ianS

This morning is a rainy day! I drove on my TSX and was rushing to catch teh train for work. A Maxima in front of me suddenly stopped on the traffic light because it just turned to yellow! when I first saw the yellow, I didn't have the intention to stop, but once I found out the Maxima was stopped, I storm on the brake, my new brake (just put on racingbrake rotors & hawk pads last weekend on all 4 corners) just response instantly and filmly... but... it cause lock up(abs blinking like crazy)!!!! my old tire (4 yr old sumitomo htr2) couldn't act up and I just slip all the way and hit the Maxima! My TSX seems ok, no dent, no scratch & no damage but my licence plate bolt dented in the Maxima rear bumper... It sounds like going to be a $200 fix! well at least my TSX is fine, so I dun feel that bad. But now, I am worrying is that hawk too much grip for our car? or is my tire just turn that crappy in these few days? or I just ran into a very slippy part of the road and all just co-incident because of bad luck for me??? I am sure I should able to stop before I replace the brake.

And Damn! that guy just call me and told me Nissan gave him a quotation for $800 + tax! since they need to replace the bumper.... what a scam! just 2 little licence bolt dent and need to replace the whole bumper.....!!!!!

JTso

iTrader: (2)

If the brakes were able to lock up the rotors and ABS kicking in, then the brakes were working just fine. The problem is the old tires. Better tires may have prevented the accident.

ianS

I have no doubt that the new pads & rotors are good but just worry is it too good that regular tire not able to handle and will keep causing lock up during wet & snow! It is kind of dangerous! My tire is old but I believe it shoud still better grip than oem. I already planned to replace these tire next spring but I can't expect the winter tire also grip that good as the summer tire during wet payment.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

The ratings of your tires even when new are not that great. You should seriously consider better tires to be safe. Sorry about the accident but at least you are ok.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Model=HTR+Z+II

xizor

that's some strange logic, I don't think making your brakes worse will help you control your car better. the fact that your wheels lockup so quick is good indication that you should upgrade your tires. you might also need to change your braking method, you need to squeeze the brake pedal more than stabbing it, to prevent the hawks from locking up the wheels

EuRTSX

My friend used to have Sumitomo's.

Then he crashed in the rain.
End story. You get what you pay for, pay the extra to get better tires.

Still Water

I agree with what has been offered above. What you need to do now is buy a top grade all season tire and learn to drive better. Rear-ending people is a bad habit that can all too often repeat itself. If you were watching the yellow light instead of the car stopping in front of you, count yourself lucky. BTW, given the newness of your brake upgrade you can expect for them to get even better once they truly "break-in."

Greg-ster

Frankly, if it were your TSX that got rear ended, you'd expect the bumper to be replaced.

I'd be glad that your insurance company isn't (apparently) involved in this...

peter_bigblock

I disagree with the notion that the best way to get good wet traction is to pay for more expensive tires. My sense is that with newer tires, and especially all-season tires, you may have avoided this accident. The tire rated most highly for wet traction (and overall) at Tire Rack in your tires' category is a $75 General UHP. The Avon M550's I have really are incredible in wet driving; they're $104.

This accident was not caused by your brakes being too good.

LoveMyTL-S

As you have found out, not everyone goes through the yellow light. Keep your eyes on the traffic in front of you goes a long way to prevent an accident.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

I totally agree on insisting on a new bumper. I would have done the same.

acn684

hate ta agree with everyone but that guy does deserve a new bumper...i mean, not to sound harsh, but if it wasn't for you, he wouldn't need one...

But yea....gotta watch the intentions of traffic, not the implications of the light. Doesn't matter if the light was green, it only matters what the cars around you are doing..

TSX559

Yea. I have to agree with everyone on this. Sorry buddy. The good news is that youre OK.

curls

Especially if it hasn't rained in a few days, when it does rain, it causes oils to rise to the surface of the pavement, making it a LOT slicker than you'd expect.

Moral of the story: Drive for the conditions and assume nothing about other drivers.

Sorry to hear its gonna cost you $800, though. Very similar thing happened to me one time... light drizzle, someone cut the guy in front of me off, I slammed on the brakes but my tires weren't up to the job (slick roads, tires needed replacing later that summer probably). I hit the other car (a NEON) doing about 10km/h, and there was literally a scratch on his bumper. My car needed a new hood and bumper and rad support ($2500 out of my pocket). I was also changed with careless driving. That, my friend, is a HUGE ticket. Luckily I fought it and won as the cop had no basis to charge me with it (according to the Justice of the Peace) but fighting it cost me $750 in legal fees.

