MR2 Roadster Owners Club

The Workshop => Maintenance, Problems & Troubleshooting => Topic started by: Anonymous on December 14, 2005, 12:05

Title: Back end sliding
Post by: Anonymous on December 14, 2005, 12:05
Really worried about my back end consistently sliding out when cornering. I have good brigestone tyres on with plenty of tread, but thinking of getting rid due to the saftey of the car. Anyone experience similar or know how to combat?
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Post by: Anonymous on December 14, 2005, 12:31
You going to need to tell us a bit more about the tyres you know.

Do know what size? type of trend. Are you driving round the corners hard? What type of corners are you doing? Roundabouts? 90 degree turns? Is it raining? Have you lowered the car? Are your springs and shocks ok? Give as much info as possible.  Also have you checked the bridgestone web site for more in about the tyres? Are they the right ones for your car and wheel size???

help us to help you   s:D :D s:D
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Post by: Anonymous on December 14, 2005, 18:30
My tires had heat cycled out long before the tread wore out.
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Post by: kanujunkie on December 14, 2005, 20:29
there's this thing under your right foot, i think its called the accelerator, try pushing it gently, its not an on/off switch!!!

stock bridgestones are about the best in the present conditions so you need to back off a bit, theres just too much crud and ice on the road at the mo, engage granny mode for a few months before you end up in a ditch!
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Post by: aaronjb on December 14, 2005, 20:32
Quote from: "kanujunkie"there's this thing under your right foot, i think its called the accelerator, try pushing it gently, its not an on/off switch!!!

 s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  Pot, meet Kettle...  s;) ;) s;)
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Post by: kanujunkie on December 14, 2005, 21:02
Quote from: "aaronjb"s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  Pot, meet Kettle...  s;) ;) s;)

yeah but i enjoy it!  s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:
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Post by: Anonymous on December 15, 2005, 08:18
I'm guessing this is your first mid/rear engine rear drive car?

I would put it down to experience (apologies if it sounds patronising); a lot of my friends make fun of me when I say that the MR2 obeys different laws of physics to their Fiats, Mercedes and Fords but it's true.
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Post by: Anonymous on December 15, 2005, 09:29
Hey Batts,

My 2 is still on the stock Bridgestones also, and the back end has been particularly "lively" the last 6 weeks or so. This is my first winter with the 2, and it has been an adjustment after 15 or so years of FWD cars.....  s:D :D s:D  

I honestly don't think a change of tyres will make it any better, just a gentle and progressive throttle foot....I am personally loving rediscovering the "fun" of RWD in the wet and slippery stuff   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  BUT in the right time and place.

I am extremely mindful of the handling of the 2 on dark, greasy, unknown country roads.....hope you grow to love the friskiness of your car, it's crap when you are nervous of your vehicle   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:
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Post by: Anonymous on December 15, 2005, 10:54
My two is all over the shop recently, much more than previous winters.

Lots of leaves, cold and damp, its (mostly) a lot of fun.

Like today when I went round a roundabout turned (at slow speed) and just carried on going in the previous direction, untill the back end decided to overtake the front.  nowhere near hitting anything though.  All part and parcel of the car, otherwise I'd be driving an Audi or something.

Can somebody explain to me what:
"My tires had heat cycled out long before the tread wore out."
means?
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Post by: mg on December 15, 2005, 10:58
I have to say that I was expecting rear grip to be poor this year but so far. I have been pleasantly surprised.  So much so, in fact, I was wondering if I was down on power (I'm not - in fact the opposite with a mapped Unichip).  Mr. T has made some significant improvements in handling between my first MR2 (02) and my current 05 model.  I spun my first 02 twice within 3 days, both 360's in hard packed snow.  Even in the wet, I was often caught out with the rear breaking free under moderate turning/acceleration.  The 05 has much more grip (and probably my throttle skill has improved as well) contributing to a much better driving experience.

Smooth action is the key to staying on the black stuff.
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Post by: aaronjb on December 15, 2005, 11:06
Quote from: "odub""My tires had heat cycled out long before the tread wore out."

You can have plenty of tread left, but if the rubber compound has heat cycled (gone cold->hot->cold) too many times then it'll turn very very hard, and lose most of it's grip properties.

That seems to apply especially to the stock RE040s (though it applies to all tyres) - the harder you drive, the more likely to happen.

When I got my car it had stock RE040s on with a reasonable amount of tread, but the grip (especially wet) was abysmal.

BTW - did I see you t'other morning odub? Black, can't remember the reg now though.. gah!  s:) :) s:)
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Post by: Anonymous on December 15, 2005, 11:52
Erm, possbily, where abouts did you think you saw me?
Title: Re: Back end sliding
Post by: mrsmr2 on December 15, 2005, 12:58
Quote from: "batts09"Really worried about my back end consistently sliding out when cornering. I have good brigestone tyres on with plenty of tread, but thinking of getting rid due to the saftey of the car. Anyone experience similar or know how to combat?

