I was returning some movies to BlockBuster this morning in Grapevine TX. We had a cold front come through last night and its about 50ish outside this afternoon. I was turning left to get back on to the highway after going under the bridge to get to the service road. The turn is a 90 deg. left hander and I was in 2nd at about 20mph. I pushed my foot about 3/4 to the floor just as the car settled on the transition to of weight to the right side and was still far below 6k .... the idea was to accelerate through the turn and get on the hwy. Well... as I stopped turning left with the steering wheel I felt the strange sensation that the cars rate of turn didn't change and the tail took over. I counter steered back to the right and eased out of the throttle fearing that if the tires caught from an abrupt release it would snatch the car in another direction....after some brief wheelspin they caught and the car darted back to the right since that is where the steering was pointed....I jerked it back to the left and got it on the highway shaking and confused.
All this took less than 6 seconds and really surprised me because I don't think I ever got more than 5k rpm even with wheelspin. My car is brand new (3k mi) and I really didn't expect that under perfectly dry conditions. I do notice that the amount of toe in the rear seems heavy. Sometimes it feels like I have rear wheel steering Anyhow, since I haven't autocrossed yet and I plan on it...I have a feeling I will lose control at some point and spin. Anyone have ideas for taming this short wheelbase yet still maintaining a well handling car?

 

LOL, I do this every morning when I leave work. The roads are cold and wet (not icy though) and gun it when leaving enough to get the tail to whip out. My friends drool and I love the feeling (but am careful not to park by people so I dont have to worry about any damage to others or my baby. The tires are slick ones and expecially when new (like ours are). Just be careful on wet roads and expeciallt in the rain. These tires stick like a mofo in turns on a nice dry day, but it is a good idea to get winter tires for this season.

 

Silly question, but have you checked your tire pressure? I notice the pressure changing pretty dramatically when Texas has these huge temperature transitions. If it gets a lot hotter or colder in a short time, I'll check them and inflate/deflate. Makes a huge difference in handling.

 

Good point! I haven't checked the pressure since I got them... what should I set the pressure at? I would think higher pressure in the rear would increase handling to some degree since the tire wouldn't roll over as much in turns.

 

Here you go. check this thread on tire preassure

http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=164717

 

remember that tire pressure will drop at a much faster rate in cold weather(fall, winter time). be sure to check it atleast once a month, i do it every 2 weeks just to be safe.

 

1) Check tire pressures, it changes with temperature.
2) New tires are a little slippery until they are roughed in, few hundred miles should do it.
3) SO2's are summer only tires, i.e. not as sticky in cool weather.
4) OEM SO2's have smaller gaps in tread (optimized for dry traction), so are more likely to hydroplane than other typical tires. Not really that bad.
5) Drive a little first before pushing it, to warm up the tires for more traction.
6) Do your autocross first before making any decisions on changing your handling. Dialing out oversteer will make it harder to turn/rotate the car. Drive to the limit and get some experience first; then decide if the handling suits your driving style.

 

Another possiblity is that you happened to run over a slick spot during the turn., but I'd assume it's just the nature of the car. With only spirited driving it seems I get the back end loose (at least once) almost every time I drive somewhere. It happens a lil too easily w/ this car IMO, but it's one of the things I love about RWD.

Jon

 

All Max performance summer tires get slippery in the cold. Some just more than others. With the S02's you can easily spin the rear tires without any abusive clutch work once the temp gets sub 40's. Oversteer is just a little extra throttle away. As the tires warm up this becomes less pronounced, but your grip in cold weather is never what it is in the summer. BTW, this applies to braking as well - though you won't notice it as much (how often do you drive off in the cold, speed up, then slam on the brakes).