Just be glad nobody was hurt and it only cost you $800. And, learn from it. That's all anyone can really ask at this point.

Still Water

I might also add that since you've upgraded your braking system take into consideration that your car will now stop in a shorter distance than the guy tailgating you while trying to beat the red light. Life is a learning experience with lesson abound.

PJS

What I find laughable is the fact you've one (or more?) 4 year old tyre on the front, yet thought it was up to the task of gripping the road surface.
Now, I've no idea how worn down it is or how many miles there's been put on it, but it really is a no brainer to realise that autumnal weather is different from summer weather, and as such, tyres are more important now than they were during those warm sunny days.

I'm also slightly confused - did you dab the brakes or did you hit them hard and activate the ABS?
The way I'm reading it is that your ABS failed to work and the tyre(s) locked up, thereby sliding on the surface of the tarmac. If this is so, then you need to get them checked out immediately - as mentioned in the Honda/Acura owners manual, changing brakes (pads, rotors, calipers) can affect the ABS sensors and causing them to not recognise when the wheels are locking up.

As for the rear fender/bumper - if you're paying for it, you have the right to have it looked at by an independent assessor to gauge whether the whole bumper needs replacing or can be repaired. I personally would be reluctant to shell out for a brand new one if the original can be repaired easily enough and look just as it did afterwards.
One possible option is to see if you can track down the same coloured one from a breaker's yard. Even just the correct bumper and have it resprayed may be a solution for less $$$$.

chuson

^^ We have quite alot of snow in winter, and the snow tires are on probably from mid/late Nov to early/end March, so the tires on his car is 2 years not 4.

Ian, is your baby in car???

ianS

^^ no, I am the only one. And my tire is almost 4 yr old but it is only on the road for around 25000km which is less than 180000 miles. Almost 1/2 yr are in snow tire. These sumitomo is bad in noise level and ride quality but not that bad on performance. At least I dun see the PZero Nero on my bimmer is ne better for wet traction. And I also never have problem driving this tire on rain. This accident, I can feel the brake did bite hard and the tire loss traction & abs kick in like crazy then cause a unpredictable long stopping that I dun get used to and dunno how to act what suppose I can do like release the brake and pump it again + using hand brake & engine brake to help.

For the damage, it is just a bumper kiss. My car has no damage at all, not even a scratch or mark. I left 2 little dent on the lower part of the Maxima(old generation) bumper. I am sure it can buff off but this guy asking for $800 cash. And his bumper is already all scratch up. What do you think if you accidently make a door ding to the car beside you and the owner ask you to repair it will a new door instead of agree to fix it by the PDR?

PJS

Well, the fact his bumper is already showing signs of wear and tear is a valid excuse for him NOT to expect a brand new bumper. So well done for spotting that.

As for emergency braking - ABS is there to prevent the wheels locking up and enabling you to swerve to avoid hitting things. Pumping the brakes is old news with ABS nowadays and wouldn't have helped as that's essentially what ABS is doing on faster than any human could pump and release.
I think you should still have the brakes looked at or find an empty space somewhere and do a few hard stops to see if they lock the wheels up or not.
I can also reveal that over here, a magazine and TV program both conducted tests on tyre performance in the wet with varying levels of tread depth.
The legal limit is 1.6mm - and the bottom line is that after 3mm is reached, the tyre fails to shed enough water to make it as effective as it did when new and down to 3mm.
So, everyone of you should be checking your tread depth (fronts especially) and if less than 3mm, it's time to change tyres.
The difference in stopping distance was shocking - an additional average of 38m required!

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/autoexp...ety_shock.html

JTso

iTrader: (2)

If the bumper has existing damages plus wear and tear, then the owner probably doesn't really care about the apperance of the bumper that much. In this case, it sounds like he just wants to make a few bucks from you and he will take advantage of that. It sucks but I'm afraid you have to either negotiate on the price that he pockets, or let the insurance handle it. You can go price out a new bumper cover (sometimes it's cheaper to replace), painting and installation cost. Then offer the guy a fair dollar amount base on the cost of the repair. I believe in taking responsibility of our own actions, but I don't like being extorted either.

When you saw the car stopped at the light. Did you jam on the brakes? Because sudden braking action could cause rapid shift in weight distribution to the front and over loading the front tires. In this case, even the best tires would experience reduced performance under such condition.