3200GT severe lack of traction

[Limpin]

Hey guys, hope everyone's 3200GT is still running and not costing you a fortune and putting a smile on your face.

Driving a 1999 3200GT manual

I want to ask you guys whether my experience with the traction, or lack thereof, is normal or not. Basically I can be 2nd or even 3rd gear travelling at 60-70kph, go full gas and loose traction completely, at 70kph in a straight line in the dry, with traction control on (and flashing on my dash)! Is this normal? I've added photos of my tyres and the tread, hard to tell whether they're worn but they don't seem to be. Anything under 60kph needs to be kept under half throttle because as soon as the turbos kick in I will loose traction almost instantly. I have checked the tyre pressure and taken them to 1.9bar. Any advice would be appreciated as I don't want to go and spend $1800 on new tyres just to have the same problem. Cheers

 

[safrane]

Aware the 3200 has an on/off nature, but what you describe it a little out of the normal.

Unable to make out the age of the tyres but that may be a factor if old.

 

[Oneball]

Full throttle in second would spin the wheels up on mine the moment the turbo kicked in. But with the traction control on it wouldnt allow it. My TC was quite intrusive.

 

[Rex B]

What you experiencing would indicate you have a strong motor but the traction control particularly in normal mode should step in to help control the wheel spin. On my early 2000 model this action is quite noticeable as it cuts the power quite abruptly if your doesn’t do this you may have a problem. When l first had my car it had some quite old Michelin ps 2 on the rear and these certainly didn’t help traction, fitting new ps4s transformed the car and l wouldn’t fit anything else.

 

[happydaze]

The Michelins were 12 years old when I bought my (low miles) MCV. They had very little grip, even though they looked about half-worn. New tyres fixed the problem...

 

[Limpin]

Thank you everyone for your advice, I think the tyres are about 8 years old so I'm going to replace just the rear ones with the best I can buy. Thanks!

 

[CatmanV2]

8 years I would suggest is well past their useful life.

C

 

[Church of Noise]

Might be a good idea to check the fronts too!
IMHO, tyres might be the single most underestimated component of cars, they impact safety (braking, predictability in turns, ...) and driving fun.

Btw, a complete set of Michelin PS4Ss should be significantly less than 1800USD... (Tirerack lists fronts for 4200s at 257 usd each, and rears at 323, eg)

 

[FIFTY]

The Michelins were 12 years old when I bought my (low miles) MCV. They had very little grip, even though they looked about half-worn. New tyres fixed the problem...

This is what I was thinking - check the date code on the tyres @Limpin they will in in the format of week number and year... i.e. 22/21 will be the 22nd week of 2021

Anything over 5 years old the rubber will have gone off

 

[RichTaps]

Can you get PS4s tyres in the right size for a 3200? last time I checked they were not available. Can't remember if it was the front or rear size that was unavailable.

 

[FIFTY]

Can you get PS4s tyres in the right size for a 3200? last time I checked they were not available. Can't remember if it was the front or rear size that was unavailable.

I can't find them for my Alpina anywhere, ended up ordering Bridgestone Potenza Sport which are just as good in my book... 0.7mm less tread than the Michelin when new but they are around £40 cheaper per tyre.

 

[Rex B]

You can get the PS4 and Costco now havthe New PS5 in some sizes. Michelin never made the PS4s in 3200/4200 sizes.

 

[RichTaps]

Bridgestone Potenza sport look like a good option too. Supposedly a little more sporty like the PS4S and has good reviews.

 

[FIFTY]

Bridgestone Potenza sport look like a good option too. Supposedly a little more sporty like the PS4S and has good reviews.

I had them on my 4200 and they were a great handling tyre as good as PS4S but I have not run both on the same car to confirm that for sure.

I have Goodyear asym 5 on my 440i and I think they are quite wooly. Definitely a touring tyre, going to shred through them and fit the Potenza Sports all round.

 

[Tallman]

I had them on my 4200 and they were a great handling tyre as good as PS4S but I have not run both on the same car to confirm that for sure.

I have Goodyear asym 5 on my 440i and I think they are quite wooly. Definitely a touring tyre, going to shred through them and fit the Potenza Sports all round.

Yes I second that, I had Potenza Sport on a number of M cars be it Run Flats so a bit hard, but very good traction in the dry, never really drove a lot in the wet but I can’t remember any problems.

 

[Twinspark]

You can get the PS4 and Costco now havthe New PS5 in some sizes. Michelin never made the PS4s in 3200/4200 sizes.

You can get PS4S on the GS, i have them and they are great so far.