Circumnavigated a smallish roundabout this morning and was surprised how much understeer there was. Admittedly I did go in quite agressively but my speed was not above 40mph (I think – I was concentrating on the road). The road surface is atrocious in damp or wet conditions and this morning it was quite greasey. I’ve seen a few people get caught out and the results of several accidents where drivers have obviously “lost-it”. A couple of hours later I tried again and this time it was worse but I was pushing more I guess. The car did a fair impersonation of a crab scurrying across a beach. Now the only other car I’ve tried this sort of “experiment” in at this roundabout was an old shape VW Polo and I’d say that at 40 it was no worse than the scooby. It would be interesting to see how other cars that supposedly handle well would cope. Should the finger of blame be pointed firmly at the tyres (Bridgestone RE010s) or my style of driving?

Nadolig Llawen.

 

Change the tyres! then you will notice a difference.

Merry Christmas

 

I'd blame the weather to be honest. It was like someone had poured a load of oil everywhere today. Skidded at least 3 times doing less than your 40 at roundabouts and so did my mate in his EVO-6 (driving in front of me).

 

Get some good tyres. I've been running SO-3 PP's (16") for the last six months - awesome in the wet.

Then get the bump stear mod done at powerstation.

You will notice the difference as you drive out the door.

I'm one happy customer.

Ian

 

Several things IMHO here....

1. The Subaru 4WD is not *magic* and can't save you from slippery conditions...
2. Scoobs as standard understeer when pushed hard on the entry to a corner, in the dry too but loads worse in the wet
3. RE010's are (IMHO ) absolute crap. Change them (but not for PZero's as in the wet (IMHO ) they are not much better)....
4. Scoobs benefit largely from a slow in fast out style of driving
5. Mods like Bump Steer/proper geometry setup, Anti-Lift kit, Eibach springs etc. can "help" improve this but won't eliminate it...physics is physics after all

Matt

 

Matt said what I was going to say - and possibly consider a skid pan course so you can recognise a skid and be more confident in correcting and getting yourself out of potential danger

Tyres first!!! Get them changed, till then, drive within the limits of the tyres and weather conditions

Cheers

Michelle

 

Taking powerslides out of the equation, almost every car will understeer under power. The more power, the more obvious the understeer...
Guess the easiest ways around that is to increase front negative camber or increase rear roll stiffness.

 

RE010's are a pile of ****. When I had my old Turbo, changing from the standard 16" rims using RE010's to 17" rims running Potenza PP2s - the difference was amazing. The older model does have a tendancy to understeer if pushed and I would agree with what Matt has written - there is quite a lot you can do to improve the handling. It has often been written that the old Impreza was a car with average handling and huge grip - people often confuse one for the other

The new WRX is very different - my car is running on 18" rims with PZero's and it is completely different - the handling is vastly improved, virtually eliminating understeer.

Chris

 

Have a quick look here : http://www.drivingtechniques.co.uk/
techniques -> awd -> roundybout

I'm not suggesting anyone's not right about tires etc, but it's quite possible to introduce oversteer/understeer into any car by your driving style, when & how you use the brakes etc. Troubleshoot the driving before the setup - it's cheaper

 

Thanks for the useful comments. Must admit it was entertaining (and I was trying to get her to slide)but I've had my doubts about the tyres for some time. Get loads of tyre roar on some surfaces as well.

 

I think this is due to the present conditions. I thought the tyre pressures were low on my P1, but they're not. It doesn't seem to be ice but probably just all the crud that dirties my car up 5 minutes after washing it....

2 friends of mine said exactly the same thing, they thought something was up with their cars.

Take it easy, I don't think it's your tyres.

 

If understeer is safe, then loads of understeer must be really safe

 

Dave
Having also owned RE010's, anybody that has will agree they are dire. I once likened them to a vaselined eel on polythene.....

 

Speedking, loads of understeer is really really safe till you hit the outside curb!

haha!