Wrong Tires

[Maximln]

Anyone have experience replacing their tires on their STS? I just replaced

mine and it seems the car now has a problem. Whenever I accelerate onto a

freeway or attempt to pass someone, my traction control system engages for no

reason, causing me to not be able to accelerate as fast as I would like. I

have to let off the accelerator to clear the message and then I can accelerate

again, unless I punch it and then the same thing happens again. I took it

into the dealer and they finally figured out that the front tires were going

about 3 mph faster than the rear tires. When I replaced the tires, I used the

exact same tires that came with the car. The front ones are a little smaller

than the rears. The dealer said the new tires appear to be defective, even

though they are the right tires. They used a stock car, just like mine, and

swapped the front tires and the problem went away. I called the place where

I got the tires and they called Michelin. There is apparently a special tire

for the STS. It is the exact same size, tread and rating but the heat

expansion is different or something like that. Michelin is replacing the tires at

no charge. They will be in tomorrow.

Anyone have a similar experience?

Max

[psychodad]

3 m.p.h. difference between the fronts and rears?? man, that's one of the wilder things i've ever heard!! how on earth did they figure that out??................................red

[Maximln]

I have no idea. At first, there was apparently a code that said the rotors were hot so they thought maybe the rotors were not releasing properly but when the traction system was being engaged, the brakes were not being applied so they ignored that. I think maybe they hooked up the Tech II while on a test drive and monitored the wheel speed sensors readings. They had to do that before for another problem that I had.

Max

3 m.p.h. difference between the fronts and rears?? man, that's one of the wilder things i've ever heard!! how on earth did they figure that out??................................red

[Ranger]

First time I have heard of that, but that will certainly engage the TC.

[Maximln]

Well, I got the new tires today and the car drives perfect again! I can punch it again and no 'TRACTION ACTIVE' message! That was so strange. Everything about the tire is identical--the size, the tread, the rating, except for the expansion rate. The tire guy also said the tire casing is more firm. Everything about the tire is the same except there is a liitle 'p' next to the wrong one when ordering it. I also checked with the dealer and the tech did ride in the car with the Tech II attached, monitoring the speed of each wheel from the wheel speed sensors. That's how they figured out the speed difference.

So beware when getting new tires for your car. Something that seems so insignificant can have such a big impact!

Max

[Cadillac Jim]

I've bought tires several times. My experiences:

1. Dealer recommended less expensive Michelin tires (for SLS) instead of OEM Goodear RS-A's because of price.
2. Left the marshmallow Michelins at a tire dealer, called the Cadillac dealer and told them to pick them up to help out other customers with an SLS or Deville who had a flat or whatever. They had under 100 miles on them at that time.
3. Tire dealer was a bozo who thought that my ETC was a boat that didn't need Z rated tires and couldn't use Michelin Pilots. Sold me some better Michelins that were OEM on some BMWs and thought that they were an upgrade. For 45,000 miles, I counted down until I could replace those low-traction, poor-cornering, ho-hum feel tires.
4. Goodyear dealer recommended Eagle HP tires as better than the RS-As. They weren't.
5. Made my own decisions using the Tire Rack online web app, putting dry performance above all else, and came up with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S as the best tire that wouldn't require a separate set of winter tires. I got them from NTB, as recommended as a dealer for the Pilot Sport A/S on the Michelin web site.

Next time, I'm thinking of going to 18 inch wheels and 245/45-ZR-18's of a make and type TBD at the time. I may go to Tire Rack to get the tires mounted on the wheels and road-force balanced. It depends on whether The Tire Rack has wheels apprpriate for my Cadillac at that time. I'll want aluminum alloy, crome plated, with enough spokes so that they don't highlight my stock brakes. If they don't, I may go to eBay to get later model Cadillac wheels.

My experiences had one thing in common: Cadillac or tire dealers will sold me luxury tires that did not support the performance capabilities of an STS or ETC. In one case I was unwilling to drive on those tires until the sun set. I was entirely satisfied only with the original Goodyear RS-A's and the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's that I selected myself. But, NTB balanced the wheels with wheel weights hammered onto the stock premium wheels -- chromed aluminum -- instead of using adhesive-based weights inside the wheel like you're supposed to; I don't know if they scarred my rims or not.

You got tires that weren't matched. That is not recommended on a high performance high tech car like any Cadillac since 1980 or so, and certainly since 1992. A dealer should have known better, but yours shure does now. I don't know what the "p" meant and I don't want to know.