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'08 Escape skipping on wet road?

3K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  Leviathan 
#1 ·
I was out the other night, it had rained lightly so the road was wet. No puddles to speak of just wet. The car in front of me stopped quickly, so I hit my brake harder than usual. But the Escape didn't stop it (for a lack of a better word) skipped for about ten or so feet. Luckily, I didn't hit anyone. When I was clear in traffic and no one was around, I hit the brake to stop quickly and it happened again. I don't really know much about cars, is there an issue with the tires or the brakes or both?

The tires may be the original set but I'm not sure. It's an 2008 Escape with 40,000 miles.

Any help steering me in the right direction would be appreciated.
 
#2 ·
It's your anti-lock braking working. It keeps the tires in contact and traction with the road. Otherwise you could skid and loose control, possibly have a collision with something... :(
 
#4 ·
What jonas said above.
In the situation you described, if your car had no ABS you would certainly hit the car in the front.
ABS is a great thing because not only prevents the wheels from locking, minimizing the stopping distance, but it allows one to steer safely while braking hard, something which is almost impossible without ABS.
In cold winter climates switching to winter tires shorten a lot the braking distance, be it on wet or dry tarmac.
There are, of course, situations where the ABS is not recommended but these are unique cases and do not apply to every day driving.
 
#5 ·
How much tread is left on the tires? Even if it's "just wet," I wonder if it was just enough to go hydroplaning...
 
#6 ·
scashaggy said:
Hmmm. Well, at least everything is working. Although the ABS did almost have me collide with something.

Is there a particular tire that would help with stopping in wet conditions?
40000 miles on the Conti-tracs is a huge part of the problem. Probably time for new tires. Try the Michelin Cross Terrains, Firestone Destination LE or AT (depending on how much noise you want, ATs are louder but more rugged) or Goodyear TripleTreads.
 
#8 ·
Just about anything you buy will be quieter than the ContiTracks. They are truly one of the worst tires out there all around - poor in wet and snow, loud, prone to cupping and belt shifts, and poor wear. We had continentals on my wife's car (ContiProContacts) and our SNOW TIRES were quieter and handle better on all road conditions - we replaced them with Bridgestone G019s and the difference is night and day. The Germans build good cars but lousy tires, IMO.

I like my Michelin Cross Terrains (standard on 17" wheels for 2009+ models) and they are pretty good in snow/slush as well. Quiet and handle well at highway speeds. The Michelin Latitude Tours (16" standard for 2009+) are supposed to be really quiet but not as good in snow.

Check TireRack's surveys for tires in your size. The Firestone Destination LEs are a good tire (I had them on my Odyssey) for all weather conditions including light snow/slush, are quiet on the highway and are lower priced than Michelin or Goodyear offerings. It seems a lot of people on this board replace their Conti-craps with Destinations and are happy. Ditto for Triple Treads.
 
#9 ·
kmoose said:
scashaggy said:
Hmmm. Well, at least everything is working. Although the ABS did almost have me collide with something.

Is there a particular tire that would help with stopping in wet conditions?
40000 miles on the Conti-tracs is a huge part of the problem. Probably time for new tires. Try the Michelin Cross Terrains, Firestone Destination LE or AT (depending on how much noise you want, ATs are louder but more rugged) or Goodyear TripleTreads.
The Contis are the problem alright. I have the TripleTreds and recently had to do a full-on hammer the brakes stop in pissing rain and 5 degrees C and the ABS barely activated. I'm sure that I would have hit the car in front of me if the Contis were still on the Tribute.
 
#11 ·
Check out my review in the review section of the Michelin LTX MS2 tires... they are great, and part of their advertising is that they help you stop 7' shorter than typical tires. Marketing aside, they're phenomenal and don't look like off-roading tires (because they're all-season highway tires)
 
#14 ·
scashaggy said:
I just got the TripleTreds. Right away I noticed a difference and they're quieter too. When it rains again, I can see how they handle and stop in wet conditions.
:thumb:
 
#15 ·
scashaggy said:
I was out the other night, it had rained lightly so the road was wet. No puddles to speak of just wet. The car in front of me stopped quickly, so I hit my brake harder than usual. But the Escape didn't stop it (for a lack of a better word) skipped for about ten or so feet. Luckily, I didn't hit anyone. When I was clear in traffic and no one was around, I hit the brake to stop quickly and it happened again. I don't really know much about cars, is there an issue with the tires or the brakes or both?

The tires may be the original set but I'm not sure. It's an 2008 Escape with 40,000 miles.

Any help steering me in the right direction would be appreciated.
If going 10 feet before coming to a stop almost caused you to hit the car in front of you, then I think maybe someone was following a little too closely... :shades: :whistle:
 
#16 ·
scashaggy said:
Right away I noticed a difference and they're quieter too.
What I immediately noticed was that the Tribute tracked much better through curves without the need for constant little corrections. Oh, and that you could take a hard corner without the tires squealing in agony :yes: Over the next few days I noticed that pulls to the left/right on various roads and/or temperatures had also been banished and that at highway speeds you could talk to passengers without having to shout over the tire noise. The TTs give a little more "thump" over expansion joints than the Contis but are otherwise head+shoulders better than the Contis.
 
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