dndxn

Hi Guys being new to the scooby scene (around 3 weeks) and this being my first post i was hoping that a few of you could help me out with some advise as to what the problem could be that i seem to have with my 03 WRX.

Basically in the dry i really cant fault the car at all round the bends, however as soon as there has been even a little rain the car just front end slides.

This is very alarming especially as this is at very very low speeds, if i take a roundabout or sharp corner (90 degree) in the wet at say 15 - 20 ish the front end will just slide away very alarmingly even though im not driving hard. But i can take the same corner in the dry at more than twice that without a flinch

At first i didnt think it was a problem as i wasnt doing many roundabouts or sharp corners and therefore didnt put 2 & 2 together and presumed it was diesel or oil on these particular roundabouts. But since i have found its all sharp corners in the wet be it low speed or not, and only going round the corners at sub 15mph stops the car from sliding.

The tyres i have fitted are Dunlop sports 9000, look rather new and have loads of meat left on them.

Any ideas why the car would slide at such low speeds would be appreciated, i just cant think it would be tyres at this sort of speed!!.

Thanks in advance

Dean

corradoboy

I'm unfamiliar with those tyres and any handling characteristics they may have, but I do know about Scooby handling. These cars can suffer from terrible understeer, but it can be sorted. Your first port of call is to fit a Whiteline 22mm adjustable rear ARB with solid drop-links. This will reduce the amount the body rolls at the rear under cornering loads, maintaining a better front wheel to tarmac alignment and increasing available grip. A good geometry specialist can also adjust the camber and castor to improve things further. The main thing to do however is realize that these are quite big, heavy cars and their performance means you often arrive at a corner at significant speed. The laws of physics can only be pushed so far, so you need to employ the slow-in fast-out technique. Try to slow the car in plenty of time so that as you turn in you are completely off the brakes and ready for getting back on the power from the apex. If you learn Roadcraft you can even forget the brakes, keeping the car balanced and composed throughout the corner under power.

richiewong

If they are new tyres do they need to be scrubbed in as well

scoobystiv8

I had the Dunlops on MY03 STi, I got rid after less than a 1000 miles as they were lethal. Really scary in the wet, but also if pushed hard in the dry they would just let go. I switched back to Yokohama Parada spec 2s, no problems since.
There was someone else a while ago with similar probs with dunlop non stick tyres. I think it must be the teflon coating

dndxn

Thanks for the reply guys.

I was hoping it was the tyres, i really cant see this as being just a simple case of understeer. My last car was a bog standard vectra which could do the same corners at a higher speed, with smaller tyres and more than likely a heavier car, without a problem.

I actually went out last night and double checked the speed, in my first post i was being a little optimistic and the slide actually starts as low down as 10 - 15MPH, this is off brake and accelerator.

This surely must be the tyres.

bpm1588

mate i can't see a scoob understeering at 10 mph no matter what tyres you have on.more so when saying your vauxhall did the same corner a lot faster.yes tyres do make a huge differance brand for brand but those dunlops can't be that bad....can they?

dndxn

This being my first scooby i dont have any sort of benchmark to put it against. A few of my mates have had scoobies which ive been in but never in the wet so again nothing to benchmark against.
In the dry it performs as i would expect compaired to the ones ive been in (WRX 95, STI 01, STI 03)

Such is the low speed that i can only think that the tyres are at fault though mate.

The car in the wet is just so alarmingly seriously scary.

That said it only seems to be on hard turns be it T-junctions, small round abouts e.t.c., its like on a t-junction once ive gone past 45 degree into the turn the car just goes straight on until i slow down to a crawl.

But the problem is that because of this i just dont trust the thing at all in the wet and always expect it to just let go at any speed on any corner.

I suppose my only option at the moment is to change both fronts for another make and see where im at.

cpk

Sounds like an obvious one but have you checked tyre pressures? I'd definitely get the alignment checked too.

I doubt the dunlops are that bad, they're quite highly rated and expensive tyres. If you said you were running 'roadchamps' or equivalent then I'd look at the tyres!

dndxn

Yep i check pressures on a regular basis due to having a recent puncture repaired on the left rear and a reseal on the right rear, all ok.
Car was only serviced 3 weeks ago, at which time i also had the tracking done.

I just now at a total loss its either the tyres or something major, which i also would have hoped they would have picked up on either the service or MOT, both done at the same time by authorized scooby dealer.

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

Where are you based..?

Would help if a fellow member could drop by and experience this for you, maybe try their scoob on the same bends..?

Something definitely sounds wrong with this.

This is very unlikely, but have you driven the same roads recently in another car, just in case there has been something spilling diesel around..? Unlikely as I say, but understeer at <10mph is very unusual, except on icy/snow or diesel/oil roads..!

dndxn

I'm in Northamptonshire, Rushden to be precise, anyone from this area would know the area around waitrose supermarket which has 6 roundabouts and a T-Junction in its immediate vicinity all of which i have experienced this on. Yes i know trucks would be on these roads but they wouldnt be on 2 of the roundabouts and the t-junction.

