Lost it

[Anonymous]

1. heavy rain, and motorways (or anywhere) don't push over 70mph. if it twitches your gone. under 70 your less likely (not guarenteed though)

I drive every day 90miles on the motorway most of this in the rain. My natural speed is 80-85mph, provided the road is clear enough to allow adequate distance from traffic ahead and there's no standing water.
Anyway I've always found my car to be very stable, very little aquaplanning quite reassuring.

I think going over 70mph on a straight motorway isn't going to give the car too many problems (provided you got goood rubber) it's pushing it on the twisties that will.

70mph is a completely arbitary number, remember it has no basis in evidence or risk analysis what so ever.
Far better to gain a Knowledge of your car and it's limits in various conditions and don't push too far against them.


As I was told in November at Silverstone - the secret to pushing on in the rain is to anticipate what will happen and be extra smooooth in all that you do.

[Anonymous]

extra smooth is essential i belive, its best not to go and start tapping that foot  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

and i dont know about anyone else but my car is very prone to aquaplanning with standing water and large puddles, scares the sh*t out me real heart in mouth moments!!!!   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

[Anonymous]

and i dont know about anyone else but my car is very prone to aquaplanning with standing water and large puddles, scares the sh*t out me real heart in mouth moments!!!!   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

I've found my toyo's provide good wet weather service - i've only ever aquaplanned when I hit a large expanse of standing water at motorway speed and then only for the briefest of intervals.

[Anonymous]

well ive still got the yoko's on mineand i havent got a problem with them in the wet! i can give the car a blast and the tyres handle very well under the conditions!!

but when i hit water, its more like the characteristics of driving with black ice on the road, you never no how the cars going to respond

so best thing for me to do now is a take the foot all the way off the accelerater and try to apply the breaks before hitting bad road conditionns!!

then pray to god!!!!!   s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

well ive still got the yoko's on mineand

Personally I found the stock yokos downright dangerous in wet weather. Did a full 360 off the road spin whilst accelerating down a straight wet road a year ago. Not entirely the tyres fault I'm sure but that was the straw that broke the camals back. Changed to toyos - now feel much safer.

[mrsmr2]

The 03 onwards have a little bit more understeer built in.  I would put that down to the increased grip at the rear.

I never have the back end out and I think that's down to my driving style as I'm generally running on the edge of front end grip, and I only put power down (in the wet) after I've nearly straightened the wheel.

I do give the car the odd squirm in the wet when coming off roundabouts (power down too early) but never anything close to losing traction at the rear.

[heathstimpson]

geometry setup in the wet plays a big part. SP corrected the geometry on my car when I had the turbo fitted, and they said it was the worst they've ever seen. Matt actually used the word 'lethal'. My car feels fine in the wet now and I don't have to worry about it.

This must have been before the dyno day as I believe Leon took that honour  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[Anonymous]

i know this an old thread but i have to ask as anyone just completley lost control of their 2 in the dry for no reason whatsoever?
by just driving totally normal not speeding or hammering it in to bends?

how hard is it exactly to lose it in the dry or should it stick like glue with the right tyres on?

i'm asking because although this has no relevance to the mr2 it makes me think about dry handling because before i had my 2 i had a 52 plate focus st170 which was a mean bit of kit but i left it totally standard no fancy tyres or anything but my mate had a 306 gti-6 peugeot with bridgestone so2 tyres on which at the time were the best tyre for his car handling wise!
i was following him one day (not fast either) and he went round an island at about 40ish no faster and completely lost it! and his car seriously handled well so this was very odd!
so i went round it at the same speed in my st and nothing happened i then went round again taking the exact same line he did but at 50 and it stuck like glue and then again at 60 and nothing so why did he lose it at 40 with really grippy tyres but i couldn't lose mine with crappy tyres on at 60?

i know i'm babbling on a bit but this baffles me because he should have been able to go round that island alot faster than me before losing it

so do fancy tyres sometimes just let go for no reason at all???

