Traction from Standing Start

A

AER86

Member
 Hamilton, Ontario
Hi All,

just wondered if anybody else with a M40i experiences some traction loss when they accelerate hard from a standing start from traffic lights etc.
Using sport plus, I was a bit surprised that the car didnt hook up straight away, it definitely shifts but not before a bit of sideways movement.
I am in Canada so have the 382bhp power, so particularly curious of others experience with similar power.
I checked the tyres and they seem to have decent tread left.
 
I’m in the Uk so slightly lower power but on a whole no, I don’t find it loses traction even under very heavy acceleration. The only caveats to that are unless the tread was down on the tyres and I don’t mean legal requirements (1.6mm here) I found anything below 3 mm livened things up immensely and also if the tyre was cold (up to 15 mins to get up to temp)
 
I suspect in sport mode plus you’ve disabled the normal stability control system so it will tend to go sideways as the wheels spin , relatively uncontrolled..after a bit of sideways movement the DCS system will intervene to save you from binning it..

I understand the MP4SS tyres fitted are bit less than grippy when cold.. :tumbleweed: :thumbsdown:
 
In sport plus, DSC is off and DTC is on, allowing some traction slippage and given that you have 386 lb.ft of torque from 1,500 rpm, your are going to get some slippage. You may also may feel the LSD switching between wheels, which also feels like tail is twitching.
 
Have a UK M40i and yes, I have experienced loss of traction from standing start. The weather and temps plays a big part, obviously. Even suffered traction loss from 40mph-50mph when flooring it. Just physics i suppose.
 
Yes, you've pretty much reached the limits with the amount of torque (not horsepower) generated in the M40i in a 2WD vehicle, especially at cold temperatures. The 4 series handles it better in the AWD configuration for obvious reasons but with the penalty of added weight. It's one of the reasons I chose the s30i over the M40i. Even the s30i has enough torque to spin the wheels on quick acceleration. Wider rear tires would help a bit but not completely.
 
Yup. I lose traction on acceleration from standing start. It’s usually because the tyres are cold. The Michelin require temp like no other tyre I’ve had before.

When it comes to changing tyres I think I may go for something better.
 
The tread pattern doesn’t give you grip, it’s just for getting water out of the way. Deep tread can actually affect handling as the tread blocks can move around, that why car racers who compete in classes that require road tyres put them in a machine that scrubs most of the tread off leaving them almost like slicks.
If you want less sliding about you need tyres with a stickier compound.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses.

my Z/28 had 470lb/-ft of torque through the rear wheels but it also had 305 tyres on it so hooked up quite a bit better, so i think as you ve all suggested its probably a relationship between torque and the stock tyres grip and width.

i had contintental extreme contact on the z28 which were a good tyre, iv also had pilot supersports on a focus rs which i liked as well. For me personally with it being a summer only car i will probably switch to a more performance summer orientated tyre when i next change them and see how much of a difference that makes.
 
An all season tyre is going to struggle given the weight/power/drive train of the G29..

I think a move to say Conti Sports 7s would make a dramatic change to matters.. :thumbsup:
 
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