I would check the pressures first.  The roads are bad and the rear will squirm if you use too many revs in tight corners but, the car's natural tendency is still to understeer.

Jason
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Post by: Gazz on December 15, 2005, 13:01
My 2 is also still on the original Bridgestones and its been very twitchy the last 6 or 7 weeks, so much so I ended up parked in a field    s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

Could be the weather or is it 'cos they've done nearly 20000 miles.

BTW this is my 1st post and I'd just like to say what an excellent forum with some superb advice and friendly people.   s:D :D s:D
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Post by: roger on December 15, 2005, 14:12
Quote from: "Gazz"Could be the weather or is it 'cos they've done nearly 20000 miles.

I think you have probably answered it yourself. Put an AND in place of the OR. May be time for a new set, or think about waiting for the warmer drier weather.
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Post by: Gazz on December 15, 2005, 15:10
Yeah Roger, it looks time for a set of Toyo T1-R's
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Post by: mrsmr2 on December 15, 2005, 16:09
Quote from: "Gazz"My 2 is also still on the original Bridgestones and its been very twitchy the last 6 or 7 weeks, so much so I ended up parked in a field    s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

Could be the weather or is it 'cos they've done nearly 20000 miles.

BTW this is my 1st post and I'd just like to say what an excellent forum with some superb advice and friendly people.   s:D :D s:D

My RE040s were squirmy after 15k miles - they were on the last few millimetres of tread.

I'm not surprised.  Never managed to be even close to a spin on the road though - what did you do?

Jason
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Post by: philster_d on December 15, 2005, 16:26
Sometimes its the camber of the road
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Post by: Gazz on December 15, 2005, 16:34
It was a freezing foggy morning and I was on a back road on the way to work, went over a hump back bridge, accelerated on the other side and the next thing I know I'm off the road. Luckily it was just wasteland at the side of the road, no kerbs or ditches. But I did hit an abandoned tyre that damaged the front bodywork but apart from that no other damage.

It was amazing how quick it happened and at low speed too. I think it was probably a combination of ice and worn tyres.

Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it   s:!: :!: s:!:
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Post by: mrsmr2 on December 15, 2005, 16:58
The car could have been unsettled from the bridge, did you boot it as soon as you "landed"?

Jason
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Post by: Gazz on December 15, 2005, 18:20
I didn't "Land", its a narrow bridge and blind until you hit the brow so I was hardly moving, but yes, I may have stamped on the accelerator a little too enthusiastically.

Well, we're all allowed one silly mistake !!
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Post by: aaronjb on December 15, 2005, 18:20
Quote from: "Gazz"Well, we're all allowed one silly mistake !!

Hell, I hope we're all allowed to make more than one, or I'm stuffed!  s;) ;) s;)
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Post by: mrsmr2 on December 15, 2005, 20:14
Quote from: "aaronjb"
Quote from: "Gazz"Well, we're all allowed one silly mistake !!

Hell, I hope we're all allowed to make more than one, or I'm stuffed!  s;) ;) s;)

And me, I grounded mine being a little too enthusiastic on a hump back birdge.  Dented the bottom of the exhaust manifold and put a few nasty deep scratches in it  as well.

Jason

PS wasn't being judgemental about the driving, just keen to know what happened.
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Post by: Anonymous on December 16, 2005, 09:44
Whilst we're on the subject of grounding,

I often touch the bottom of the car going over speed bump in London.

Is it possbile to do damage to the car?  I know the chassis rails sit quite low, but i'm talking about <5 mph here.
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Post by: spit on December 16, 2005, 10:33
I've also wondered about this, but my last venture under the car didn't reveal any damage. Most of the more delicate stuff is nicely tucked away - although I guess it better not to bash it if you can help it   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

The underbody chassis parts are pretty substantial so they're not likely to suffer from a low-speed grounding, particularly if all four wheels are on the ground and sharing the load  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

(Those "speed cushions" are a pain though.....whoever came up with them should be sued for any low-speed damage   s:wink: :wink: s:wink: )
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Post by: Anonymous on December 16, 2005, 10:50
Indeed, I already had to quit my squash club because they built speed humps way too big for me to eveng et the front nose over.  Driving around the rat runs in london is just a nightmare.
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Post by: kanujunkie on December 16, 2005, 11:40
after seeing the bottoms of a few cars on the pre-cat days there are quite a few of us with scrapes and bumps, i managed to rip one of the side belly pans off the other day after going over one of those square ones and the triangular plastic ones are a killer with lowering springs  s:? :? s:?  

damage i've witnessed so far on our cars is damaged belly pans and deep scratches and dents on the 2 runners/chassis rails other than that no real damage, nothing that a bit of paint wouldn't fix
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Post by: rmowbray on December 16, 2005, 12:24
Quote from: "Gazz"Yeah Roger, it looks time for a set of Toyo T1-R's

If you're after a set of Toyo's try Bromley tyres in Latchford. That's where I get mine from (on my 4th set). They do a decent deal and know the MR2 pretty well, the owner's son has a Mk2 Turbo.
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Post by: philster_d on December 16, 2005, 13:01
Yes Ive been scrapping on the small square ones lately.

