2009 Malibu LT1 Snow Handling

[DrivenDaily]

It's good to see that Hankook's 725's are good tires but it makes me wonder why the 727's that I bought to replace the GY LS2's are still so slippery.

Case in point: In my V6 I can be doing 20 mph on flat, dry pavement and floor it, and the tires will break loose up past 30 and nearly to 40! On a slight upgrade they spin so badly that the TC kicks in. In rain they're just as dangerous and scary as the LS2's, ergo the reason I'm looking into new tires next year.

Thanks for the input on the PS2's - I was actually considering them but will see about the AS version instead, or the MXM4's.

[BeauTie]

Thanks Ken. One of my local dealers has Hankook Optima's. While I want the best possible handling, i hope that the profile is similar on my 18 inch wheels as shown above on the factory tires that I have.

[BeauTie]

Originally Posted by DrivenDaily

It's good to see that Hankook's 725's are good tires but it makes me wonder why the 727's that I bought to replace the GY LS2's are still so slippery.

Case in point: In my V6 I can be doing 20 mph on flat, dry pavement and floor it, and the tires will break loose up past 30 and nearly to 40! On a slight upgrade they spin so badly that the TC kicks in. In rain they're just as dangerous and scary as the LS2's, ergo the reason I'm looking into new tires next year.

Thanks for the input on the PS2's - I was actually considering them but will see about the AS version instead, or the MXM4's.

The BOLD is exactly what my LS2's do

[DrivenDaily]

I got rid of my LS2's for that reason and I'm still plagued with almost the same issues. At least the groovy pavement is better, though. The LS2's would make my whole car wag like an excited dog but now it just feel a slight movement.

Wet or dry these 727's are almost exactly the same. What a freakin' let-down!

[BeauTie]

Well now I worry about the Hankook 725's. They must be similar with such a close model number. In fact, 725 doesn't even exist on the tirerack.com website. Maybe the 727 is the replacement.

TireRack is so frustrating in reading the reviews. You could have one person in Madison Wisconsin with a Cobalt, and a second person with the exact same car, and one says the tires are the best ever in snow and rain, and yet the other says avoid these tires at all costs in snow and rain.

GREAT!

[repairman54]

Drove my car in light snow last night, studded Hankook snows gripped just fine.
I've had Hankooks on prev. cars so I know how they perform, studs are the way to go with FWD's lousy winter traction.
In a higher hp or torque vehicles no tire is gonna grip when you hammer it. Even my little 4 banger will twist'em loose in the wet rolling in the right conditions.
In the wet my Mustang spins any brand tire with ease, V6 'bu with lousy FWD will spin ANY tire in the wet also. And being FWD your out of control easier unlike RWD where you can go honking down the road sideways in control aka ''drifting''. This applies in rain or snow conditions, FWD is way less forgiving and twice as prone to hydroplaning.

[DrivenDaily]

That is so true! I'd much rather have RWD for most situations.

Your comment only refers to wet and it is 100% accurate. I can break mine loose on dry pavement, but like you mention, the higher torque of the V6 is why it's so powerful, but the lousy grip from my tires is why they break loose.

I used to own a '75 Box Nova with a 350 cid and 4 barrel carb. The normal 75-serirs tires would break loose unless I used very light pedal pressure until I got moving, and it was worse when making a turn from a stop. I got tired of that so I put 60-series tires on it and added 210 lbs (3 bags) of water softener salt in the trunk. Much better launches for sure!

So, my plan is to replace the tires on my 'Bu for something like Michelin MXM4 or Pilot Sport (A/S or maybe PS2) that grip better and reduce or eliminate the grip slip.

[BeauTie]

Just an update on my tires. I went in to get new tires, and there happened to be someone there getting their tires rotated on a 2009 Malibu with 18" wheels. He was in the lobby, so I talked to him. He is running P225/50 R18 on BF Goodrich Advantage T/A's, with 75k warranty. Lives in the same city as me. He said his tires have been phenomenal in the snow and were a huge improvement over the Good Year Eagle LS2's that he had on. Said it was night and day in the snow and rain. The price was $138 a tire, with all fees.

So I did a bit more research and found some other Malibu owners that also had them and were very happy with them, and were also from Wisconsin. So I have an appointment for tomorrow morning to have those tires put on.

Thank you for all your help. You all were able to help me realize that it's not my Malibu that is the bad winter car, it was the tires.

Thank you again!

[Seadog69]

My 2012 LT has the "manual mode" for the 6-speed auto tranny (Do all of the '12s have that?). If you put it in manual mode while stopped, you can start from 2nd or 3rd gear to lessen the horsepower/torque that makes the front wheels spin during bad weather starts. I don't know if paddle shifters work the same way.

This is what my owner's manual says.

I'll try it in a couple of hours when I leave work as I will drive it in a few inches of snow for the first time.

[BeauTie]

I have manual mode with the paddle shifters. You use the paddle shifters to switch from M1 to M2 to M3, etc.