Hello fellow Lambo owners,
I just bought a set of new tires for my '06 manual Gallardo. Same size as OEM and all but different brand. Few weeks went by and everything was ok. Suddenly the traction control light comes on. Once I turn off the car and start it again it goes away. But every day it comes up at least once. Any ideas or experiences that you have regarding this matter?
Thank you, SK

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2006 Lamborghini Gallardo - Black

how old is that battery? check the battery connection and perhaps get it tested.

when battery drains, the ESP light comes on upon start up and goes out after 50 ft or so.

does your clock / date reset too? if so, it's definitely the battery.

lastly, are the tires identical at least on each axle? check tire pressures too.

Thanks for the info djantlive. However, the light does not come on right away, it comes on randomly during driving. The tires are the same on as OEM on all four corners. Anyone else?

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2006 Lamborghini Gallardo - Black

I had a long discussion with a lambo tech about this. Tires that are the same size but different manufacturers might still have a slightly different rolling circumference. The lambo viscous coupler can be sensitive to different circumferences and might cause the traction control to come on randomly because the car is sensing rolling differences.

He was making a strong argument to stay with OEM tires (and he has nothing to sell - no commission and could care less about Pirelli versus other tire manufacturers). We had switched to Michelin Pilot Super Sports (also same size as OEM). The only way to know if that's not the issue is to measure the rolling circumference of the tires mounted on the wheels at the right pressure. Even without the weight of the car on the tires - if the rolling circumference matches your new set versus old set then you can probably rule out an issue with the viscous coupler.

I believe there is a percentage of leeway but I'm not sure what it is. This has been discussed on various forums. Some say 3%. There must be at least some leeway to account for different tire pressures and tire wear. But Lamborghini only homologates their cars with the recommended OEM tire (Pirelli) - and does not test with other tires to see if this is a problem. What they don't test - they cannot recommend.

His argument was that even if the light doesn't come on - the car might be making minute adjustments all the time which would wear out parts a lot faster. This has been documented in some cases.

I will send a PM with a link to the discussion I started (it's on a different forum). It might be helpful.

Good luck.
Carol

What Carol says is bang on! Good advice.

Look at the mfg specs for circumference, but also revolutions per mile.

The weight of the wheels *may* also be a factor, according to some stuff I read. Not sure if that is true though....

Given how finicky these cars are, I would personally never put on non-OEM tires and wheels. But others have done so, without any immediately known (short-term) problems. They of course would not know if parts are wearing faster over the long term, if it is not felt by the driver.

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"Life is too short to drive a car the color of pavement!"

2012 LP 560-4 e-gear coupe
2004 LP-140 (sold)
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i wonder if there is something else that is failing such as your wheel sensor. do you get any ABS light? perhaps you should have the car hooked up to a lambo computer for diagnostic.

if you did PPI at a lambo shop, did they scan and find anything?

I've been running Michelin Pilot Super Sports for about 15 months and have had no problems.

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Owning a Lamborghini transcends the banality of economics.