Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Discussion and technical advice the SW20 MR2. 3S-GTE, 3S-GE, 3S-FE etc
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monkeyra
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Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by monkeyra »

Hi all,

My Mk2 is feeling twitchy and not very confidence inspiring at speeds above 60mph. It's been off the road for a number of years due to doing the 2GRFE swap. I've got Meister-R GT1 Coilovers, set 10 clicks back from hard. Has TRD ARB's, strut braces, ploybushed etc. Running Enkei RP01's, 16" front, 17" rear. Geometry has been done.

So, thoughts on why? Could it be a dodgy geometry setup? Is there anything else I should be looking at?

Years back, when it was a standard turbo, it felt nailed. Less so these days. Or I'm getting old and a pussy, lol. Had the car nearly 15 years now!
SW20 Rev1 Supercharged 2GR-FE Powered Trackday Car.
gavsdavs
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by gavsdavs »

monkeyra wrote:Hi all,

My Mk2 is feeling twitchy and not very confidence inspiring at speeds above 60mph. It's been off the road for a number of years due to doing the 2GRFE swap. I've got Meister-R GT1 Coilovers, set 10 clicks back from hard. Has TRD ARB's, strut braces, ploybushed etc. Running Enkei RP01's, 16" front, 17" rear. Geometry has been done.

So, thoughts on why? Could it be a dodgy geometry setup? Is there anything else I should be looking at?

Years back, when it was a standard turbo, it felt nailed. Less so these days. Or I'm getting old and a pussy, lol. Had the car nearly 15 years now!

Very similar to my car, except i use 17s all round.

I actually found the steering go a bit more numb and the car was less inclined to turn in when I switched to the GT1s mine isn't twitchy.

Is it lowered (Mine is standard ride height). Anything too wacky in the geometry ?
monkeyra
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by monkeyra »

Lowered a little, but nothing major else the tyres would rub.

AFAIK, geometry was set for stability. I may take it somewhere else to get it done again if there's no obvious suggestions.
SW20 Rev1 Supercharged 2GR-FE Powered Trackday Car.
Race Idiot
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by Race Idiot »

Who did the alignment?
monkeyra
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by monkeyra »

Drift Limits Performance a couple of years ago (only done about 200 miles since).

Wheels in motion are about 20 mins away, may just try that :-k
SW20 Rev1 Supercharged 2GR-FE Powered Trackday Car.
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by Race Idiot »

I've had alignments with both of those companies and not had a problem.

You haven't had any of the suspension off during that time?
SonicSW20
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by SonicSW20 »

Have you ever changed the rear outer tie rod bearings?
rev3gtturbo
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by rev3gtturbo »

As your car has been off the road for a number of years, how old are the tyres? Very old rubber can give handling issues.

My car gets twitchy in the wet once the tyre tread gets down to 3 mm.
monkeyra
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by monkeyra »

Yeah, rear outer tie rod bearings have been replaced. There's nothing original left on the car suspension or bushing wise, it's all been replaced over the years, albeit car has been off the road for a long time so it's done bu88er all mileage.

Tyres - probably about 5 years old? Still like new in terms of tread, but good point, I know rubber does indeed perish. :-k
SW20 Rev1 Supercharged 2GR-FE Powered Trackday Car.
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by Race Idiot »

Have you've had those outer tie rods changed after the alignment? If so then the toe on the rear will probably be out.
BALDYMONSTER
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by BALDYMONSTER »

rev3gtturbo wrote:As your car has been off the road for a number of years, how old are the tyres? Very old rubber can give handling issues.

My car gets twitchy in the wet once the tyre tread gets down to 3 mm.


I'd try new boots all round first.

It's surprising how much confidence and grip you can lose with tyres as they get old even without use.

Just my take.

I'm running Kumho ecsta le sports all round. 235/40/17 rear and 215/40/17 fronts all brand new. And the difference from the old "past it" rubber I was running is incredible.


If everything suspension and and alignment is good then might be worth trying some new boots?
ashley
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by ashley »

monkeyra wrote:Hi all,

My Mk2 is feeling twitchy and not very confidence inspiring at speeds above 60mph. It's been off the road for a number of years due to doing the 2GRFE swap. I've got Meister-R GT1 Coilovers, set 10 clicks back from hard. Has TRD ARB's, strut braces, ploybushed etc. Running Enkei RP01's, 16" front, 17" rear. Geometry has been done.

So, thoughts on why? Could it be a dodgy geometry setup? Is there anything else I should be looking at?

Years back, when it was a standard turbo, it felt nailed. Less so these days. Or I'm getting old and a pussy, lol. Had the car nearly 15 years now!


