JATLIFE

Hey guys,

Long story (relatively) short. 2006 IS250 with nearly 170K. I have a staggered 19" setup. I run 275/30's in the back. One of the Potenzas in the rear blew out so I needed to replace it. Since my front tires had plenty of tread left, I replaced the rear tires only. I didn't want to spend too much as the budget is tight at the moment, so I bought a pair of Federal tires (same size) for the rears. Everything seemed fine until I got on the on-ramp (a hard right) and accelerated... the traction control light came on and the car beeped and it activated. WTF?!? I knew something was off, so I took a few more turns and it did it around 3 out of 6 times. I took it back to the shop and the guy was flabbergasted. He went on a test drive and it did it once, so he took it back and re-balanced it and re-mounted them, but he was still puzzled as to why it would do it. So I went back on my way and my entire 30 mile ride home, with some hard rights... nothing happened. So I thought it was all good.

Later that day, I got on the freeway which for me is a tight right loop... when I started the loop I hit the accelerator (this is my fifth set of 19s) and it came on again! Lights, noise, and slowing me down. WTF!?!?! It didn't do it again but what on earth is going on here?

I'm assuming the car is sensing some slipping, but have no idea why. These tires are brand new. I really don't know what to do, but I need to figure this out ASAP as I might need to return these (still don't know how I would pull that off since I don't have any tires to replace it with).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for all the help.

JATLIFE

My tech at Lexus of Concord believes it could be "hard compound tires being too slippery."

I have read a wide variety things online about this, but none with regard to a Lexus.

Could it be the tires need a "break-in" period? I have read certain tires do and it can be as high as a 500 mile period. On these 19's, my stock tires when I got the aftermarket wheels were Nexens, and the last two sets have been Potenzas before these Generals. Never ever had this issue before.

Again, any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

NYKnick101

with AWD cars, It sucks but you have to have all 4 of the same tire and tread pattern. Tread pattern is huge when it comes to traction and one tire acts differently from the next if you mix and match.

Also they say when you replace tires, replace all 4 because even though your front has good tread, its less than a brand new tire so wheel circumference would be different

projectdna

iTrader: (56)

not necessarily, but it's recommended.

if anything, tire size (and as an extension of that, rolling diameter) is the critical factor.

in order to run staggered wheel/tire set-ups and not throw off traction control, both tire sizes must have similar rolling diameters - moreso for the AWD variant of the 2is. it's been documented that the 2is AWD is very finicky when it comes to any changes in wheel/tire size and suspension geometry (read: ride height).

if your 2is is RWD, it wouldn't be as critical, but in sharp turns (i.e. u-turns) the traction control may intervene due to a difference in individual wheel speeds.

environmental factors (weather, road condition, traffic, etc.) aside, unless you're moonlighting as Sebastian Vettel or Michael Schumacher, tire choice and their respective compounds won't really matter for daily driving situations.

JATLIFE

To clarify, my car is RWD and I replaced BOTH rear tires with brand new tires. I wasn't running the car all that hard when I was taking the right turn loop to enter the highway (I've taken it much faster/harder in the past without ever activating traction control). Roads are completely dry and it's 90 degrees out where I am at.

Again, I have no idea why this could be happening. I'm just hoping there is some type of break-in period. The tire guy, his associates, and two Lexus techs seem to not have any idea what is going on. And I'm as befuddled.

Uber350

Unless I'm missing something, it seems rather simple. You have less traction than you're used to. So it's easier to kick your traction control on than it was with the previous tires. Just kick it off and it will be that much easier to have fun!

darkdream

Most likely the issue is with the $100 tires you purchased. There is much less traction. I had Turanzas, which were originally equipped with the car, but I lost traction quite often despite being pretty gentle on the throttle. Ever since I upgraded them to the Pilot Super Sports, I almost very lose traction unless I really push it.

projectdna

iTrader: (56)

if it's never happened before, and it's happening now with the new tires, and assuming nothing else is wrong with the car...

then maybe it's the new tires.

on a related note, i'm not sure why would want to drive so hard so as to constantly trick traction control into engaging, but if you're doing that on a whim, you might want to reconsider your driving habits before you end up in a situation where you will have gone past the point where traction control can safely intervene.

GiantsFan

iTrader: (9)

Those federals are HARD tires lol. My friend has em.

Get yourself some nice grippy Michelin PSS

whitebeast

iTrader: (5)

It's all about the tires not the car. If you don't want your traction activated, get better tire

sw2oboi

iTrader: (12)

the tires are brand new, let them break in and it will grip better