Oversteer 101
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Oversteer 101
I'm currently on a learnng curve with my first 'vette, a '98 A4 vert I purchased 6 months ago. This weekend I was taking a spirited (not wreckless, mind you) drive through the hills of Napa Valley. My car has 23k miles and the original rubber. As I was in the middle of an S-turn, I noticed some moisture on the pavement ahead. For the record, I'm 35 and have been driving performance vehicles since my first car, a 1986 Mustang GT. Now I am by no means a professional driver, but I have grown up with some experience with regards to pushing limits, so to speak. Anyway, back to the moisture on the road at Napa - long story short, I did a complete 180 in the middle of the road, and by the grace of God, I managed to bring it to a stop without a scratch. This is not the first time I was surprised by this car's intolerance to S-turns (and the other time was on dry pavement). I'm wondering whether the fact that this car has 8 year old tires is the main contributor to my lack of control or if I have just forgotten how to drive over the years. Because if memory serves me, I used to be able to take winding roads more aggresively in the aforementioned '86 GT than this 'Vette. And considering the comparison, I am definitely surprised by this discovery. I mean really, it seems unlikely that a 1986 Mustang GT would (or should) out handle a C5 Corvette (that has all 4 wheels and tires). Are these cars notorious for oversteer, or do I need to say good-bye to my 8 year old run-flats??
Thanks for any feedback, folks.
~SM
Thanks for any feedback, folks.
~SM
#2
Team Owner
Member Since: Mar 2002
Location: Queens, New York Life begins at 183 mph....
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St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Originally Posted by SeeFiveOhFun
I'm currently on a learnng curve with my first 'vette, a '98 A4 vert I purchased 6 months ago. This weekend I was taking a spirited (not wreckless, mind you) drive through the hills of Napa Valley. My car has 23k miles and the original rubber. As I was in the middle of an S-turn, I noticed some moisture on the pavement ahead. For the record, I'm 35 and have been driving performance vehicles since my first car, a 1986 Mustang GT. Now I am by no means a professional driver, but I have grown up with some experience with regards to pushing limits, so to speak. Anyway, back to the moisture on the road at Napa - long story short, I did a complete 180 in the middle of the road, and by the grace of God, I managed to bring it to a stop without a scratch. This is not the first time I was surprised by this car's intolerance to S-turns (and the other time was on dry pavement). I'm wondering whether the fact that this car has 8 year old tires is the main contributor to my lack of control or if I have just forgotten how to drive over the years. Because if memory serves me, I used to be able to take winding roads more aggresively in the aforementioned '86 GT than this 'Vette. And considering the comparison, I am definitely surprised by this discovery. I mean really, it seems unlikely that a 1986 Mustang GT would (or should) out handle a C5 Corvette (that has all 4 wheels and tires). Are these cars notorious for oversteer, or do I need to say good-bye to my 8 year old run-flats??
Thanks for any feedback, folks.
~SM
Thanks for any feedback, folks.
~SM
#3
Drifting
These cars are notorious for understeer.
New tires should be on your immediate wish list especially if those same driving conditions remain. Check out the reviews for Goodyear gsd3's.
New tires should be on your immediate wish list especially if those same driving conditions remain. Check out the reviews for Goodyear gsd3's.
#4
Team Owner
Handling
worn tires, especially run flats, a wet road, fair amount of horse power, light car, it will get tail happy. A set of good road tires will fix the problem.
#5
Racer
Thread Starter
Oversteer 101
Originally Posted by bcseitz
These cars are notorious for understeer.
New tires should be on your immediate wish list especially if those same driving conditions remain. Check out the reviews for Goodyear gsd3's.
New tires should be on your immediate wish list especially if those same driving conditions remain. Check out the reviews for Goodyear gsd3's.
#6
Team Owner
Originally Posted by Alex1217
I would definitely suspect its your tires. I've driven on very curvy mountain roads and the vette has never felt unstable or has oversteered dramatically and that's even when I had stock runflats and stock suspension. The runflats you have now, if they are the original stock tires, are probably on their way out. Even if you still have some tread on there, runflats are notorious for providing less performance and more road noise as they wear. Get yourself some good rubber and maybe check your suspension just in case.
#7
Just wondering is you had it in competitive drving mode or not? If no, putting it on would definitely make a difference. Still need to be careful though and would look for new tires anyway.
#8
Race Director
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Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Originally Posted by tiojames
worn tires, especially run flats, a wet road, fair amount of horse power, light car, it will get tail happy. A set of good road tires will fix the problem.
#9
Le Mans Master
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Originally Posted by Boys2Men
Just wondering is you had it in competitive drving mode or not? If no, putting it on would definitely make a difference. Still need to be careful though and would look for new tires anyway.
#10
Racer
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by allegro
If in any doubt, keep the TC / AH on...it might just save your a%%
#12
Race Director
Your tires are almost 7 years old, and you are driving on the orginal run flats? Time to get a set of nice sticky tires.
Also find a nice big parking lot (to practice in) and to get a better understanding of your car in cornering at speed.
Also find a nice big parking lot (to practice in) and to get a better understanding of your car in cornering at speed.
#13
Racer
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by xilr8n
I can never get 15k miles on my tires so yours must be worn out.
#14
Le Mans Master
Someone educate me. If worn tires are the culprit, why do autocrossers and road racers shave the tread down on new tires? If you're wondering where I got this, it's from the Goodyear tire store. Thanx
#17
Racer
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by spdislife
Someone educate me. If worn tires are the culprit, why do autocrossers and road racers shave the tread down on new tires? If you're wondering where I got this, it's from the Goodyear tire store. Thanx
#18
Racer
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by dyeggy
Driver error. Sorry, driving to fast for conditions. Save it for the track.
#19
Le Mans Master
Originally Posted by SeeFiveOhFun
Notorious for UNDERSTEER?? Or oversteer?
That said, rubber gets hard and loses it's grip with age. Your tires are toast even if they still have tread on them and runcraps suck anyways, so get some real tires on there.