christyper

Drove to Newquay over new year and my Sti5 type R felt awful. Font tyres were a bit worn and wear was uneven (worn inside more). The car felt like the front end was about to slide when going around gentle bend as high speeds. On the A30, vans and much slower cars were driving past me as it felkt like my car would slide if I went that quick. The roads were a little wet but still. I had the tyres changed and the geometry and tracking all setup and..... still drives like a sack of ****. Theres somehime very wrong somewhere - anyone any ideas. Power Engineering did the geomenrt setup and test drove it and said it felt ok. I am at the point where I can not even drive it over 40mph as it feels too unsafe. Also, with the DCCD set to 50% locked, the front wheel spin under hard acceleration. Anyone go any clues where to start looking?

bob r

iTrader: (46)

flynnstudio

It'll be the sandstone in those font tyres...I'd go with the rubber ones

christyper

There's me seeing I have two replies to my question, thinking at least one of them must be sensible - but no, Scoobynet used to be quite a helpful place but now it just seems to be full of people who pretend to know what they are talking about. I supose thats all internet forums for you.

Just for those of you who are still unsure, I was not drunk and my tyres are rubber. Anyone any useful suggestions?

flynnstudio

ok..then seriously = whats the rebound like on your shockers when you push the front wings down hard with your hands ?

christyper

Shocks appear OK - STi though so suspension is very stiff and not much movement. Could it be something to do with the steering rack?

Adam M

the front wheels of a type R should never spin under hard acceleration.

The open diff settings divert more torque to the rears than the front, therefore they are the ones likely to break traction first, unless the fronts are sitting on ice or the like. With any degree of lock the torque distribution starts to vary towards 50:50. Even with weight transfer taken into consideration, there is always more weight over the front wheels than the rear. If totally locked, spinning all four wheels would be impressive but possible. Have you tried that?

Very strange that your front wheels should be spinning at all. I wonder if you have a knackered centre diff which might lead to odd driving characteristics.

Might be worth sticking it on a rolling road with the front and rear rollers unlocked from one another and the diff totally free.

Moley

iTrader: (9)

I have been getting the same feeling with my WRX.
Put my foot down in second gear the other day in a straight line and the back end started to step out. Have just put it down to all the grit and c**p on the road at the moment. Am taking it easy untill the roads dry out.

christyper

Thanks - I have a nasty feeling that it's something to do with the DCCD - bet thats not cheap to have replaced. The lights show normal though and I thought in the event of a failure they would flash and revert to free? When locked more it definatly feels different so it's doing something.

Jay_bee

iTrader: (1)

Just out of interest, how long have you had the car and what tyres are you using?

kart_man

I'd agree with Adam, and say you need to get it on some rollers to check power is getting to all 4 wheels - spinning the fronts is pretty unusual in a Type R. The worn tyres could be something to do with it as well. Perhaps try changing the fronts to the back and see if it feels any different. I have to admit, I never had a very surefooted feeling in heavy rain in my Type R, as it was so RWD biased, but it was generally ok in the damp. You just need to drive it like a RWD drive car really!
What tyres are you running?

christyper

Tyre are Bridgestone Potenzas - have now changed to new ones (same) and makes no difference.

christyper

Drive is definatly to all four wheel as I can spun the fronts and had the back out whilst trying to figure out when is going on. Fronts won't spin if diff is set to free.

Jay_bee

iTrader: (1)

I think the fronts spinning then arent the major issue here, if it was when the diff was fully forward and you launched it in the wet, you're bound to get some spin. By the way, I wouldnt bother doing that too often, otherwise you probably will start getting problems with the diff

My Type R can feel a bit scary in the wet sometimes but the tyres I have do give pretty good feedback and I can feel when they are about to let go, so I've just get the feeling for how far I can/cant push it.

As for transit vans passing you on wet roads, you have to bear in mind that low profile, wide tyres + stiff suspension are cack in the pi55ing rain!

deco c

ive just put a new set of potenzas on my sti v 6 and tbh the thing has stepped out on me on more than one occasion.im very weary of going into corners at any decent speed,i had more confidence in my starlet gt,ive just ordered a set of tein springs,willl this help the wooly handling in any way???

Jay_bee

iTrader: (1)

Im no expert but I cant say I've heard that many glowing reports about the Bridgestones.

I think you'll find that alot people use Eagle F1's or Toyo Proxy T-1R's

christyper

Thanks for all the replies - I think I'll wait to see how it performs now on a dry road (sometime in August then ). It could just be me and once you loose confidence in the car, you start to lift off when you should not - which is bad. Thanks.

Jay_bee

iTrader: (1)

Take it you've not had it that long then?

christyper

About a year - only seems to have started this recently though.

Iwan

I'm running the same tyres on my STI5 Type R and they're great, it sticks like $hit to a blanket and has no iffy handling characteristics. Also mine never understeers unless I dive into a wet corner way too quickly and off the power, if anything it has a tendancy to oversteer.

I'd get someone reputable to have a look at the shocks, steering/tracking, diffs and particularly the DCCD.

Iwan

Generally speaking people tend to only comment on bad experiences, so you often get a skewed view. There's nothing wrong with Potenza's in my experience, i've run them on the P1 with 17's and on the STI5 Type R with 16's - they're easily as good as anything else on the market.

Topjimo

simple, just find a friend with a car that is near your model and take it round the block, you will know in 100 yards if yours is ill or not, simple and very cost effective.

I had mine out over christmas, and it had less grip than my mico scooter!!

scubbay

iTrader: (61)

Have you checked the front balljoints? When worn they do make for an interesting drive.

Adam M

if the diff is fully locked, you shouldnt be able to spin the fronts without the back spinning. with the diff locked the front rear diff becomes a solid connection and allows no relative slip.

If you lock the diff and ONLY the fronts spin, then your centre diff is shafted, in some way.

if this is the case then its function may be sporadic meaning it could be oversteery when you don't expect it and viceversa.

The fact is, any driving expert will tell you that the worst thing for driver control is lack of driver confidence in the car. If the reactions of the car differ each time you drive it, even the best driver in the world is going to struggle to get to grips with it.

a new dccd will cost you £550 for the actual unit.

Speak to town end garage, but get it on the rollers first.

christyper

How do you check these? It's just passes an MOT so I am assuming these would have been checked and are OK.

Jay_bee

iTrader: (1)

I think he meant that the front was spining as well as the back...

vindaloo

How many miles have you put on the new tyres? Current weather won't be helping them to bed in. Also check the tyre pressures. Be careful but also try rotating the tyres front<->rear and go for a careful test drive.

Check the rear ARB drop links if they're standard. Make sure their still in one piece and attached etc.

J.

Jay_bee

iTrader: (1)

Thats a fair point and I stand corrected

flat4_ire

hmm urs shudnt be stepping out man, in the dry shudnt budge! in the wet u must be really hammering into those bends, type r diffrent story to ur 4 door handling wise

flat4_ire

ive potenzas too, i think, in the dry they are the job! but in the wet i think proxes wud be a lot better