavement, your brakes are in fact, bad.

 

[rcs]

The rule of thumb is to be two to three seconds behind the car in front of you. This only correlates to car lengths when you're going very slowly.

But since you feel something is up, go and get your brakes inspected. Most likely you have a front caliper hanging up-- they slide on pins and the pins rust in place and get stuck. An ABS activation should be noticeable, with pulsing and noise. If you can't activate your ABS on dry pavement, your brakes are in fact, bad.

Wow, thanks for the info. The brakes are only about 1 year old. I had new ones put in at the dealership. So when I hit the brakes I should feel the ABS pulsation. Hmm...I am going to try and notice that. I am going on Wednesday, that is the soonest they have available and with my schedule. Thanks so much for your response.

 

[bullwinkle]

Tires could be hardening, too-the old Continental WinterContacts on the xB are hard as a rock. Stopping OK, but somewhat noisy & prone to squeal around corners. They’re coming off before winter, for sure.

 

[Vercingetorix]

What is the actual date code on the tires?

 

[vavavroom]

Hi Everyone,
I am having an increase in concern with my tires, or maybe it is the breaks? 3 times now on dry pavement someone 2 car lengths ahead of me, (that is the distance I stay away or even 3 car lengths away)

The minimum safe distance is your reaction time plus the stopping distance.

The minimum safe distance between cars equals the distance traveled in 2-3 seconds at that speed on a dry road with optimal grip (brakes, tire tread, and road surface in good shape). You only find out how close you really are if the car in front of you does an emergency stop.

Your safe distance should be based on your reaction time which varies between people but could be up to 1.5 seconds plus stopping distance.

has hit their brakes which of course makes me hit my breaks. My car has slid forward. This scares the you know what out of me, thinking what if this was rain or snow, I would be in trouble, especially since I live in Michigan!

You are too close, whether it's due to your reaction time, road condition, tire condition, or brake condition, or a combination of various factors.

I have the Michelin Defender Ice and Snow tires, they do not make these anymore. The dealership states the tread is still very good, I can say the tread is still very deep.

On a dry road, tread does not matter for grip as it does on a wet road.

They are only about 1 1/2 to 2 years old now, I do not drive too many miles on a daily basis. But hitting the brakes on smooth or bumpy pavement has given the same issue/response going 40 mph.

If you had the extended brake distance only on bumpy roads I'd suspect bouncy tires and diminished grip due to worn shocks.

And I have never stopped hard before and heard my tires screech!

The first thing I do with any new-to-me vehicle si that I try out the handling and brakes on a parking lot or similar so that I know what to expect. Not even ABS behaves the same in all vehicles.

They are inflated to specs on the door 35, and actually 1 psi higher 36. I have a 2015 Honda Pilot.

What are your thoughts on this? I am going to take it to the dealership and have them test drive it. Thanks in advance for your responses and time.

The average stopping distance from 60mph is around 130 feet. This figure does not include reaction time. You could test the stopping distance. You need a cone or similar, chalk, a long tape measure or laser rangefinder, and a suitable place to do this. Then you know if you are in the ballpark.

 

[rcs]

What is the actual date code on the tires?

I am not sure if I am reading it correctly but there is a number 4022. Not sure if you are asking me or bullwinkle above your comment? The tires are brand new to me only since last year or so.

 

[Vercingetorix]

I am not sure if I am reading it correctly but there is a number 4022. Not sure if you are asking me or bullwinkle above your comment? The tires are brand new to me only since last year or so.

Sometimes “new” tires are several years old.

 

[rcs]

Sometimes “new” tires are several years old.

There are other numbers on there also. Thanks for the info, I always learn so much from these forums!

 

[ripcord]

I am not sure if I am reading it correctly but there is a number 4022. Not sure if you are asking me or bullwinkle above your comment? The tires are brand new to me only since last year or so.

Translated, 4022 means that the tire was manufactured in the 40th week of 2022. That means they are only a couple of years old since the date they were manufactured.

