[focalBlur]

I have always hater the stock 16 firestone tires they have no traction in foul weather and yet again this was proven to me

I was making a right turn last night in the snow lost traction and slid into a curb at about 10mph
there is a nice little nick in my rim, not bad a t all really but now my car pulls to the right

the only thing that hit was the drivers side tire

what did I do, i looked under the car and nothing seems bent or broken but still it pulls to the right, could it just be an alignment ???

 

[conor303]

i did the same thing in the rain 2 nights ago and was wondering that also. sorry to hear that it really blows. i hope you thread gets a better response than mine did (0).

late
conor

 

[hamoi]

I did the same thing, though with slightly more velocity..
- bent inner tie rod
- bent outer tie rod
- rim is scratched and out of round slightly
- gave myself a nice slow leak in the tire (after 4 hours of interstate travel it was half deflated
- alignment pooched (obviously)

Hope your luck is better than mine.

 

[Focizx3]

most likely it is just an alignment 40 bucks and no more pull

 

[zx3r_type]

I did the same thing but at 50 mph. Blew the air bags and trashed the entire left supension along with the body kit and left fender,and bumper. Stock firestones can suck my rear.

 

[Evil Homer MP5]

Ouch, sorry to hear that.
yeah, i agree the alignment is just off.

My stock dunlops on my protege5 also suck ass in the snow. there not too bad in the rain.

 

[focalBlur]

i fear the worst, now when i turn the wheel all the way to the right i hear a rubbing sound, maybe its just snow

[ 02-15-2003, 02:49 PM: Message edited by: focalBlur ]

 

[conor303]

i hit the curb going bout 25 and there was 1,500 bucks in damage.

 

[Maxximtl]

The Firestones caused $7,200 damage on my car. All from hitting a curb at about 15mph. Broke the left control arm, bent the subframe and everything else related to the suspension on the left side. Also had to get a new bumper and left fender, left headlight, ect.

Now I am on Blizzacks, and I couldn't be happier! Snow tires are a good investment...trust me!

 

[Honkeytonk Monkey]

The firestones suck ass for sure, I had Firerocks on my contour as well (they were the riginal tires on a 3 year old Contour SE) and I managed to get stuck, I kid you not, in 3 inches of snow in front of my house.

The Focus has new tires in front so now I just hang the tail around every corner. It's all good though, the advancetrac takes over before things get interesting.

 

[drivefaster]

That's right, if you can't drive, Blame the tires!!

Actually, I knew going into this winter that the stock tires were going to be tough to handle. So far though, I made it through two snow storms and some icing conditions as well as rain without trashing the car. I did notice, that above 60 MPH on hard-packed snow, the rear tends to get loose and starts to dance around a bit. It doesn't get any worse though up to 75.

 

[s2d2]

i drove out of my driveway with 30K on my firehawks after a foot of snow fell one night.

 

[spike]

hate to break it to you but there is no adjustment for a pull on a focus. you can adjust toe and toe causes your steering wheel to be off center. incorrect caster causes a pull.
in short, if your car is now pulling then you have bent/broken something. best of luck to you.

 

[SaTaNcLaUz]

slow down!!!

i have the same problem turning with my freaking firecrap tires on snow

which is why i always grab my e-brake so i can whip the rear around if i need to

good luck with your repairs

 

[Honkeytonk Monkey]

But slow is so much more boring than 20 over the speed limit

 

[MikeyJA]

ahh...just hit it on the passengers side now to even it out...jk

 

[Andy Smith]

Originally posted by drivefaster:
That's right, if you can't drive, Blame the tires!!

Actually, I knew going into this winter that the stock tires were going to be tough to handle. So far though, I made it through two snow storms and some icing conditions as well as rain without trashing the car. I did notice, that above 60 MPH on hard-packed snow, the rear tends to get loose and starts to dance around a bit. It doesn't get any worse though up to 75.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Packed snow is great in the focus. Even the firecraps are fun in lift throttle s turns in the snow

I cant wait to get blizzaks next winter!

 

[FocusZX3Rules]

Sorry to hear about that man. I just gotta say, I have the stockers too.

I have made it through two moderate snows and icy conditions. Yes, it was a bit scary, but I did it without crashing or really coming close(knock on wood). All I did was go really slow, NEVER use the brakes and jsut ride out the gears. Hell, on most hills, I was riding 2nd or 1st. It's all worth it if I wanna save the car.

So, GO SLOW is the only advice in snow that I have.

 

[focalBlur]

Originally posted by drivefaster:
That's right, if you can't drive, Blame the tires!!

Actually, I knew going into this winter that the stock tires were going to be tough to handle. So far though, I made it through two snow storms and some icing conditions as well as rain without trashing the car. I did notice, that above 60 MPH on hard-packed snow, the rear tends to get loose and starts to dance around a bit. It doesn't get any worse though up to 75.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">mine do the same thing on the highway it sucks b/c it gets worse as time passes then you gotta slow down to make it stop then it starts back up again when you get up to speed

anyway i think i did Ok as it has snowed here every other day this winter i kid you not

i still blame the tires never once had a problem with my RS-A's or the Dunlops I replace then with on my other focus

 

[focalBlur]

my firestones failed my again

i was driving about 5mph up an icey hill and lost traction slid backwards down the hill and did a 180 missing a tree by about 3feet