FD oversteer much?
 

so i had my Fd for about 3 months now, after paint job and fixing leaks, i have it up and running for the pass 2 weeks. Its a weekend car.

i normally drive a FF car and i feel that it understeer, but with the FD i feel like every time i try to push the car at a corner it oversteers? and i feel that is about to SPIN?

what can i do to fix this problem?

i believe im currently lower on Tien super streets
running 225 front tires 235 rear,
would switching up coilovers fix that? or i have to do more then that

first may be adjust your damber rebound n the shocks , front harder , rear softer ,

second adjust your driving ,

third bigger front sway bar ,

fourth adjust your driving ,

Fifth what BRAND of tires are you using ? this is not first simply because you are ONLY complaining of oversteer and not both under and over steer . if you are using good tread wear rating tires at front , and cheap hard tires in the rear EVEN if they are WIDER .. you may be causing it to oversteer .

The FD is more neutral than most other cars I've driven. So yes, until you get used to it, the car may seem to oversteer often.

You can help with this by choosing wider, stickier tires in the rear.

...and of course, backing off on the throttle.

yes you're basically right, if you drive a RWD like its a FWD, it probably IS about to spin. FWD cars inherently want to go straight, and understeer. its basic physics, all the weight is in the front, like a dart.

the FD has a much more even weight balance, and in a corner you can hit the gas and put more load on the rear tires than they can handle = oversteer.

so when you're trying to go fast a RWD car needs a different driving technique than a FWD car.

Much more information is required here. There is a vast number of reasons why your car could be handling improperly.

Driving style
Alignment
Suspension components
Tire compound
Tire width
Power level

All of which are important.

Barring some major issue with your setup, I think you are just getting used to the handling characteristics of the vehicle. There's a reason why this car has a reputation for being pretty hard core.

thats right I completely forgot about alignment!

Stock FDs do oversteer and it is awesome!

If your car oversteers to much make sure you have good tires, newer, same brand front and rear, good alignment. 94+ FDs have a smaller rear bar for less oversteer. You can also put on a bigger front bar to reduce oversteer.

The answer here is learn how to drive basically.

+1

When autocrossing my car in stock form, it was very easy to oversteer.

Carbonetics diff, different front sway bar, and much different spring/shock setup made it less likely to oversteer on throttle, though it is certainly still possible.

Oh, and learning to control the right foot is an essential part of driving well in a rear wheel drive car with some power. :)

tire pressure set cold is 30 front, 27 rear. lower rear tire pressure increases rear stick.

howard

I honestly do not think the FD oversteers greatly stock. In the wet yes, in the dry, mmm, not really. It depends on your suspension and which model FD you've got, IMO it's a little more twitchy than an FC, but it's by no means out of the ordinary for a rear wheel drive car.

You need to isolate the transient response and the steady state response of your car, as they have different solutions (many of which are mentioned here already).

First, determine your steady state response:
1. Find a big parking lot
2. Drive in a circle
3. Increase speed SLOWLY
4. Observe which end of the car starts to slide.

If your car is neutral here, you don't need to do anything. This means that the car is set up to use all four of the tires equally and more efficiently. You can add understeer (tires, anti-roll, alignment), but why would you want to?

Transient conditions are likely what you are talking about. What conditions are you seeing oversteer in? Transients can be damped out by the..... dampers, but springs, and alignment also have an affect. However, the DRIVER has the largest affect on if a car handles poorly in a transient condition, because they are causing the transient.

Oversteer in a transient can be caused by a sudden transfer of load either to or away from the rear tires. Think lifting (or braking) mid corner or sharply applying the throttle. If you do these things, smooth out your inputs and your oversteer will go away.

If you are smooth like Senna and have a neutral car in steady state, you probably want to look in to the damper settings first, then the alignment.

At least that is how I approach things for my track cars.

My 94 used to understeer autocrossing, even with a decent amount of negative camber. The car felt pretty neutral at higher speeds. I fixed the understeer problem by swapping the rear sway bar to a 93.

Putting a 94 bar on your car will help with the oversteer problem. PM me if you are interested in buying my 94 rear sway bar.

This

if you're used to dribing FWD car, any RWD car will make you feel like it oversteers. If course it'll oversteer if you give too much gas while turning, it's RWD... problem solved

Embrace it.

I don't know about any RWD car... maybe a lot of sports cars, but regular sedans and muscle cars are mostly understeering unless you really try to kick the back end out.

the other thing is that the FD has no traction/stability control, so there's not much to bail you out

what spring rates on those coilovers?


A good, cheap way to learn the limits of the car is to try driving it at autocrosses. Link:
http://sfr-solo.org/solo2/cgi-bin/sc...t_three_months

Who are you asking?

Asking the OP - hkguy
He mentioned that he is running Teins

You bought a RWD, sit down and enjoy it. Even if you're sliding around a corner. ;)

how do you like the carbonetic lsd, is it a 1.5way? im in the process of getting one for my FD which i do track often. How would compare it to the torsen?

For me it is most noticeable on launch and corner exits.

Hard launches are dead straight, and I am much less likely to lose traction and get sideways when applying power in a corner exit.

At the same time I put in 4.77 gears - the power would have been much harder to control with the Torsen I think.

Re the launches - there are some courses where the tires are spinning and I am turning at the same time with no drama.

There is no reason you can't make your car very predictable. Oversteer does happen, but as a high power sports car that is one of the best handling, it should be done when you know or want it to happen.

In my original post, I forgot to mention to read this:

https://www.rx7club.com/suspension-wheels-tires-brakes-20/howard-colemans-fd-chassis-setup-723617/

I followed Howard's advice pretty much to the "T" except for the polyeurothane bushings. My car has full polly and rides amazing. The main reason I didn't replace with all stock rubber was the cost. Poly was less expensive.... go figure.

It also handles MUCH better after following his advice. FD suspension was far ahead of its time, and when setup correctly it will provide you with face melting handling ;).

Would you mind sharing your suspensions setup? I'm a novice in autocross and my 93 FD suspension is stock. I've been looking at a front anti-sway bars, springs and shocks trying to find some conclusive information on what works. I would like to coil-overs.