Why is it SO easy for our cars (all gens, to be extact) to slide out when going in a corner a bit faster than normal in the rain (not incredibily fast...)? Also... why does the wheels normally wheel hop while it rains/after when you take off? Mine has done that a few times, and it's kinda werid.

The only experience I ever had with wheelhop was at the autocross in my other car (RX Subaru) taking hard left turns....

 

i think it actually has somthing to do with the stiffness of the rear swaybar. Some auto-x-ers that i know take theirs off to race

dave

 

i think most people blame wheel hop on old suspension parts, but i couldnt say myself. my 86 GXL did it bad, my 87 SE wouldnt even spin the tires. hahahaha, my 88 TII was always smooth on spin.

i believe the easy oversteer in wet is due to the lighness of the car coupled with power at the wheels. if you have a limited slip differential its that much worse (it looks like youve got a GXL, which should have the LSD). well, i consider it more fun, but thats a personal choice.

and if you have bald tires in the back it will REALLY show in wet handling. impaired weight balance can make a small difference as well, like if you take out the spare and have nothing in your gas tank...

improperly inflated tires or mismatched tire compound can make a difference (like a soft grippy tire in the front combined with a hard not-so-grippy tire in the back)

ive got to agree that a stiff rear anti-roll bar can really make the back slidey.

 

I ask this because anytime I hit a corner, whether or not I go semi-fast, to almost nothing fast my car will take it's back end out.

First time I ever drove her in the rain, I NEVER would expect the back end to slide out like that. The rx-7 is the first RWD car, I've ever driven. I didn't think much of it doing what it did at the time. It freaked me out, though. I remember people looking at me all werid, cause the car kept sliding sideways, as I was correcting it... I landed straight in the right direction though...

Could it also be because I *DO* have mismatched tires? I think in the front are TPT Toyo proxies, and in the back H4s toyo proxies. One of them got disconitued, and the other took over that one. It also doesn't help that my right rear tire is flat, and has a small leak in it. As well as barely any tread left from autocrossing.

Yup, the GXL has LSD. I consider it fun, but because I can't control it as well as more experienced drivers can, I call it very freaky.

How would you know (another silly question) that your anti-roll bar is stiff or not?

 

Man, I get INCREDIBLE wheel hop in the rain...Hopefully I will get to see what it does in the burnout-box tonight, since I am taking it on its maiden voyage down the 1/4 mile.

Rat

 

I took her to the 1/8 a while back. It did not so good. In fact, I think she's still broken... lol.

Yeah, wheel hop is pretty cool, but not expected when driving. My boyfriend did it one day in my car racing a MR2. I guess I'm not used to it... and all.

 

hey, is your other car (the subaru rx) a turbo? my freind has one and his head gasket blew and he's been having trouble finding parts and info about it. Do you know anything about them?? how about any web pages or forums???

sorry for all the questions, but its getting annoying having to drive him everywhere.

thanks

 

Shoot, that sucks . Yeah, I remember changing a head gasket on one, it was a bitch.

Go here:

http://pub1.ezboard.com/bultimatesubarumessageboards

Great message board for Subarus of all years. They're great people. My boyfriend is under there as "Zak". Anyway, they'll help you out more than I can.

Yes, it's turbo'd, with many modifications. Fast car, and fun too. Took it out on too many autox's... ruin the crap out of the tires. Currently it's not running. I mean, it runs, but hasn't been taken for a drive in about 4 months. Tags and registeration has not been renewed. Blah!

 

hey thanks a lot. this is great!

 

umm go to forums.fastfours.com.au there should b able to help

 

With proper tires, (read not worn out like christi says she has), the car should not slide out any more than any other RWD car. Perhaps you should try driving a unloaded pick up in the rain sometime and see a rear end want to come loose easy.

As far as the wheel hop, two things I would look for would be condition of the shocks and the sway bar. I think the GXL (because of its weight) actually benifits from swapping both sway bars out with the heavy duty ones from the vert/88GTU/T2/Sport. But only if the shocks are up to it. The stock shocks for the GXL (if someone still has them) are the softest of all the FC models and not the most condusive to keeping tires planted.

 

haha pick up
theres a guy with a 13bt powered hilux ute 400hp in a ute he cant drive it in the rain is all im saying

 

Slap zak in the face and tell him to register his rx.
Oh yeah I emailed you again a couple of days ago, you didn't delete it again did you.

 

dolemite - nope, I got the email. Just been lazy to reply to alot of people lately, and the fact I'm busy doesn't help either . I'll reply soon, maybe i'll get off my butt and do it today... heh

Yeah. Zak will register the rx soon.. he is more concerned about his motorcycle than anything.

mark - Even before my tires got worn from autox and stuff.. it slid out. Oh... I've seen a pick up slide out for sure... one happen to go to the autox. *shrugs*

Anyway, thanks for the answers I've always been curious of why our cars (or even RWD ones) slide out easy, than normal.

 

try driving a ford ranger (RWD) in the winter in Oregon

I could literaly keep the back end out all the time.

 

Worn rear struts as well as worn suspension bushings will cause wheel hop AND oversteer. Check your sway bar bushings and end links.

And I find RX7s to be similar to ANY rear wheel drive car in the rain. You have to take care around corners or the *** will get loose. Fortunately the RX7 is VERY forgiving and easy to bring back in line, unless your pushing wayyy too much speed going in the corner.

Front wheel drive is no better. If your lucky you will get some understeer, but when a FWD oversteers in a corner in the rain, DAMN.

 

hey bo 13b ive got a vid of tat car in ur avitar lifting off the dround

rx7 dont slide out as easy as s13's tho there hell easy

 

all I can say is my 89 N/A had horrible wheel hope, I think it has to do with lack or torque and lack of an LSD, in my TII I haave never had wheel hop

 

christi lets see a picture of you. girls drive rx7s?

 

lol.. yeah there are chicks who drive rx7s, not many, but we're here!

Yeah, I have a pic

boyfriend and I ... prom 2001.. only good pic, imo of me....

 

I Got KYB AGX's w/ Intrax springs and I still get wheel hop. They were set to full hard though. Just set them down. I think its the independent suspension that causes the hop.

The oversteer is as normal as any other LSD rear drive car. I even got my slow *** GTU to go sideways on an onramp when I had it. Im sure my T2 would be much worse, but I know better than to do that again.

 

umm.. just to back up a bit.. I'm not sure all of Christi's question was answered..
Forgive me if I'm being a dweeb, but if there is the question of why FWD will show power understeer and RWD will show power oversteer, the answer can be found in the tire's traction circle.

http://www.google.com/search?q=tract...tart=0&start=0

Simply put, the grip a tire can generate is roughly constant, and must be split between demands for acceleration/braking and cornering. If you are using up 70% of the grip of the tire with cornering, there is only 30% of that total grip available for acceleration. If you then add too much demand for acceleration by mashing the gas, that extra demand will exceed the total grip available to the tire, and it will break free/slide. RWD means that adding power will (eventually) break the traction budget at the back end, causing it to slide out and give you oversteer. FWD will (eventually) break the traction budget at the front end. This is why a FWD car can never achieve power oversteer-- oversteer needs the rear end to lose traction, but the power is being added to the front.

Note, the rear end can also come loose due to weight transfer off the rear wheels (or brake bias), and other things, and this is how FWD cars can spin/oversteer etc. But that's another subject.. and I'm not even sure I'm answering a question that was actually asked..

later all..

 

If one of your tires is flat and bald, no wonder you are having troble controlling your car

 

i just spend 400 bucks on tires. i can whip that sumbitchin' t2 around corners.

 

while we're posting pictures, this is me a couple weeks ago.