not all its cracked up to be

GTIR-LOZ

GTIR-LOZ

New Member
i always hear of people saying the R is the bollox round corners etc, but i am very disapointed and always have been by it (its just now i have decided to air my opinion) my car got beaten round a roundabout by a poxy vectra today, it seemed to glide round it, but the r was sliding across the road, although i was following his line, i have lowerend her by the usual 35-40mm with front strut brace and 4 point lower, have whiteline handling kit, with bumpsteer mod, as well as using 205/40/17 toyo tyres, and i have recently had the tracking set up so i know its ok

Why the feck cant my car keep up with a vectra round bends, or any other car for that matter ( and before you ask it hasnt had a sausage!!! :lol: )
 
D

Davey

New Member
cant see how that can be m8, my 'r grips really well, much better than my escort van! :wink:
i doubt that an 'R will have as much grip as a scoob, or evo, but with all you've done to yours, it should keep up with a vectra!
Was it a standard rep mobile, or a boy racer?
 
M

memski

Guest
That's weird, what shocks and springs have you got? I assume standard shocks and lowering springs? :roll: Do you find your R understeers? No mention of a rear brace (which is the best one imho).

My R handles great on the Teins, anyone that's had a passenger ride will back me up here.
 
Fast Guy

Fast Guy

Moderators
Staff member
Last winter put me off my Gtirs handling when I lost it once and nearly lost it again. My montego would have just understeered and I thought the R would but the back end went before you could say "WTF?" It is seriously standard in that department tho. :(
 
GTIR-LOZ

GTIR-LOZ

New Member
yeah seems to understeer a bit still, but it does seem to drift more, rear strut brace is on the way, and they are just standard shocks with lowering springs, but the shocks aint fecked

the vectra was the sri jobbi i believe

i would love coilovers but at the moment i have not got enough money - they are about a grand??? :cry:
 
T

turblio

New Member
Well the other night it had been raining and my son in his punto turbo
decides to race me around a roundabout, after two laps I had half a lap on him, his is sorted as well (as quick as a scoob) but the only way I done it was by feeding in the power slowly off and on, and yes memski is right
a rear brace seems to square the car up nicely it helped mine
Frank
 
O

Odin

Guest
Do you have a front lsd? that would make it under steer like a pig.
or maybe your taking your foot off the gas to much the R needs
power to pull her around.
 
A

antilag

Guest
i gotta agree here this is my second r and i find my mums new shape fiesta handles alot betterwen doing under 50 into bends its amazing it really grips.but having took some bends on a local duel carriage way at 130 140ish it really grips nicely and seems really solid at high speeds although a friends evo can go round there at 160+ and feels safer so who noes.the r is a hatchback at the end of the day not a saloon so it does its best :D :D
 
A

AZ STE

Guest
Mine was a Pig to handle when I got it but fitting:-

1.Powerstation bumpsteer kit
2.Chasis Dynamics lowering springs
3.Whiteline rear antiroll bar
4.Nissan upper rear strutbrace
5.Cusco upper strutmount
6.Cusco lower 4 point mount
7.Powerflex front rollbar bushes
8.Toyo Proxes on 16"

Its now flat around corners no roll
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
IMHO mate i would say its down to your 17inc wheels. look the nuts but i bet it would handle so much better on say 15s 16s :eek: :eek: jmo
 
M

memski

Guest
Disagree there, I had 17s before and don't think they were that much worse than the 16s I have now. The low profile tyre really helps with hard cornering (less flex in the tyre wall). The suspension on my car is rock solid and that's what I put the great handling down to (will get better once corner weighted and realigned 8) ).
 
G

gotoinstant-redline

Guest
my last car was an Alfa 33 perm 4. 4x4 1.7 flat 4.. very nice and gripped very very well. but just like the R had understeer after a point and also had shit brakes.

it had 14" wheels with toyo's on there.. they were good tyres but i chewed em up in no time. so i swapped them for goodyear eagle F1's and the grip went from good to F1 car good!

the toyo's are crap compared to the eagle f1's! i now have f1's on my R and it sticks very well. the only chassis mods i have are uprated shocks (and they are worn out!) and 16" 205 wheels. i'm going to get some coilovers, bump steer kit and sturt braces in the next few months (if my pending speeding fine isnt too big that is!)

if you want to try some good tyres and smaller wheels, you are welcome to come round here and borrow mine for the day. take it for a sprint and see what you think. dont give up on it yet. if you like the smaller wheels and better tyres then you can get some for not too much money.. i got mine second hand for very little money.

L.
 
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gotoinstant-redline

Guest
i've been playing with tyre presure lately. i've got a little electric pump that goes in the lighter socket.

i'm running 34psi on the front and 31psi on the rear. this seems to be about the best balance for my car. it has reduced the over steer and the understeer isnt too bad either. just about as level as i can get it with the current suspension etc..

L.
 
GTIR-LOZ

GTIR-LOZ

New Member
cheers for the offer, (may not go over my brakes though - 310mm wilwoods) but im sure it is not the size of the wheel, a friend of mine had eagle f1's and they gripped very nicely but he was chewing them up about every six months :wink: it may be the fact that i do come of the throttle a bit, but thats only after its sliding, my tyre pressures are at about 32 all round, i wouldnt know if i had a front lsd, have to check when i next have her on the ramp, but i think that when i span the front wheels, they went in opposite directions (cant remember too clearly)
so what is an lsd suposed to do then, just give you less wheelspin?? may be the case as i dont get any really 8)

as i said before i am purchasing a rear strut brace at the mo, but i think that uprated shocks etc may be the only route to go :cry: :D , as i still seem to get alot of bodyroll, for the mods i have got, the springs dont seem to be too soft either, when my head hits the roof over bumps :lol:

just quite anoying as i love the car to bits everyother way (maybe apart from the dodgy idle valve) and i want the handling to go with the power - no point in all the power in the world if you have to slow down to a crawl to get it round a bend hehehehe

i am infact very jealous of the handling of my mates 1.6gti peugeot 205, rest of the car is a heap of s1ht but goes round corners like its on rails, never been in another standard car like it 8)
 
S

skiddusmarkus

Active Member
Try messing with the tyre pressures.For one,the front is heavier than the rear so you need higher pressures at the front.I have approx 36psi at the front and 32psi at the back with 15" tryes.You will need diff pressures as you have 17's but keep experimenting to see what's best for you.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
What was the weather like? Someone told me that the stiffer the chassis (strut braces, etc.) could make a car more prone to slides in the wet. Is this ture or not?

Dunc
 
J

Jobi Joba

Member
GoToInstant-Redline said:
i'm running 34psi on the front and 31psi on the rear.
Click to expand...
:shock: I was driving my R with 2.6 bar on the front and 2.4 bar on the rear!!!And I was pretty happy with the handling...with H&R springs and KYB shocks.It seems your tyres are not enough inflated...
 
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