need advice, new owner, clueless - Smart Car of America Forums : Smart Car Forum

gothlicroni · 11-14-2008, 04:15 PM

Hi everyone. I just got my new Smart but I would like to put fatter tires on the front. I noticed that my car/brakes are really slippery. Even on the dry road, when I had to stop short, the car skidded and didn't fully stop. I'm wondering, would fatter front tires make it more stable? Or is it the brakes? If fatter tires would be better, what kind, price, size, etc? I have NO IDEA about cars/tires and I'm really interested in replacing the tires. I'm guessing I'd also have to replace the silver thing, I think it's called rims. How much are they also? Any advice would be great. Thanks

--Lisa

**jwight** · 11-14-2008, 04:25 PM

Lisa, how many miles on the car (another way of asking are the brakes bedded in by now)? Stopping from what speed? The car has ABS, brake force assist and electronic stability program (ESP); most people posting here find the braking better than average. Did any warning lights show up on the dash when you had to stop short? Since the car is new, calling your smart center is probably the first step.

scdaf · 11-14-2008, 04:26 PM

The smart has anti-lock brakes. If you skidded and failed to stop, there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with your car and it should be flatbedded to the dealer!

Yes, you can safely drive a car without antilock, but you said it didn't fully stop.

Repeat: if you have accurately described your experience...DO NOT DRIVE THIS CAR!!

**JPaul** · 11-14-2008, 04:30 PM

Indeed, call your Dealer first thing in the morning...

First time I stopped abruptly with the ABS, I also felt that the brake was "loose", but the car STOPPED within a very short distance.
If your car doesn't stop, call the dealer!

And keep us posted.

gothlicroni · 11-14-2008, 04:30 PM

Oh boy. Now you're scaring me. I just picked up the car last Thursday, I put 600 miles on it already. I was going probably 40-50 miles per hour and an accident happened so the woman in front of me stopped VERY short and so I had to slam on the brakes and like I said, it was not raining or wet out or anything. I slammed the brakes and the car skidded and I had to turn into the left oncoming traffic lane to avoid hitting her. Thank God nobody was coming, but I was concerned that the car didn't stop, it slid on the dry pavement. Could it be that the brakes aren't broken in? I just thought it was maybe the tires. Like I said, I have NO idea about cars, I'm an English teacher, cars are foreign to me, haha..

SunDiego · 11-14-2008, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gothlicroni

Oh boy. Now you're scaring me. I just picked up the car last Thursday, I put 600 miles on it already. I was going probably 40-50 miles per hour and an accident happened so the woman in front of me stopped VERY short and so I had to slam on the brakes and like I said, it was not raining or wet out or anything. I slammed the brakes and the car skidded and I had to turn into the left oncoming traffic lane to avoid hitting her. Thank God nobody was coming, but I was concerned that the car didn't stop, it slid on the dry pavement. Could it be that the brakes aren't broken in? I just thought it was maybe the tires. Like I said, I have NO idea about cars, I'm an English teacher, cars are foreign to me, haha..

My guess would be that since the tires are so skinny, when you slam on the brakes there isn't enough friction to slow you down that fast.

I could be wrong but that's what'd I'd say.

**jwight** · 11-14-2008, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunDiego

My guess would be that since the tires are so skinny, when you slam on the brakes there isn't enough friction to slow you down that fast.

I could be wrong but that's what'd I'd say.

Not the case; while the stock tires aren't the biggest, they're fine for this car. To overcome the ABS and brake force assist the car would have to be going flat out down hill IMHO, and I'm not even sure that would do it.

PS - I found this info last August:

Quote:

All seriousness aside, according to the Road & Track Road Test Summary, braking results as follows (60 to 0 mph): smart fortwo - 130 ft; VW R32 - 134 ft; M-B C350 Sport - 135 ft. Yeah, there are cars that stop shorter than the smart, but with those two as benchmarks I'm happy with the stock brakes.

**JPaul** · 11-14-2008, 04:47 PM

Lisa,
Did you have time to see if any of the dash lights went on during or shortly after the incident?

The ABS will prevent the tires from screeching (contrary to the old fashion "regular" brakes), but will stop the car the shortest way possible. It could be that your car did stop as quickly as possible, but since you're not used to ABS, you may have had the feeling that the brakes were not stopping your car to the expected screeching halt.

**jwight** · 11-14-2008, 04:49 PM

Lisa, using the info in the post above, at 60 mph it would take 130 feet for your car to stop. So let's say 100 ft from 50 mph; any shorter distance and it's not physically possible to get the car stopped to avoid a car in front. As to why the skidding, again, check with your smart center ASAP.

BTW, with 600 miles the brakes are well broken in.

scdaf · 11-14-2008, 04:49 PM

If the brakes had locked and the car had skid, you would not have been able to steer into another lane. Perhaps you had less than 2 seconds seperation between you and the car ahead and therefore had insufficient reaction time?

If you were slamming on the brakes and able to steer, the antilock and stability programs were doing their job. Glad you were not hurt