(i hope not as i'm having proxes fitted all round next week)

sorry about the bible but i had to tell the whole story   s:D s:D

and he didn't lift off going round the island either so it wasn't bad driving

[rtbiscuit]

could have clipped the curb, just enough to kick the car out.   s:? :? s:?  

not sure on this. tyres should not just kick out.

you will find on the 2 that the breakaway is progressive. so you should be able to handle it.

in the wet it is still progressive, but their is more of a risk of a quick snap. but generally on heavy watered roads!

to be honest cant shed light on this. i had a gti6 and only lost it once, and it was on a corner that i take every day. my only reasoning was that the tank was nearly empty. wasn't as much weight over the rear axle so the back went out.

also comes down to weight transfer as the car moves throught the corner. (i only just saved it. ended half way in a ditch, took a bot of fancy driving drom going all the way round, i just fish tailed and skided.) took me half an hour by myself to get my left hand side out of the mud and pull out.

i used pirelli p6000 which were excellent tyres as well.

[filcee]

It will also pay you to regularly check tyre pressures and wear.  Pressures alone can have a big effect on the handling - I found that once I was used to the car I could 'feel' that things didn't seem right.  A quick check of the pressures would reveal that they weren't at the pressures I normally use[1].  Putting air in (or taking it out) would normally restore things.

After a quick trip this evening, I can tell that my pressures are not right again - probably becuase the weather has warmed up a bit.  As I haven't had time to check them, it means I'll be taking particular notice on my way to Oxford in the morning (i.e. not giving it the full can of beans  s:-D :-D s:-D  )

Having said that, my first '2 - a 2001 model - did have a tendency to let you know the engine was behind you if you lifted off going downhill (even on the motorway). It was particularly good at this reminder anytime I downshifted too early - once the SMT had finished with the throttle the fact I didn't have my foot on it (it was on the brake instead) meant it was effectively closed.  As a result there would be lots of engine braking added in to the 'gentle' braking I was already doing.  Net result would be a little wiggle of my behind (so to speak).  Remembering the mantra " gears are for going, brakes are for slowing", and leaving my downshifts until later solved that one for me.

[1] My preference is to use the pressures from the handbook.  Opinion varies as to whether this is the best set up or not.  I'm sticking with it because it is more or less what I'm used to now.

[Anonymous]

i just think that rear wheel drive cars should be treated with the same respect as say a superbike as they are very unpredictable
i think if you start getting overconfident or a bit cocky they will bite you hard!

[Anonymous]

I own a used 03 Facelift MR2, for 16 months now.

I find the car so enjoyable, that I 'm playing with the tail EVERY day.

I play with the tail at least 10-15 times a day... ( I drive a lot).

I only lost it once  and did a 180, at the first or second month of ownership, very very first days of my new tyres (Yoko A539).

Since then, I never had a real heart attack, as 90% of the times is controlable.

10% of the play, is not controlable but not near crash or not even 180 as well.

But what I really like about this car is that I never need to press the clutch, just by flooring the gas pedal it is playing with the tail the way I like.

Other cars like miata, dont have the power of flooring and losing the tail!

I love this car! It gives so much .. for only that little!

[rtbiscuit]

i agree with simos, you got to give it time to adjust to the setup, and no when to put power down and when to back off.

but i must admit once you know how to handle the car it is a dream. its breakaway is progressive and there is penty of feedback.

you will only spin this car out if your stupid, or driving in the wet with out care.

[Anonymous]

must agree 2 weeks after picking up my 2 in december lost it on a greasy roundabout ind into a hedge thankfully no damage. changed from the stock yoko's to toyo's when i put my 17's on and althigh i've had the back out in the wet it's a lot more controlled and progresive. my cars a 53 plate

[mr2mark]

Hi.... Ive read all of this thread and realised how boring some of the members are !!!!   People are comparing front wheel drive cars' handling to the rear wheel driving mr2 !!!   You have to take on a different style of driving with rear drive cars ..... get that back end pushing on corners !!! power round corners .... not as you hit the straight.   That "heart stopping" moment is what this car is all about   s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:  .... but when youve learnt to control that moment that feeling is better still !!!!!!  But be careful you cant learn overnight   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[Anonymous]

when did anyone say they couldnt handle a rear wheel drive car??
the discussion has been about the rear breaking loose for no reason or out of pure stupidity cant recall anyone saying they didn't know how to handle one!