The last time i was on the same roads in a different car would be 6 - 8weeks ago in the Vectra, so no not that recent.

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

i have a similar problem and it is definately the tyres in my case, the reason I know this is that I only got this problem after changing both fronts at the same time for a budget make of tyre from blackcircle.com There is one roundabout in particular near me where it happens in the wet or dry. Generally though in the dry they arent to bad, however when wet it sometimes feels like I am aquaplaning before they grip.

b0x

Any idea how the tyres have been treated previously? The Dunlop SP9000 generally has good reviews in the wet but any tyre will go hard, thus poor in the wet.

One simple test is to put your car on full lock and try and dig your nail into them. If you nail creates a nice little dimple then the tyres are still soft and good, if your nail makes no mark you know they're past their best and could do with replacing.

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

That's an interesting one, will give it a try on my 70% worn T1-r's..

dndxn

Thanks again for the replies guys.

I have no idea how they were treated prior to me no, they dont seem to be hard at all.
I also read up on the tyres myself and most of the reviews on them are pretty good.

Soooo, what i have done is gone for the cheapest option at the moment which is to go for 2 new SP9000's on the front which was £87 a corner from etyres which i though really good value (obviously this all depends if they now work) considering they are over £120 at the likes of national tyres e.t.c.
So i will now have to see what happens and hope i havent wasted my money.

So far i do think that there does seem to be more grip in the dry (maybe this is just mind tricks due to them being new), but i will have to see what happens in the wet which as yet i havent had any rain in my area since the change. I will post back and let you know how things go.

ricardo

One other thing that can cause scary handling is if somebody has put tyre shine stuff very liberally on the sidewall, and it has got round onto the tread. It is often silicone-based and gets rid of any grip once it is in the rubber. If the car is new (to you) did it have anything like that on the sidewalls ?

If that's the case it will wear of again after a while.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Could be your driving style. My sti 4 used to do it until I learned the slow in-fast out technique.

bpm1588

come on guys! he's talking about a car understeering at 10 mph,with slicks on in the wet i doubt a 4wd scoob would push the nose.up to now i have had 3 scoobs and i have never had anything close to these symptoms.
if it was me i would get the car up on a lift and see if anythings broken.i have followed hearses doing more than 10 mph around corners

SLIAN

Just an idea but if the roundabouts are near a supermarket could it be diesel on the tarmac from the petrol station tankers.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Well I tried just 'chucking' it in at a round about the other night. Road was wet and I was only doing 10-15mph. Guess what.... front end slide!
Tried it again using slow in and feeding in the throttle and it gripped like a leech.
It's all in the driving.

bpm1588

i dont understand,is 10-15 mph not slow in?

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

Another fair point..!

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

IIRC, RE070 probably have one of the stiffest sidewalls on the market, but where do others rate in comparison..?

Namely Toyo T1R's/PS2's/GY eagles etc..

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

I mean slow with the steering.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Never got my Spec C to do any front end slides with the RE070's on and people hate those in the wet
Have to agree with Chris on this, think you could be a little over enthusiastic and putting too much faith into the car rather than your own driving here

Tony

b0x

Don't hold me to this but I believe the order of sidewall stiffness is something like

RE070
PS2
T1R
GY Eagle

Though it's quite debatable about the sidewalls on the T1R and GSD3. I've not heard anything about the new F1 yet.

Bridgestone seem to really like sidewall stiffness at the moment, which is great for us who like a lot of feel but not so great for comfort and noise!

Jon - Tyrereviews.co.uk - Tyre reviews - online ratings for car and track tires

Hoppy

Since they're local to you and especially good with Subarus, go to Tyres Nothampton TyresNorthampton

Get the geometery checked, and a set a of four matched quality tyres fitted. A good set-up will transform your car. Promise

Richard.

dndxn

Once again thanks for all the advise / replies guys,

Just to reply to some of the question / prompts on here though:

Nope no shiny stuff on the tyres either when i bought it at any time ive had it.

Yep already mentioned about trucks at these round abouts an a previous post, a couple of them trucks wouldnt go on and i get / got it on those.

I really dont think its how im driving, im not "Chucking it in" ceratinly dont drive like that especially not in the wet.
Let me put it this way, im not driving into these corners / roundabouts faster, harder or sharper then i used to in the Vectra i had and i never came across it in that.

It still hasnt rained enough for me to check out if the new tyres have made a difference and as its totally fine in the dry im not going to change anything just yet as i might just be throwing money at a problem that now dosent exist, but getting the geometry checked out would be my first option.

corradoboy

Whiteline 22mm adjustable rear ARB with solid droplinks is a must on a Scoob anyway, so it will always be money well spent. All DIY fitting and under £200 for the bits.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Check your tyre pressures, you may be a little over inflated, that may give similar symptoms/problems.

Tony