[Z06] Tight Turn Question
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 188
Likes: 5
From: Oregon
Tight Turn Question
I just bought a 2002 Z06 5800 miles. Car drives AMAZING! One goofy thing I'm not sure about. . . When I turn the steering wheel/tires all the way as far as possible (when I'm making a slow full circle turn at the end of my street (at 1 mile an hour), I feel a roughness to the tires, like its rubbing or flat or something. I see no other effects of this while driving normally (or even driving at 100mph plus). Anything weird here???
DrRich
DrRich
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 4,434
Likes: 18
From: Bartlett IL
St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'11
I just bought a 2002 Z06 5800 miles. Car drives AMAZING! One goofy thing I'm not sure about. . . When I turn the steering wheel/tires all the way as far as possible (when I'm making a slow full circle turn at the end of my street (at 1 mile an hour), I feel a roughness to the tires, like its rubbing or flat or something. I see no other effects of this while driving normally (or even driving at 100mph plus). Anything weird here???
DrRich
DrRich
Probably is normal, this isnt a Caddy. The ride in this car isnt meant to be smooth. If it was a flat spot then you would constantly feel it. Go to a dealer and test drive a used Z and see if it drives the same.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 4,933
Likes: 30
From: San Rafael CA
What you might be feeling is the limited slip differential. When making a tight turn the inside rear wheel has to travel much more slowly than the outside wheel, and while a differential in a "normal" car doesn't resist this, the limited slip rear end doesn't handle this quite as smoothly.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 14,639
Likes: 39
From: Winston-Salem North Carolina
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
I just bought a 2002 Z06 5800 miles. Car drives AMAZING! One goofy thing I'm not sure about. . . When I turn the steering wheel/tires all the way as far as possible (when I'm making a slow full circle turn at the end of my street (at 1 mile an hour), I feel a roughness to the tires, like its rubbing or flat or something. I see no other effects of this while driving normally (or even driving at 100mph plus). Anything weird here???
DrRich
DrRich
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 826
Likes: 69
From: Seoul Korea
My 03Z does the same thing down my driveway when I am turning into the street. I was waiting till I had the $100 for the deductable till I turned it in to get looked at, but it's sounding normal..........
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,031
Likes: 9,789
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
The front tires will scrub sideways on tight turns at slow speeds. All C5s do this. I noticed it more when I had my camber set at -2.5 Vs the normal -.75.
Bill
Bill
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 6,362
Likes: 30
From: Oak Harbor WA
Bill is right, it is the negative camber settings that these cars have for their great handling. Comes at a cost which is very slow speed scuffing feeling when turning tight corners, doing U-turns or parking.
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Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 4,933
Likes: 30
From: San Rafael CA
I don't understand how camber would be an issue. If anything, a radical camber number means that the tires at low speed have very little contact patch with the road. I can understand if toe in/out is radical, or if caster is set to a weird number, but please help me understand where camber comes into this (and I admit I think I understand suspension geometry, but I also know that I've got enough knowledge to be "dangerous", not neccesarily "smart") ??
Thanks,
Steve
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
From: Dallas Texas
I just bought an '02 with 12,000 miles and I have the exact same feeling. I understand what the guys are saying about the limited slip diff., but if you guys are feeling what I am, it is exclusively coming from the front end of the car on tight slow turns (i.e. cult-de-sac). Just glad to know it's not just mine!
Why doesn't my Dad's '01 Vert do this?
Why doesn't my Dad's '01 Vert do this?
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,756
Likes: 6
From: Gulf of Mexico Florida West Coast
First time it happen to me was on a cold day, though the front end was broken. Found out in talking to many other C5 owners is that this is a characteristic of the car. No Biggy!
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 163
Likes: 0
From: Aldie Virginia
if this helps ANY, here's my story...
2001 Coupe never had any issues with this on my y2k thin spokes. i then installed some z06 wheels and tires (F1 Supercars). Started doing this right after that. It is almost like the wheel is slipping at VERY low speeds and tight turns. I notice this MORE (skipping is more pronounced) when the weather is COLD but seems to happen no matter what the temp is. This leads me to believe it is something with the width of the front tires. I see no rubbing marks on the wheel wells, so I don't think it is rubbing. my guess is that it is the tires in this weather combined with the larger contact patch/camber. Does anyone have this with a different type of tire? maybe an all season/snow tire? I know the F1's are NOT cold weather tires, so I wonder if that is why we are experiencing this in January (and december, etc).
Hope that helps some. Either way, i wouldn't worry too much...it seems to be "normal".
2001 Coupe never had any issues with this on my y2k thin spokes. i then installed some z06 wheels and tires (F1 Supercars). Started doing this right after that. It is almost like the wheel is slipping at VERY low speeds and tight turns. I notice this MORE (skipping is more pronounced) when the weather is COLD but seems to happen no matter what the temp is. This leads me to believe it is something with the width of the front tires. I see no rubbing marks on the wheel wells, so I don't think it is rubbing. my guess is that it is the tires in this weather combined with the larger contact patch/camber. Does anyone have this with a different type of tire? maybe an all season/snow tire? I know the F1's are NOT cold weather tires, so I wonder if that is why we are experiencing this in January (and december, etc).
Hope that helps some. Either way, i wouldn't worry too much...it seems to be "normal".
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,087
Likes: 4
From: granville mass
You may feel it more when it's cold because the tires actually slips (which you feel), rather that just stick and deform. Take your hot tires in a freshly sealed parking lot, and do a full locked circle at minimum speed. The front tires will leave a mark on the pavement. That's tire slip because of scrubbing.
