Hi, I recentley bought a 2005 c6 loaded with everything but z51. Its a great car but I have issues handling under hard acceleration from a stop or low speeds. The rear end likes to wiggle back and fourth or just slide out.

I've come from a modded Subaru Sti so I'm missing my awd now...

Probably a dumb question but is this normal? The tires need replacing so I just ordered new oem tires. Are there other things I can do to improve this. This prevents me from enjoying the car. I'm sure the cold isnt helping either I live in CT.

Thanks in advance.

 

is this the first rwd car you have driven? it seems as though you are just not used to rwd and the effects of all the power going to the rear wheels. is it just sliding out when you have the pedal down? if so what you are experiencing is drifting. if it is doing it while going through the corner off the gas you are experiencing oversteer. this could be from incorrect suspension settings, ie someone added a Z06 swaybar on a base car. or you are entering the corner too fast(hard to do in a Vette). hopefully this helps if not post up more info on your troubles.

 

The GY OEM tires do that in cold weather, especially the ones on the Z51-equipped C6s. Just gotta get used to it.

 

If the OEM tires were from the 05 and never replaced, then they are rocks. and will have terrible performance

IMO if you want handling, DONT replace with OEM tires.
Most here go with a road race tire

 

When you get your car some new tires have a quality 4 wheel alignment done on the car. My new 2009 handled poorly under hard acceleration however the alignment solved the twitchy rear end.

Depending on temp the tires can get very loose under minimal acceleration till they are warmed up and the ambient temp is over 50 degs.

Good luck sorting out your handling issues.

George

 

Moving from front wheel drive/ all wheel drive to rear wheel drive can be a bit of a challenge. Slick tires, cold temps and a high performance vehicle make the transition even more difficult. When driving AWD you almost don't need to think about it until you hit the cornering limits of the car. With RWD you must employ more skill. You can read books, watch video, and practice and get decent but my advice is to get some driver training. The lessons learned here will follow you the rest of your life. What you learn here can be applied just about every time you crawl behind the wheel weather that is in a corvette, AWD rice burner, or a pulp wood truck. I did this early in my life and now in my 50's I still use the skills from my training.

Once you do this, your satisfaction will skyrocket. There is something special about running a RWD car in a four wheel drift and being able to snap it out when ever you want. RWD cars allow you to steer the car with the accelerator. You can't do this with AWD/FWD vehicles. You have better feel of the state of the vehicle, you have more control and in the end, you can make the car preform better.

 

Thanks for the responses. I just bought new oem tires so hopefully an alignment and warm weather will help. Although it sounds like I should have gotten some different tires. Do people stay with the run flats?

The rear wheel drive is definitely more challenging.. I was thinking of taking a class. Skip Barber is the closest in ct but they seem to use miati's which I think are fwd.

I usually get into trouble if I try launching (automatic). The rear end kicks out sideways. Probably drifting. But at low speeds then wide open trottle result in a side to side motion. I've only had the car from late October early November so i havent been able to use it in warm weather yet. I am a little nervous with it. I saw a video on you tube where a guy.

Thanks for the responses!

 

The Skip Barber MX-5s Miatas are RWD.

 

You've got a traction problem...not a handling issue per se. If you're driving on the streets I don't quite understand the need for such hard acceleration "...from a stop or low speeds" especially with old tires and cold temperatures. Don't get me wrong...I 'get it' but there's a time and a place. CT in the winter probably isn't it. New tires will help but cold temperatures will still take a toll. Since the car is new you're still on a learning curve you might want to take it a bit easy until you get it figured out. When the ice breaks I suggest you go to the drag strip or better yet, find a road course venue in your area...you can learn to drive the car (at speed) in relative safety and no tickets!

 

... and let me add... Learn from an amateur drive like an amateur... Learn from pro... drive like a pro! Go get some HP lessons at Skip Barber HP driving school at Limerock and you'll never regret it.....

 

Not true...my oem tires are just fine on my '05. Maybe having the F55 suspension helps but the tires are fine. I'm getting the temperature is far more of an issue here.

I totally disagree that most go with road race tires.

 

I don't know if Skip Barber will put you on the skid pad or not. What you need to learn here is how to control the throttle. I would call, ask the question and describe the difficulties you are experiencing. I would expect they will tell you if they can help you or not.

Assuming the Miata's are performance tuned, this may not not a bad car to learn in. They are front engine, rear wheel drive and are very well balanced. (I had one 10 years ago I hot rodded and would drift it around every corner I could!) In stock form, they are underpowered.

 

They also had been using Vipers which were really great to understand the dynamics involved with ultra high torque engines! Don't believe they are using them anymore....

 

Throttle control is not an on/off switch. You need to learn to roll out the throttle to compensate for lack of traction. This is not some four banger with 80hp that you can just mash to the floor and go.

 

You have traction control on right? Granted I just bought my 08 a week ago, but it hasn't gotten loose on me at all. It is a manual tranny and I have gotten on it a few times.

By the way, I am not bragging about my driving skills. I have never taken a class either.

 

i probably just need warm temperatures. And your right it is a traction issue. I havent even put 500 miles on the car since I got it.

I'm not much of a speeder especially in a car like this. It seems to attract the wrong attention. I do like to accelerate hard which is part of why I bought it. No laws against that...except when there isnt any traction..

Also it is very smooth for regular driving which is a little boring, hard starts make it feel more like a sports car. I lost a pile of cash when I sold a 10 month old 2008 g35 for this reason.

The only rwd car i had was a 2004 M3 smg. The tires would spin but the rear end always stayed in check. The sti also let you adj the diff to push the majority power to the rear tires. Not 100% but it could drift... I just need to get used to the torque and some good weather.

Worst case I'll have to find something different.

 

I did have fun with the traction control off! I think OMG covers it.

But the traction issues are with traction control on 100%. It has to be the weather and the cold. The traction control seems to come on when going up hill around corners when driving slow for some reason. I havent really noticed it other than a particular up hill route home.

Definitely not a pro driver here either. I love manuals myself but bought this beast from my wife's uncle who had to sell the car. I used to autocross my sti but I can already tell I dont have the patience to even try an autocross in this one!

 

mine did the same, even people drive behind me would comment that i am all over the place

took it to the dealer, and some nuts needed to be tighten, it was to loose i was lucky not crushed the car,
since then all good

 

Go to driving school. That is by far the best money you can spend. Do this before you sell the car or buy another car. I can guarantee, you will have the time of your life. You will learn to control your beast. You will become a real driver. Not just an operator. You will become a safer driver. You will learn about the physics of driving and why a car responds the way it responds.

The nice thing about learning in a Miata is they can change the tires and make that vehicle act just about anyway they want it to act.

15 years ago we had a big snow storm down here in the south. I was on the road in a 2wd small pickup. I had 6 cases of diet coke in the bed and drove on packed snow/ice for 200 miles. Once they closed the interstate, I found a hotel room. As I pulled up to my room a trucker cam out of the room next door. He said : That's 2 wheel drive, How in the hell are you driving that thing on these roads?" I replied, slow and careful. I had never been so proud of my self. My challenge here and your challenge there are the exact same challenge. You go to school, they will teach you how to feel the vehicle gain and loose traction and feather the accelerator accordingly without destabilizing the vehicle. It isn't rocket science.

 

Ain't it great to drive a car that can make the *** end do that. 430 hp baby, thats what i'm talkin about