Lost confidence in my handling...

[markiii]

deliberately trying to hang the arse on public roads is pretty iresponsible

Which no one in ROC would ever try and do..... in Wales...   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

Phil

try? no, scare myself silly by overcooking it oh yes

[EssexChaz]

Hey guys, goodyear eagle NCT 5 apparently - they will be the same size as the originals (it was slashing down so you will have to forgive me for not finding that info out, but they are direct replacements for the tyres that came on the car) they are inflated to 26psi at the front and 32 psi at the back or there abouts - i check them like once a month - which i was lead to believe is the standard reccomended pressures.

Chaz

[skinz]

Car park = public space = laws of the road still apply, which means if you do that you'll be looking at possible charges of dangerous driving, or at least DWDCA. Of course, if it's a privately owned piece of land to which the public do not have access or right of way then by all means go ahead.
[/quote]

Yeah thts y I said without cctv - as long as theres no one around & far enough away from built up areas (e.g, industrial estate), theres less chance of anyone seeing & calling the fuzz in.

deliberately trying to hang the arse on public roads is pretty iresponsible

Lol didn't mean that I condone dangerous/iresponsible driving, but Im sure everyone has there own moments. Not one of these people who belts in down residential/town centres as that would be looking for trouble, selecting suitable roads (dual carrageways/motorways industrial estates) and suitable weather conditions & traffic, opens the window for a "bit of fun" while eliminating possible risk to other roads users/pedestrians, or more importantly yourself :p

[Wabbitkilla]

[MOD]Can we keep to the original subject please and avoid the discussion of questionable driving practices on public roads, this guy is asking for our help [/MOD]

[Wabbitkilla]

I would still like to hear what the tyre sizes are for the purpose of giving sensible advice.
According to Goodyears' website you can't get the NCT5's in the right sizes for the 2, mind all the tyre manufacturers keep changing their minds about sizes they will offer the public these days.   s:? :? s:?  

Pressures seem right for the tyres though, and a lot can be gained by a full alignment and geometry check and adjust.

[EssexChaz]

I had it all lazer aligned and balanced at a cost of about £100 when i repaired it, i've not hit anything or done anything exciting suspension geometry wise since then so it should all be straight, and the guy went to some lengths to make sure he set it up right, he seemed to be a right geometry geek.

Chaz

[ChrisGB]

Once it stops raining, it would be helpful if you can supply the tyre size and load index for fronts and rears.  The load index can have an influence on the tyre pressure that is needed. The load rating is the number usually shown before the speed rating, so for example 185/55R15 81V would be an 81 load index. Also look out for the suffix xl or rf which would indicate reinforced or extra load tyres which need different pressures again.

Chris

[EssexChaz]

I'll check it out when i get home, i took iphone pics of them but i cant make it out as they are all wet - anyway, i will see what is what this evening

chaz

[EssexChaz]

205/50R15 - 96V Eagle NCT 5

I took a photo this morning as i went past and apparently the photo was more blurry than I had expected (damn you shutter lag) so it could be 86V but i think its 96V

Chaz

[ChrisGB]

205/50R15 - 96V Eagle NCT 5

I took a photo this morning as i went past and apparently the photo was more blurry than I had expected (damn you shutter lag) so it could be 86V but i think its 96V

Chaz

Same size front and rear???

Chris

[SteveJ]

I guess some people will just never learn.

Darwin candidate?   s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing the OP still has same size tyres on, which might as well be ditchfinders really. Rochford Tyres are utterly sh*t, they really are.

OH SNAP

[EssexChaz]

the front tyres are 195's I believe, but i didnt note them because i guessed the rear tyres would be where the issue was if it felt like the back was going - but i know for a fact that they are narrower and were again, replacements in size for the original tyres that came on the car from the garage as far as i am aware.

I can find out for sure, but again, its gonna have to be when i get home.

Chaz

[EssexChaz]

I'm guessing the OP still has same size tyres on, which might as well be ditchfinders really. Rochford Tyres are utterly sh*t, they really are.

OH SNAP

Unfortunately the wheels did not survive so i have the original wheels on the car, not 17's and the backs are wider than the fronts.

Chaz

[Thudd]

I took my car on a performance driving course through driverskills.org at Elvington. Useful tuition on technique, and an opportunity to push it with loads of run off.
I also did a rwd drift course (in their E46 3series Compact).

Their suggestion on fwd is to keep your foot in and it'll pull through, btw. With RWD, you need to know why you're oversteering (weight transition, trailbraking, power oversteer, etc) and compensate accordingly.

[ChrisGB]

the front tyres are 195's I believe, but i didnt note them because i guessed the rear tyres would be where the issue was if it felt like the back was going - but i know for a fact that they are narrower and were again, replacements in size for the original tyres that came on the car from the garage as far as i am aware.

I can find out for sure, but again, its gonna have to be when i get home.