[juansolo]

In the wet you don't have a lot of grip to play with and you don't need to be taking the p!ss to run out of what little you have.  For example: a nice wet hairpin for you, no diesel spills, no excessive revvage...  Just like a nice early morning wet road: A tad slippy then?.  Admittedly that was intentional, but it gets the point over nicely I thought.

[juansolo]

Other cars like miata, dont have the power of flooring and losing the tail!

errr...  Nor does the Mr2 really, not proper power oversteer.  You can provoke both easily however.

[mr2mark]

when did anyone say they couldnt handle a rear wheel drive car??
the discussion has been about the rear breaking loose for no reason or out of pure stupidity cant recall anyone saying they didn't know how to handle one!

 Exactly when did anyone mention it ...... I'm on about people driving like a fanny cos its wet ...... In this country its wet about 80% of the time so its not the car for them .... maybe a clio or something !!!!

 And if anyones car is loosing it unintentionally obviously pushing a little past the drivers experience is probably the cause.......................Its easy to blame the car or diesel spill or your uncles grannies brothers cat ran out !!

[Anonymous]

Simon - Agree about the stock Yokos, I think they are shocking in the wet. Span mine cornering at relatively low speed, 2 complete spins no kerbs hit thank god!

[Anonymous]

And if anyones car is loosing it unintentionally obviously pushing a little past the drivers experience is probably the cause.......................Its easy to blame the car or diesel spill or your uncles grannies brothers cat ran out !!

and i suppose you are micheal schumacher and drive a perfect line every time!
nobody is that good a driver that they never lose it so pushing past a drivers limits is utter rubbish mistakes can happen no matter how good you think you are, you are a classic example of an over confident driver

also have you ever thought of taking anger classes?

  s:evil: :evil: s:evil:  because you type with such anger.................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

[Anonymous]

Let me put try to explain my point of view seeing as I started the post. I have driven rear wheels cars for most of my driving life, 33 years. Now I dont profess to being anything special in the driving department but apart from reversing into a neighbours car I have been incident free and I am no wimp either. I have always enjoyed pushing cars to mine and their limits although not on a track but have had a great deal of fun. Since owning the 2 I have not stopped grinning and just love the way it is so grippy on twisties and roundabouts. I still can't believe how quickly I got into trouble and did not have any time to correcet  However as i explained earlier the tyres pressures were incorrect and a little while later I spotted that the tread was non existent  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:    s:oops: :oops: s:oops:    s:oops: :oops: s:oops:   Combine this with damp weather conditions and that I was just leaving work, where we make china clay!!!  first corner, the road was slippery, covered with a dusting of clay, cold tyres and my size 12 right foot it's no wonder I lost it.

So morale is check tyres regularly and dont push it in the wet.

[mr2mark]

Naa sammy seed ... Michael schumacer might just be above me on the good driver list ...... but looking on here well above alot of people !

  Anger ...... try a bit of this next time you are driving like your granny is in the car ... you might enjoy it !    s:P s:P

[Anonymous]

at what point on here have i said im scared to drive my car or drive like my granny is in the car as you put it?

my father-in-law is circuit manager at donnington park and that is my playground so i would say i'm quite capable of driving to a high level at circuit demands not just booting it from speed bump to speed bump on normal roads like you and your self proffessed super skills.

[Anonymous]

My Grandad used to do all the engraving work for Spurs and John Lennon, but that doesn't mean that I can do it too.






Engraving that is, not doing work for John Lennon. Although I may find that tricky as well...