Grip in the wet and handling with mods

[thebloyn]

1. For some reason I really seem to struggle for grip in the wet, and the car is very prone to aquaplaning and sliding sideways when accelerating.:eek: Other cars seem to drive away from me no problem. I have continental contisport contact 2s all round with tons of tread on them. 17" Dry grip seems fine. My previous falken 452s on my last octavia vrs seemed loads better.

* have just been out to check the tyres as i had the wheels refurbed not long ago too, where they swapped front with back, they dont seem to have a direction indicator on them but say "outside" on the outside so they seem to be the right way round, no uneven wearing too,

2. Not long ago I had a few mods done, RARB and the s3 upper and lower strut braces, the car is remapped too.

Since these were done the handling is much improved but I have noticed the steering wheel "grab" when going over say a grate or manhole cover in the road or bump, is this normal?

3 I just noticed the wheel is now not aligned straight when going straight ahead, it seems to be at 11 o clock, car seems to go in a straight line when i let go of the wheel though. Why would it just suddenly go out of whack like that? Its been perfect before, is this related to the handling issues above?

Edited 3 August, 2009 by thebloyn

[kirk]

1. For some reason I really seem to struggle for grip in the wet, and the car is very prone to aquaplaning and sliding sideways when accelerating.:eek: Other cars seem to drive away from me no problem. I have continental contisport contact 2s all round with tons of tread on them. 17" Dry grip seems fine. My previous falken 452s on my last octavia vrs seemed loads better.

* have just been out to check the tyres as i had the wheels refurbed not long ago too, where they swapped front with back, they dont seem to have a direction indicator on them but say "outside" on the outside so they seem to be the right way round, no uneven wearing too,

How old are the tyres? Check for the date of manufacture marking on the sidewall. Old rubber becomes harder, which makes for lousy wet grip.

[SnailUK]

3 I just noticed the wheel is now not aligned straight when going straight ahead, it seems to be at 11 o clock, car seems to go in a straight line when i let go of the wheel though. Why would it just suddenly go out of whack like that? Its been perfect before, is this related to the handling issues above?

Every time i've ever had anything done to suspension on any car, i've always ended up with this.

I always end up paying through the nose for a decent wheel alignment to cure it.

[Bodge]

I had 4 wheel laser alignment done the other day to sort out a wandering car and off centre steering wheel. It was also pretty twitchy when hitting a puddle on the motorway!

Once they dialled in my massive amount of toe out (19mm), the car is spot on now. It doesn't turn in as fast, but at least it goes in a straight line and is a little more relaxed to drive!

Plus it only cost me £15.99....

[iep]

Bodge, where did you get that done for just £15.99?

iep

[Oet]

I had some too a while ago, they werent great in the wet either.

It might be just that, they tyres rather than the car

Continental Sport Contact 2 at tyre reviews - the online tyre guide

[Bodge]

Bodge, where did you get that done for just £15.99?

iep

Small independant garage in Huddersfield. Called 'The Pit Stop'.

Obviously avoid Kwik Fit, Halfords, Skoda.... as they are brainless cowboys.

[Oet]

tell me halfrauds dont do wheel alignment..........

Would you even let them fit a stereo????

I wouldnt let them fit a magic tree;)

[Jigger72]

tell me halfrauds dont do wheel alignment..........

Would you even let them fit a stereo????

I wouldnt let them fit a magic tree;)

[Bodge]

Hahaha I popped in on Sunday to get some oil for my dads van, and saw some 8yr old halfords generic retard fitting a radio. I pointed and laughed.

Some Halfords stores have "workshops", where I can only presume the Halfords regional Queentard lays her egg sacks containing the fresh batch of slow witted employees.

[Oet]

Sooooooo true..!

Workshops for what......that would imply they actually do some work!

Unless its a workshop for genetic crossbreeding, they are making members of staff out of blingy stick on car parts, tents and naff mountain bike parts:D

I do think the queentard idea is also highly likely, maybe they do both?

