2th Doc

My car is a 2016 M7 Z06 with 5500 miles on it and I am the second owner. I know the rear tires are not the originals because they are Toyo's...not sure about the fronts as they are OEM, but either way they don't have more than 5500 miles on them. Anyways, I was driving through Charlotte, NC in the rain this weekend and I was on the I-485 ramp to take I-77 south. The ramp is an overpass of sorts that curves to the left. I was doing 55mph in the left lane in 6th gear when the car in front of me changed lanes. I eased on the throttle and the rear end stepped out severely and scared the fecal matter out of me! Traction control is on and I am in Tour mode. I switch to Weather mode and make sure traction control is engaged and try again. Same thing; this time I had to really counter-steer.

My question is: Is this a function of a (1) faulty traction control system, (2) Toyo tires in the rain, (3) both or (4) something else?

Thanks!

pit-man

Those ToYo tires could already be 4-5 years old. They may be hard by now.

2th Doc

That is true, and I am okay with replacing them...I just wanted to make sure that was the issue. I thought that traction control would manage things better. I have had several BMW M cars and I also drive a tuned diesel with around 1800ft-lbs of torque and I have never had a car (or truck) run away from me like that with traction control engaged.

Dr.Ron

Once grip is lost in the wet it's almost like being on ice. 55mph in the rain on a curve and accelerating is likely not a good thing.
What tires and sizes exactly are on the car?

boraxman

I also picked up a 2016 Z recently and it overcomes traction control quite easily.

dvilin

I would say it is the tires. I have driven in he rain with my 2019 M7 Z06 and experienced no problems with the stock runflats.

Shokwav

did you know what the zo6 was before buying?!
My car will get sideways without any effort at all. I find this car to be the most fun, and yet the dumbest car I’ve ever owned. It’s pointless to drive on the street. But it’s more entertaining than a Honda so I’ll continue to do my best and keep it in a straight line

mdformula350

if the suspension is in good shape, shocks, bushings, etc.. and the alignment is on par pointing towards tires.
i have driven in the rain a few times and I definitely used weather mode and cranked down my throttle controller back to stock settings.
but overall you really just need to barely touch the gas pedal when in the rain. these car just have low end torque and very light on the pedal still gets it moving in traffic in bad conditions.

Bill Dearborn

I would say it was the crap tires. TC can only do so much for you and if you are riding on a layer of rainwater the rear wheels will spin even if TC is working. Z06 low rpm torque is very high and when you go from part throttle to a wider throttle setting the torque increase can be very steep. Combine high torque and imminent hydroplane together and the back end will step out very nicely. BMWs don't usually have the low rpm high torque available to lose control of the car that easily.

What is interesting is how the cars were driven at Spring Mountain. With newer OEM tires the instructors would have us put the car into Weather Mode and then try and spin it out on a figure 8 course set up on a wet skid pad. It was very hard to get the cars to spin.

Bill

SthngWkdThisWayComes

Unfortunately it’s the tires. I put a new set of Toyo’s on (R888R). and they just turned 5k miles. When brand new allllll good. Fantastic dry weather/ wet weather traction. Today they still have great dry weather traction. However, last night in a heavy So. Florida rain …… I hydroplaned. All the way home I could feel the slight wiggle in the back end. My last set lasted about 10k miles. Not sure about these at 5k. If your not running high HP (above stock) I would recommend going back to stock tires.

SthngWkdThisWayComes

Bill, I’m curious as to what “weather” mode is actually doing when engaged. I could probably look it up in the manual but thought you would have a more in depth understanding. I’m assuming it may: pull timing, create slower throttle response ??

EVRGRN

Seems to me like this is simply the inherent nature of these cars and the wide tires. Don't expect the same traction levels as other cars and drive very cautiously on wet roads.

ZMMMMM

PSA- StabiliTrak

Many corvette owners seem to be unfamiliar with StabiliTrak, which is GM’s version of ESC, which has been a regulation in the US since 2012. On the C7Z06, traction control and StabiliTrak seem to be perfectly calibrated for a mix of safety and fun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electr...bility_control