One note tho, I wasnt bumping on them before, so check your tyre pressure (maybe a soft one would make the difference)
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Post by: Gazz on December 16, 2005, 14:13
Thanks for the info RMowbray, I'll give them a go.

BTW what colours your 2, i regularly see a blue one and silver one on the A49 on a morning.
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Post by: Anonymous on December 17, 2005, 11:59
One thing to remember about winter conditions. Obviously your tyres will take a lot longer to warm up and when they're cold they're not very progressive and the Bridgestones don't give brilliant feedback anyway. So what you tend to end up with is the tail stepping right out before you've even had time to notice it. After fitting the Advans I found the level of feedback allowed me to push the car hard with confidence even in slimey conditions - it's all about the feedback and progressiveness of the tyres.
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Post by: mrsmr2 on December 19, 2005, 10:30
Yee hah, got mine to slide today.

In right hand lane going through a roundabout with a big truck on my left.  I was half expecting him to cut across which distracted me.  When he didn't and I put the power on, I didn't release the clutch smoothly (understatement) so the rears spun and I went a bit sideways.

Corrected and carried on but it could have been 'colourful'.

I was coming back from Mr T just having had new wheels so I'll have to check the tyre pressures as I'm sure it wasn't my driving  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

Jason
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Post by: philster_d on December 19, 2005, 10:39
Spun today executing my trademark U-turn. Wooops a bit to far only thing for it rev up and spin back round rally style. Vrruum Vruumm Vrruuuuuum!!!!
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Post by: kanujunkie on December 19, 2005, 10:41
Loony  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:    s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
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Post by: aaronjb on December 19, 2005, 10:42
Quote from: "mrsmr2"I was coming back from Mr T just having had new wheels so I'll have to check the tyre pressures as I'm sure it wasn't my driving  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

I checked mine this morning - 24.5psi front, 26psi rear..  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  Cold makes them read lower, admittedly, so I re-set them to one psi off my normal.
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Post by: rmowbray on December 19, 2005, 15:16
Hi Gazz,

I'm a silver 2001 reg R7CHM. The A49 isn't a regular part of my commute though. I'm usually around Birchwood/Woolston and then zipping down the M56 or M62.

Give me a flash if you see me around, if you're in your 2 that is   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

Richard
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Post by: mrsmr2 on December 19, 2005, 15:26
Quote from: "aaronjb"
Quote from: "mrsmr2"I was coming back from Mr T just having had new wheels so I'll have to check the tyre pressures as I'm sure it wasn't my driving  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

I checked mine this morning - 24.5psi front, 26psi rear..  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  Cold makes them read lower, admittedly, so I re-set them to one psi off my normal.

Just measured them.  32 and 31 at the back.  I was surprised.

Then measured the fronts, both 31   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

Muppets.

Jason
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Post by: roger on December 19, 2005, 15:37
Quote from: "mrsmr2"Just measured them.  32 and 31 at the back.  I was surprised.

Then measured the fronts, both 31   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

Muppets.

Jason

They just don't understand, do they? what if you had hit the lorry?  

IMO worth a quick rant to the boss, just to tell him how lucky he was not going to have the ar** sued off him - not that tyre pressures would be the first thing that comes to mind when you are wedged under an artic   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  

It might get him to think on the staff he is using.
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Post by: heathstimpson on December 19, 2005, 15:59
Quote from: "mrsmr2"
Quote from: "aaronjb"
Quote from: "mrsmr2"I was coming back from Mr T just having had new wheels so I'll have to check the tyre pressures as I'm sure it wasn't my driving  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

I checked mine this morning - 24.5psi front, 26psi rear..  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  Cold makes them read lower, admittedly, so I re-set them to one psi off my normal.

Just measured them.  32 and 31 at the back.  I was surprised.

Then measured the fronts, both 31   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

Muppets.

Jason
That is one thing that every Toyota dealership is consistant with; pumping all four tyres to around 32Psig  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:
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Post by: Anonymous on December 19, 2005, 17:26
Hey, I got to check the pressures on mine, a couple of months after taking delivery of the car from Westover Toyota in Bournemouth.  The pressures had obviously dropped a pound or two in that time - but the front/rear differential was pretty well spot on!