Snow tires should ideally only be used during winter weather. You need a set of all season tires for the rest of the year. Winter tires have a soft compound that will wear out quickly during normal weather so it's not economical to run them year round, plus, they do not stop or handle well. I think this is likely your problem, though I would have the ABS system checked. Are any warning lights lit on the dash?

Just a note on general driving styles. An expert and safe driver, in my opinion, should be able to go a very long time without ever having to "slam" on the brakes. One should be anticipating the flow of traffic by looking ahead of the car(s) in front of you, leaving plenty of space to stop without extreme maneuvers (i.e. panic braking), even if the car in front of you brakes quickly.

 

[rcs]

Translated, 4022 means that the tire was manufactured in the 40th week of 2022. That means they are only a couple of years old since the date they were manufactured.

Snow tires should ideally only be used during winter weather. You need a set of all season tires for the rest of the year. Winter tires have a soft compound that will wear out quickly during normal weather so it's not economical to run them year round, plus, they do not stop or handle well. I think this is likely your problem, though I would have the ABS system checked. Are any warning lights lit on the dash?

Just a note on general driving styles. An expert and safe driver, in my opinion, should be able to go a very long time without ever having to "slam" on the brakes. One should be anticipating the flow of traffic by looking ahead of the car(s) in front of you, leaving plenty of space to stop without extreme maneuvers (i.e. panic braking), even if the car in front of you brakes quickly.

Thanks ripcord. These are All season tires. Michelin Defender LTX M/S. I don't have dedicated snow tires, I do not have the room in my garage. I am a safe driver, not taking your comment personally,...the 2 situations were the person in front of me who stopped short before an intersection when there was not a stop sign nor was there a traffic light, not sure perhaps they did not know where they were going? But there were no other cars around. The 3rd incident, there were 4 cars in front of me and I was back 3 car lengths and the lead car decided to stop short and make a turn. No warning in either situation. Some people have no courtesy of other drivers, they act like they are the only ones on the road.

 

[ripcord]

Those Michelin tires are excellent all seasons with an outstanding reputation. We have them on my wife's old Expedition.

 

[The motor guy]

The rule of thumb is to be two to three seconds behind the car in front of you. This only correlates to car lengths when you're going very slowly.

But since you feel something is up, go and get your brakes inspected. Most likely you have a front caliper hanging up-- they slide on pins and the pins rust in place and get stuck. An ABS activation should be noticeable, with pulsing and noise. If you can't activate your ABS on dry pavement, your brakes are in fact, bad.

Lots of people follow too close around here. You can see there vehicle dip down when they hit the brakes

 

[krzyss]

It is complicated.
It is a system. It may be tires, brakes or even suspension.

Krzyś

 

[TiGeo]

Is your ABS working of not? Have you just gotten going 60 on an empty road and slammed on the brakes coming to a full stop? What does "slid forward" mean? You should feel the ABS pulse and you shouldn't skid.

 

[Barkleymut]

Also, you will not feel ABS during normal braking...it is designed to activate during VERY abrupt braking only.

 

[PontiacHO]

Sticking calipers with only 2 out of the four actually working will lock up and slide just to stop in normal situations. Also grease/fluid soaked brake pads will lock up. Doubt it’s a tire problem.

 

[John105]

Sometimes “new” tires are several years old.

Like any other product, the seller wants to get rid of them, but they usually indicate the year of mfg. when clearancing the items online. In a more innocent scenario like Costco, imho whenever the store "orders" tires for you, say now it's dec 2024, they could very likely sell a tire made 1 year ago and I think it came from the mfg not their own distribution center as they're doing fifo.

Everyone is different, but to me, it's not like milk or meat from the grocers, where the date is crucial. There has been a long debate on whether tires "expire" at 6 years, or 10 years. If anyone is going to throw away tires based on date, not condition, I really would suggest that donation aspect. Like you would extra building materials to habitat to humanity. Let someone who can't afford tires have them. Do I put my money where my mouth is, absolutely. My BMW snow tires are date coded 08. If I cared about the date, I would have tossed 3 sets and be on my 4th right now.