[BigW]

Hahaha I popped in on Sunday to get some oil for my dads van, and saw some 8yr old halfords generic retard fitting a radio. I pointed and laughed.

Some Halfords stores have "workshops", where I can only presume the Halfords regional Queentard lays her egg sacks containing the fresh batch of slow witted employees.

I Used to work at halfords , What do you do?

[KenONeill]

"I have continental contisport contact 2s all round " - ah well, that's explained the poor wet grip then!

[billy2981]

Small independant garage in Huddersfield. Called 'The Pit Stop'.

Obviously avoid Kwik Fit, Halfords, Skoda.... as they are brainless cowboys.

is that he one on the left on the way in to huddersfield jus before the VW place jus op wi'bits? and batleys? up past bradley.

I was up there this weekend lol, only fr st night tho.

might have to look in at that place itf you recomend them

billy

[Oet]

maybe you are just not trying hard enough Ken?

[KenONeill]

maybe you are just not trying hard enough Ken?

:confused: - How do you try harder than "fast enough to induce near-terminal understeer" without crashing?

Seriously, the point is that you can go faster in the wet by changing your tyre brand.

[Bodge]

is that he one on the left on the way in to huddersfield jus before the VW place jus op wi'bits? and batleys? up past bradley.

I was up there this weekend lol, only fr st night tho.

might have to look in at that place itf you recomend them

billy

Oright Billy, haven't heard from you in a while! How do?

Yeah it's on the Leeds road heading into Hudds, before VW on the left like you say. The guy that owns and runs it is excellent. Really helpful and professional. He does tyres, tyre repairs, wheels, wheel refurbs (he sends them off to be done) and basic 4-wheel alignment. He's also a black circles fitter type person. So you can order the tyres to be delivered to him and he'll fit them. All the guys at work use him.

On another note, I've joined you in fitting some Weitec coilovers! (Love them) Need to get over to RS Tuning next so I can keep up with you!

[Oet]

sorry Ken, maybe i misunderstood.....

As you know tyres make a big difference, you have had t1rs in the past iirc and rated them, so are you saying you are not 100% happy with the contis?

I wasnt, they were good in the dry and not in the wet, of course we all have different styles and setups I went from t1rs to contis the very quickly to sessantas.

[Oet]

Billy/bodge, any last minute tips/advice before i go for the weitecs?

[KenONeill]

sorry Ken, maybe i misunderstood.....

As you know tyres make a big difference, you have had t1rs in the past iirc and rated them, so are you saying you are not 100% happy with the contis?

I wasnt, they were good in the dry and not in the wet, of course we all have different styles and setups I went from t1rs to contis the very quickly to sessantas.

I don't have Contis; I scared myself with them once on a hire car and avoid them whenever possible since!

[Oet]

I understand now!

Yes they were a funny tyre as in the dry they seemed almost ok in normal conditions, they were however terrible in the wet, and did make the back end come round when pushing it.

Being that its wet here a lot thats not a great attribute in a tyre!

They were 'unpredictable' at best...

I wouldnt own again either!

[Bodge]

Billy/bodge, any last minute tips/advice before i go for the weitecs?

Err off the top of my head.....

-Allow yourself 2 days for the job, otherwise you'll stress out and break something trying to hurry it. Easily doable in 1 day though.

-Get the spreader tool from Skoda.

-You'll need spring compressors for removing the drivers side strut, and for stripping the stuts down.

-Get new nuts and bolts all round, as yours will probably be pretty rusty, and also removes the worry of shearing a bolt.

-Get some deep offset ring spanners, and hex key sockets for the front strut tops.

-Don't forget that the old rear springs will have some very corroded aluminium rings under them, which you will need to remove. At first I thought it was some sort of glue, but then realised what they were!

-Get a set of tiny spanners/molegrips/adjustable for stripping the rear damper. As you must remove the top nut to get to the mount etc.

-Have some emery paper or 3M foam stuff handy, to clean out any rust in the hubs where the stut bottom slides in.

