Brakes dangerous in rain

[Austinowa360]

Hey guys first time posting but been reading a lot on here. I have a 2007 Yaris sedan with 240,000. The car does not have abs. This is my first vehicle that has not had abs and when the roads are wet anything over 50% sometimes less brake pressure the front tires just lock up and the car just slide. I have been involved in 1 accident and about a dozen if a car would have been in front of me. The car has new tires as of 20,000 miles ago, they are mastercraft not sure what model. So my question I guess is is this normall? Or is there something I can do to make the front brakes let apt to lock up maybe rears are not pulling their weight? Thank you guys for any help!

[tmontague]

You can check the star adjusters in the rear and make sure they are snug so that the rear brakes are engaging as soon as they should. How many clicks does your ebrake handle make before locking tight?

Secondly, what are the tires treadwear? If they are a high treadwear like a 600+ or 800 then at 20,000 miles they'll be absolute garbage in the rain. These new fuel efficient crazy long lasting tires are garbage in terms of wet performance once they are anything but brand new. My Yoko acid ascends were an 800tw and were one in the dry but with any moisture on the roads they were downright treacherous.

Lastly, you should not have had that many close calls driving in the wet regardless of your brakes/tire performance. I dont want to sound preachy and I risk sitting on a high horse but cardinal rule of driving: drive according to your road conditions and even more importantly how your car handles those road conditions.

Hell, on my UHP summer tires I can take corners in the wet that I would never of even imagined in my Yoko's, same conditions but different car characteristics.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

My '07 sedan did not have ABS, and I never locked up the brakes in the wet. I've locked them up in the dry when I slammed on the brakes when some idiot cut into my lane and decided to slam on their brakes.

I never heard of that tire brand before, so if it's a cheaper tire, I'm pretty sure that's what's causing the terrible traction issue.

And just like the member above said, please drive according to weather and road conditions.

[kevinj93]

The web site shows them as a long life tyre, with a "guaranteed" 60,000 mile tread life.
Most of the passenger car tyres are listed as having treadwear ratings of 680 or 720.

[enviri]

its definately not normal, my guess is that your tires are just that bad. brakes are nothing without grip.

[IllusionX]

Mastercraft tires??! Canadian Tire brand tires is Motomaster.


But 20,000mi on front tires, they may be pretty much done for...

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[WeeYari]

Mastercraft tires??!
Google search them. They exist and are manufactured by Cooper I believe.



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[DarkShadowFox]

you need to feather non abs brakes or they will just lockup and cause you to spin, why did you even buy a non ABS car.

[WeeYari]

Aside from ensuring your rear drums are properly adjusted, I believe that you just need to learn how to brake a non-ABS equipped vehicle. Find an empty lot on a rainy day and practice. For someone who is used to just stepping on the petal and letting the car take over, standard brakes are an entirely different beast.

Also rotate your tires if that has not been a standard bit of business not addressed in the past 20,000 miles.

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[Hoodyjay]

You can check the star adjusters in the rear and make sure they are snug so that the rear brakes are engaging as soon as they should. How many clicks does your ebrake handle make before locking tight?

Secondly, what are the tires treadwear? If they are a high treadwear like a 600+ or 800 then at 20,000 miles they'll be absolute garbage in the rain. These new fuel efficient crazy long lasting tires are garbage in terms of wet performance once they are anything but brand new. My Yoko acid ascends were an 800tw and were one in the dry but with any moisture on the roads they were downright treacherous.

Lastly, you should not have had that many close calls driving in the wet regardless of your brakes/tire performance. I dont want to sound preachy and I risk sitting on a high horse but cardinal rule of driving: drive according to your road conditions and even more importantly how your car handles those road conditions.

Hell, on my UHP summer tires I can take corners in the wet that I would never of even imagined in my Yoko's, same conditions but different car characteristics.


What does that mean? When u pull the ebrake up? How many clicks until it locks up? What will this do?

[WeeYari]

What does that mean? When u pull the ebrake up? How many clicks until it locks up? What will this do?It will give you an indication of how tight your drums are. If you can pull ebrake no more than 5 clicks, drums are pretty well adjusted. 6, 7, 8+ clicks, then it is time to address drum shoe adjustment.

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[Hoodyjay]

It will give you an indication of how tight your drums are. If you can pull ebrake no more than 5 clicks, drums are pretty well adjusted. 6, 7, 8+ clicks, then it is time to address drum shoe adjustment.

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Ohh it's weird in my car. First pull it will stop after 3,4 clicks. If I release and pull it again, it will go all the way up.. 6-8 clicks. Sometimes I have to force it too. Idk if it's because it's like -15 degrees Celsius here right now or what, but it gets to -48 degrees Celsius mid winter

[dogsridewith]

There may be a line of thought that it is better for most drivers to have the front wheels skid first...and not just re: braking. Pep Boys (auto parts and service) instructs that if only 2 new tires are purchased, to put them on the rear.
How would OP know how much braking the rear tires are doing when the fronts begin to skid?

[mrpj]

Try cadence braking. However did we manage to survive without ending up in a ditch, prior to ABS?

[praivo]

Your tires suck. I've had old summer tires (that were fairly decent when new) with plenty of tread (5+ mm) slip worse on water than my new-ish winter tires slip on ice. I wish I were joking.

Cadence braking looks good on paper but it's useless in practice when you actually need to stop quickly. Threshold braking is the way to go.

Also, as has been said already, having had that many close calls pretty much means that you don't know how to drive safely, regardless of brakes or tires, ABS or not. This is purely a problem of not enough following distance and/or driving too fast for the conditions, literally nothing else. Not enough grip? Go slow and stay far back, that's all there is to it.

[tmontague]

When wanting to stop in the short amount if distance, abs and cadence braking is slower then locking the tires. However, when steering control is needed cadence braking and/or abs shines here.

As stated above, tire tread depth is rarely the main factor in tire grip in the wet except when it comes to hydro planing. Get new tires and your problem will likely go away

[Hoodyjay]

Shit this winter I got tires on that been in use for 2 summers and 2 winters haha. 3rd winter and still okay ish. Imagine 2 summers on winter tires ��

[MadMax]

No ABS in my 08, have had a few times where I had to lock them up due to someone else slamming on theirs; but I've never had an issue in the rain.

Good tires help! Invest in some...

[Hamster]

Driving my Yaris was my first experience with driving a car with ABS. I learned to drive on my parents' 1997 Plymouth Grand Voyager, which does not have ABS. If it were up to me, I would not have ABS. I feel like I have more control when I can pump the brakes myself, rather than relying on the car to do it. I also hate how the ABS will kick in if I have to suddenly stop even when it's dry. I dunno, I guess it's just different than how I learned to drive. Anyway, if I could control that huge minivan out of a slide on icy or wet roads without ABS, so so can you, with a much smaller vehicle. I agree with the others, if you're hydroplaning, you need new tires. I needed new tires and posted a tire thread last year asking for suggestions. One or two people suggested Michelin Defenders. I have to agree, after trying them out, Michelins rock. You might want to consider them. They handle very well in wet conditions.

[mrpj]

"Cadence braking looks good on paper but it's useless in practice when you actually need to stop quickly."
The O.P. didn't say they wanted to stop quickly! They don't want their wheels to lock up with the potential for a skid.

[tmontague]

"Cadence braking looks good on paper but it's useless in practice when you actually need to stop quickly."
The O.P. didn't say they wanted to stop quickly! They don't want their wheels to lock up with the potential for a skid.

Based on the fact that the OP has had an accident and numerous other close calls according to them, I'm going to say its safe to assume the op wants to stop sooner...