front lock up

The dreaded winter, I hate this because the roads are cold and greasy and if I brake hard the fronts lock up, the abs kicks in and I slide along. I did ask OPC to look at it but they said nothing was amiss. I know its light on the front, but it brakes like my old X19 !. Mainly at low speed less than 30mph. I wonder if my tyres are getting hard, the tread is good, but maybe hardened after 10 years? Tends to happen when cars are parked on my side and something comes the other way unexpectedly and I have brake quickly. Anyone else find this? the disks etc are good condition.

I guess tyres would be first area to investigate, probably past best at ten years old!

WTF??????? You have 10 year old tyres on?

Umm...how on earth has that not been picked up on MoTs???

Tyres. 5 years they'd be hard as nails let alone 10.

I have to agree ... Porsche say 6 years is the limit .. Handling issues on 10 year old tyres and you would certainly start with replacing them .. I recommend Michelins . MOT is basic safety standards .... the age of the tyres is not checked and is not required to be checked .. should certainly be noted on a service though as if not then you need to change garages .

The tyres are timewarp, not a crack on them, they look good, whereas on other cars I have seen them cracking after a couple of years. I can only think that tyres used to be made better than they are now. Anyhow just checked them ,they are a little older than I thought ( 06) 14 years. I'll get some new ones next week and if it improves it.

I sometimes feel abs when I stab the brakes at low speed, this is usually when driving round the block trying to dry brakes off before putting in garage after a wash so maybe I'm pushing too hard on brakes but I don't think so; front seem to lock up very easy at low speed.

If you are locking up at these low speeds then you probably have abs issue ( sensor or reluctor ring issue ) - I cannot remember the last time I have abs kick in and I do a lot of testing. As far as tyres MSP4(s) is the best tyre on the market right now for all year round driving And yes tyres can look good at 10 years but they should be in the bin Ken

Those aged tyres would be uninsurable and probably illegal in most Australian states.

Must admit my 996.2 GT3 suffers from this. After I wash it and drive up and down the street to dry the brakes off there is no grip and the ABS activates very very easily. My daughters Skoda Citigo will stop much better. I thought it was the 8 year old Cups on it so changed to new Cup 2's but still exactly the same. Once you have a little heat in the tyre, there is no problem at all. I've always put it down to tyre temp.

It's not just tyres. The more camber you run the less contact patch you have. All this dating tyre life is a bit sketchy. Totally depends how they've been stored. In a dark cool garage fine. Outside in freezing temps and red hot sunshine then not so much. I'd admit that ten years is pushing your luck though. :grin: Pilot sport 4S aren't available in 996 sizes by the way. Only Pilot Sport 4. I stuck with PS2 rather than 4 but that's whole different debate. In short change your tyres and check your camber. :thumb: Edited. Just noticed they're 14 years old! Must be like Bambi on ice trying to get anywhere.

Mine does too Johnty. Both my GT3s did/do. As you say, tyre temp and also camber as I mention above. Once warmed up though my PS2s with Alcons and RS29s are immense and very confidence inspiring.

I changed from 12 year old Pirellis to PS2 and the difference is night and day. Still stand by my comment of when drying the brakes the fronts can lock every so slightly very easily. I dont think anything is wrong with the ABS.

I am surprised that with 14 year old tyres, you have not lost it at speed. When I first got my 996 I wondered why the front end would float around at speed and I daren't go over 80 mph in fear of losing it. I took it to be checked and the tyres were 9 years old and the rubber was as hard as nails. Put new Pirellis on it straight away. 6 years later and the tyres were changed again even though they had only covered around 9k miles (mines a weekend car) and had bags of tread left. I put on a set of Michelin Sports. I would agree with the posters on here that say 6-7 years max for tyres then look to change them. Remember, they are your only contact with the road... don't let it be your roof also!.