I purchased a nice used 05 Xterra last month and have been making some improvements. The tires are Cooper Discoverer H/T. The good news is that they seem to have ample tread left on them. The BAD news is that they perform VERY poorly on wet pavement.

I have to really watch it going around corners or it's easy to go into a skid. Also at stop lights, it's easy to spin (6 spd manual) on wet pavement- not as bad if I start out in 2nd.

SO what I'm trying to figure out is maybe it's the tires, or maybe with the short wheelbase this is normal handling for this vehicle. Slipping it into 4wd takes care of the starts at stop lights, but does nothing for cornering obviously.

Anybody else experience handling? Would appreciate longer term drivers sharing their advice. Thanks in advance!