Grip!!!

[skylinelover]

Hey,

Just smashed brand new alloy wheel on a kerb.

My back end spun out while cornering, I was not giving it some either. I went back to the point i slid and the road was perfectly dry and tires to match.

Does anyone have any idea why this would happen as it has happened before, without the collision part though.

Cheers

[davelowe]

Lots of factors such as road salt spring to mind.

That said mine has a tendency to over-steer, particularly if you throw it at the corner. This has been discussed before. I don't believe the rear wheel alignment is adjustable (this may be incorrect), but one thing I have discovered is that with the standard alloys, corrosion between the hub and wheel can be a problem if the wheel has not been removed in a while.

My experiment involved a laser level (used in surveying). I measured the toe in, then removed the wheel and replaced it in the other 3 different positions torquing the bolts progressively using a diagonal pattern. The level was attached to the car and it was jacked off the ground throughout. There was a noticeable difference (I calculated it to be around 0.5 / 0.75 degrees) in alignment. Cleaning the hub and contacting parts of the alloy with a wire brush helped reduce the difference, but not by much. Swapping the front and rear (not noticeably damaged alloys) produced a similar result.

It's probably easily explained. I just had a few idle minutes to mess around.

[AlexB]

Hey skylinelover the racer,

It is simple and has to do with both the car setup and your driving. I think, you've upset the balance of the car by stiffening the suspension and installing very low profile tyres while keeping the original dampers, anti roll bar and toe-in. What is the tyre make/model? Finally, instead of staying in gear throughout the bend, you approached it too fast and finished braking or changed gear half way through.

Could you provide more details of your setup and the incident? I sense and interesting discussion coming.

PS: have you sorted the sticking handbrake issue. It can be related.

[skylinelover]

Hey folks,

Thanks for the replies.

The tires are budget low profiles, Fullrun branded and according to reviews i have read they are suscebtable to just erm, catching drivers out.

I have not actually lowered the car or changed springs yet. It is bog standard apart from the new 225/40/18 rims and a cone filter with cold air feed.

As for the handbrake i have not had any problems, not been a*sing about really.

[AlexB]

Yep, "Fullrun" tyre are not fun. Furthermore, going low profile require changing the suspension setup. Such tyres provide less damping action, so you may want to get gas dampers all around and experiment with pressures and toe-in. This is not, of course, that I recommend experimenting on a public road... If you want an example, please have a look at the modifications Prodrive did with the TI and Limited Edition of Alfa 159. Basically, they had to reduce the unsprung weight and installed gas dampers, increased spring stiffness in order to reduce the bouncing effect. Then they changed the anti-roll bars, adjusted stiffness/damping factor and changed the toe-in to negative in order to keep the car balanced. Finally they installed pretty expensive Pirelli P Zero tyres, which grip to tarmac as if there is no tomorrow.

Basically, I think you spun because your tyres, apart from being of low quality, started jumping on imperfections of the road surface, thus spending more time in the air than on the road. The rears, probably, were jumping more eagerly, thus causing oversteer. It is also possible that you shifted down too late or kept braking while throughout the bend, which is a recipe for an accident.

[skylinelover]

Thank you Alex, obviously very knowledgeable.

It is safe to say i will be investing in some good quality rubber. Also will be looking at a set of coilovers but unsure where to look for the megane, would this be suitable?

Can anyone recommend a manufacturer and price range?

[zaid]

just an idea; have a look at your rear dampers to make sure that they arent leaking or anything, if one corner isnt damping properly/relative to other corner then can also allow the rear end to step out while your off the power on a turn???
Z.