It's pretty straight forward, but you can get slowed down by not having the right tools, and trying to figure out what bits are what. Have fun, and don't rush it! I work in slow motion......

[billy2981]

Err off the top of my head.....

-Allow yourself 2 days for the job, otherwise you'll stress out and break something trying to hurry it. Easily doable in 1 day though. just in case but I did it in one and ive never done it before

-Get the spreader tool from Skoda.I didnt and it was a pain in the A£$3

-You'll need spring compressors for removing the drivers side strut, and for stripping the stuts down. mmm I didnt need this as I used a jack under the wishbone:O

-Get new nuts and bolts all round, as yours will probably be pretty rusty, and also removes the worry of shearing a bolt.

-Get some deep offset ring spanners, and hex key sockets for the front strut tops.Must have, the top of the std strut is a 7mm key iirc and no normal set has them from what I found I couldnt even find a spanner to do it neither so I used a socket whith a bolt shaped top along wi an adjustable and the key thru the middle lol. 3 hands would of been good at that point

-Don't forget that the old rear springs will have some very corroded aluminium rings under them, which you will need to remove. At first I thought it was some sort of glue, but then realised what they were!I didnt see anything like that? only the rubber bitsif they are left on what will happen?

-Get a set of tiny spanners/molegrips/adjustable for stripping the rear damper. As you must remove the top nut to get to the mount etc. this is a pain in the bum lol a vice would be good too as its a very small thing at the top that needs unscrewing.

-Have some emery paper or 3M foam stuff handy, to clean out any rust in the hubs where the stut bottom slides in.

It's pretty straight forward, but you can get slowed down by not having the right tools, and trying to figure out what bits are what. Have fun, and don't rush it! I work in slow motion......

the std bolts on the struts are not normal sizes neither ie the top mounts but the ones on the weitecs are tools found in cheap kits.

dont worry bout it mate, If I can do it then anyone can. I am not quald in this field but I am good with my hands. it is easy really, you might want to get sing to protect the weitecs ie wax or something, dont grease it all up like I did as the crap sticks to it:Oits a pain to clean as I found out.

have fun mate

billy

[billy2981]

Oright Billy, haven't heard from you in a while! How do?

Yeah it's on the Leeds road heading into Hudds, before VW on the left like you say. The guy that owns and runs it is excellent. Really helpful and professional. He does tyres, tyre repairs, wheels, wheel refurbs (he sends them off to be done) and basic 4-wheel alignment. He's also a black circles fitter type person. So you can order the tyres to be delivered to him and he'll fit them. All the guys at work use him.

On another note, I've joined you in fitting some Weitec coilovers! (Love them) Need to get over to RS Tuning next so I can keep up with you! mmmmm I dont think you will have any probs there mate, I drive like a granny lol unless I want a bit of fun.

lol thought that was the place, been there a long time now, I jus thought it was an alloy wheel place, there is norm a black RX8 at the top isnt there? nice to know as I use BC.

I saw ur thing on fittin them mate, glad you like them, I love mine to bits, transforms the car, soon as you go see paul mate you wont want another car lol, he works wonders. Awsome bloke too. Fastkwak is norm there when he gets a chance, hes a good lad too, drives a black mk1.

[billy2981]

back on it mate, I think it could be the tyres, also the rarb will make wet driving bit worse. for wet stuff you should soften the ARB, then dry you stiffen them.

dont ask me why lol.

but I think that tyres are the main thing, I have Kumoh 712s that are good in the dry and provided you know them you know how much you can push them in the wet/ damp. not much tho lol. they are total rubbish unless you jus drive carefully and slow ish.

Dont get 712 unless you just want a hard normal tyre for town stuff. if you want to go out and have fun some times then dont go for them. I only have them as they came with the TD PR1.2s I have on. soon as they are worn out I might try the TOYO T1Rs as they look good and are well priced and I have read they are not bad wet or dry.

billy