Chaz

OK, assuming that you have NCT5 both front and rear and that the sizes are 195/50R15 front a and 205/50R15 rear, you will most likely have a 195/50R15 82V on the front and a 205/50R15 86V on the back. If this is the case, your tyre pressures are about right. You may be able to go very slightly lower both ends (25 front 31 rear) but I don't think that is going to make a huge difference to handling.

It could be that the NCT5 are just not stiff enough in the sidewall to inspire confidence (they are a comfort tyre rather than a sports car tyre), but the car is light.

Other things worth checking are how low is the ride? If you have coilovers and you go too low, the handling can get decidedly tricky. The Tein SuperStreet are nominally a 30mm drop which is fine, but they can be set lower and this could make things feel less good as the suspension loads up. Who did the alignment and did you get a printout of what they set it up to? If you got a print out and can post it up, that could help. Generally, toe out at the rear end can make the car feel nervous.

Hope this helps.

With RWD, you need to know why you're oversteering (weight transition, trailbraking, power oversteer, etc) and compensate accordingly.

This is exactly it. No one size fits all solution to what to do, you need to know why it is going sideways before you can fix it.

Chris

[EssexChaz]

i did get a print out, but god knows where it is, i will see if i can find it, and hope that the crappy dot matrix print it still legible.

the strange thing from my point of view, and i think the main cause for my questioning my handling is that it doesnt seem to be consistent, and in some cases, as bizzarre as it sounds, it seems to handle better when being pushed on somewhat rather than taking the corner easy. I wish i could somehow copy the senses and upload them for you guys to feel because i dont think video photos or anything like it could explain what i mean, it will be like mid corner and give a sort of unbalancing movement, not so much to unbalance the car, but it makes me actually feel like something is going on, kind of like my ass is rolling off the seat (its not) a bit or something.

Argh, i think i might just get rid of it and get a barge so i dont have any aspirations of 'fun' driving.

chaz

[Anonymous]

Whereabouts in Essex are you? If fancy meeting up some time I don't mind giving the car a little drive to see if there's anything I can spot that you might have missed, or at least to set your mind at ease if nothing else.

[EssexChaz]

I'm in chelmsford or briantree (depending on weather i'm at my gf's gaff or not.)

also - dunno if this matters but the front tyres are 82V 185/55r15 Avon ZV3

I cant really let you have a drive at the moment as it appears that my engine may have let go and as such it will not be handling at all for the time being as engines = more money than i have right now, but once i get that sorted....

chaz

[SteveJ]

205/50R15 - 96V Eagle NCT 5

also - dunno if this matters but the front tyres are 82V 185/55r15 Avon ZV3

Congratulations you are now a nominee for the 2010 Darwin Awards   s:evil: :evil: s:evil:  

Some people just never learn   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

[Wabbitkilla]

Ok if we can step away from the attack dog mentality.

As has been stated before you need the same make and model tyre all round the car in the right staggered sizes to guarantee consistent handling.
You are going to need to change some tyres to achieve this now, it's just as bad as having the same size all around.

[EssexChaz]

I can't afford to change my tyres, i only got the back ones a little while ago, so I guess I'll just have to keep it below 30 then  s:( s:(

I can't wait to get back to a normal car that isn't as picky as a pick on national picking day as to what I do to it, owning my MR2 has been a freakin nightmare laced with the occasional mist of enjoyment and not the other way round, which has been somewhat of a suprise/let down to me.

Chaz

[Wabbitkilla]

Really there's a lot of advice and information on the site, it's a read away and these mistakes are completely avoidable.
Any performance car is going to have its foibles, you just need to accept that and learn.
Gather information before committing to a change and then judge the best course of action, and there's always someone around to ask.

[markiii]

doing something you don;t understand without realising teh consequences is hardly teh fault of teh car,

more the owners lack of planning and forethought

[EssexChaz]

which is why, as a webdesigner, i took it to a garage, somewhere I assumed professionals would work and when I paid them to sort my tyres out that were bald, i thought they would point me in the right direction, as i would do if someone approached me with a web design issue.

People need to appreciate that in general, people are not mechanics/tyre specialists, and when they go to a garage and pay a not insignificant amount for some tyres / service etc they would assume that those people would advise them correctly and situations like this wouldn't arise - i don't really feel that this is 'my' fault, if i went to the doctors, complaining of a pain in the neck, he checked me out, said i was being a tart and sent me home, then a bit later i died of neckbreakosis, i would consider that the doctors fault and not mine.

I dunno, i think everyone on forums assume that everyone is an expert in the target field and that if they are not they are an idiot, i'm not, I do what I am advised by people who are supposed to be experts in their feild fully aware that i am not one. If that leaves me open to be ripped and treated like i am some kind of gibbon then so be it, but i'm sure before you learned this information, if someone had sold you the wrong tyres whilst puporting to be someone in a position of knowledge, you may well have been in the mistaken impression that you had done the right thing, still maybe not.

meh, hard day, high horse, broken car, broken spirit, moan moan moan

Chaz