Could you have disabled the link between the speedo and the ECU that controls the power steering as part of the conversion work done? If so, then you will still be getting full power assist at higher speeds, which makes the car feel exactly as you describe.

That'd be my guess anyhow- certainly don't throw any cash at more parts until you check it out :thumleft:
monkeyra
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by monkeyra »

ashley wrote:
monkeyra wrote:Hi all,

My Mk2 is feeling twitchy and not very confidence inspiring at speeds above 60mph. It's been off the road for a number of years due to doing the 2GRFE swap. I've got Meister-R GT1 Coilovers, set 10 clicks back from hard. Has TRD ARB's, strut braces, ploybushed etc. Running Enkei RP01's, 16" front, 17" rear. Geometry has been done.

So, thoughts on why? Could it be a dodgy geometry setup? Is there anything else I should be looking at?

Years back, when it was a standard turbo, it felt nailed. Less so these days. Or I'm getting old and a pussy, lol. Had the car nearly 15 years now!


Could you have disabled the link between the speedo and the ECU that controls the power steering as part of the conversion work done? If so, then you will still be getting full power assist at higher speeds, which makes the car feel exactly as you describe.

That'd be my guess anyhow- certainly don't throw any cash at more parts until you check it out :thumleft:


That's an interesting one... I'll check that first, as you say, before I spend money on it. Thanks.
SW20 Rev1 Supercharged 2GR-FE Powered Trackday Car.
ashley
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by ashley »

Thinking about it- I'm guessing you have the 2GRFE ECU running things, so almost certainly the control line to the power steering isn't there and it's just on full all the time.

Without the stock 3S ECU it's going to be an interesting one to get around, maybe have a chat with Paul W to see how he deals with it, but if you get stuck drop me a line- it's a pretty easy system to drive :thumleft:
blogsy
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by blogsy »

Ashley how's your car getting on, did you ever finnish the dry sump?
ashley
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by ashley »

Yep- dry sump completed and we ran it on the dyno at ~400hp (small turbo)...didn't make any additional power as it's flow limited based on the small turbo, but interestingly it's pulling a vacuum in the crank case now. This meant a few tweaks to the crank seals to prevent them leaking air into the sump!

I'm thinking on the bigger turbo it'll make a bit more power now, but not yet tested...might see 650hp I guess...

I drove the car (with drysump) to LeMans the year before last, and foolishly promised I wouldn't touch the car for at least 12 months...just drive and enjoy. Longest year of my life!!

I'm due to start work again, but had to back off everything as my eldest daughter got diagnosed with a brain tumor a couple months ago...I've been with her in hospital since (all going very well- successful surgery, and we are currently in Germany having Proton Beam treatment to prevent it coming back).

Next up I want to go hardcore with the car and remove all road car compromises- going full track performance, and want to develop a full aero package for it...should keep me out of mischief for the next few years :lol:

Thanks for asking :thumleft:
blogsy
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by blogsy »

Terrible news mate, I think I can say on everyone on here's behalf that we wish her a speedy recovery.
monkeyra
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by monkeyra »

So sorry to hear that Ashley, with 2 young girls myself I'd find that very difficult to deal with. Hope all is going well and prognosis is good for long term. Puts into perspective whats important in life.
SW20 Rev1 Supercharged 2GR-FE Powered Trackday Car.
ashley
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by ashley »

Thanks guys, it has been the worst time of my life, and certainly puts everything into perspective. Suddenly all the stuff I thought was important just doesn't matter anymore!

We've been amazingly lucky though (which is odd to say when my 6 year old daughter has brain cancer), but she's alive! They performed emergency surgery to relief pressure in her head and saved her life, she wouldn't be here now without the intervention.
Then they were able to operate and remove it without significant damage to her brain- just amazing, I don't know how the surgeons do it: 15 hours in the operating theater.

We're also really lucky it hadn't spread, which means she can have proton treatment- which again means less damage to her brain than conventional radio therapy. And she isn't having chemo.

So we are thanking our lucky stars...we've been surrounded by other families all going through their own personal tragedies, and believe me- we are the lucky ones. Some of the things I've seen over the last couple of months will never leave me...there are truly heartbreaking struggles going on everyday that we just aren't aware of in "normal" life.

Sorry...didn't mean to go on- it's difficult not to. And especially on here given my history with some of you guys, but like I say- what's important has changed for me, and this forum has actually been a good distraction through the long hours in hospital.

Appreciate the kind words :thumleft:
monkeyra
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Re: Handling - twitchy above 60mph

Post by monkeyra »

Same age as my daughter. Got my fingers crossed for you. Must be mega tough, and as you say, puts, everything into perspective, massively.
SW20 Rev1 Supercharged 2GR-FE Powered Trackday Car.
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