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Chassis setup and grip
clairetoo - 31/12/08 at 08:26 AM

There have been more than a few post lately about how slippery the roads are at the moment - strange thing is I dont seem able to find the slippery bits ?
I've come to the conclusion it's down to set-up . My car is soft - way too soft . The floor hits the road on a regular basis - I am thinking about adding some titanium skid-plates
But as for grip - I can use WOT in first without wheelspin , bung it in to corners as hard as I like and bury the throttle on the way out , and drive at a decent speed in the wet .
So why are so many others suffering from a severe lack of grip - is it just down to over stiff springs ?
Or am I missing something

Steve Hignett - 31/12/08 at 08:34 AM

I put a lot of time/effort into setting my car up toward the end of my ownershi[ of it and it totally transformed the handling so I do wonder why people don't make the same alteration and set the car up as best they can.

However I think the thing that has most to do with finding the "slippy bits" is the temp. in the tyres.

I ran Toyo 888's (med cmpound) and found them an incredible tyre, even in the wet, but you had to get at least a little bit of warmth into them - and damp or cold road conditions were worse than wet IMO, because it took some pushing to be able to generate that heat, but once it was there, it was fantastic!

ATB

theconrodkid - 31/12/08 at 08:34 AM

prob all of the above and the "need" for super wide tyres,mine is a bit tail happy in the wet but driven sensibly it,s ok

gingerprince - 31/12/08 at 08:54 AM

quote:
Originally posted by clairetoo
But as for grip - I can use WOT in first without wheelspin


Simple. You need more power

clairetoo - 31/12/08 at 09:07 AM

quote:
Originally posted by gingerprince
quote:
Originally posted by clairetoo
But as for grip - I can use WOT in first without wheelspin


Simple. You need more power

I did wonder about that So I've just bunged in another 40bhp and still no spin (unless I dump the clutch at a standstill , then it smokes the tyres for about 50 yards )

mackei23b - 31/12/08 at 09:37 AM

In the dry I can wheelspin upto 55mph, and that's still in 1st gear

I've even managed to light up the back tyres at 60mph in 6th gear, but that was very wet!!

Cheers

Ian

StevieB - 31/12/08 at 10:54 AM

A bit of compliance in the ride does seem to make all the difference - my mates always said my elise feels like it has a lot of give in the suspension, but on a trackday was surprised how much more grip it had in the wet compared to his se7en.

Hopefully I can transfer some of this to my Iny when it's ready (soon!)

rusty nuts - 31/12/08 at 10:58 AM

I find my car has so much more grip since I sorted out the suspension crush tubes being too short. A bonus is the ride is a lot more comfortable as well

A1 - 31/12/08 at 02:35 PM

i was running toyo r888s, it was fine in the wet, just a bit skitey when it came to ice....as youd expect...i hadnt got round to getting it properly set up