Scary moment in the wet!

[dawolf]

This happened to me yesterday driving home from work in the wet:
Was going round a tight roundabout and put my foot down to accelerate as I came off, the backend slid out to the right so I turned right full lock, the car skidded, somehow just missed the left hand kerb and ended up sideways across the dual carriageway facing the middle section. Scraped my plastic front splitter slightly but apart from that no damage luckily. The engine cut out but restarted again fine. Just as I thought I'd got used to the handling this happened just to warn me how unforgiving the MR2 is in the wet. Perhaps having Nankang tyres on didn't help either. Very scary moment!

[Mark Edwards]

Lucky escape mate. Lesson learnt though i bet. Always seems that people over compensate and thats when they lose these things. Nankangs certainly won't of helped though, need some proper tyres on there.

[jimGTS]

agreed, you need some decent tyres, PLUS i think you learnt a lesson there.
MOST peeps on here that have done that didnt come out so lucky (ie, wrote the car off).
i only ever gun it in the wet if i were on a complete straight and noone around, lol.

in the dry tho, my bridgestones do wonders, and i can put my foot down. but i still dont trust it on roundabouts even in the dry. guess thats just me.

[Goldy]

I had a few scary moments but not since I got my bridgestones... I always get understeer when I push it hard and only oversteer if I lift off... You had a lucky escape there mate!

[WillyWonka]

This happened to me yesterday driving home from work in the wet:
Was going round a tight roundabout and put my foot down to accelerate as I came off, the backend slid out to the right so I turned left full lock then right full lock, I skidded and somehow just missed the left hand kerb and ended up sideways across the dual carriageway facing the middle section. Scraped my plastic front splitter slightly but apart from that no damage luckily. The engine cut out but restarted again fine. Just as I thought I'd got used to the handling this happened just to warn me how unforgiving the MR2 is in the wet. Perhaps having Nankang tyres on didn't help either. Very scary moment!

if the back stepped out to the right why did you turn left full lock? would that not just make you spin rather than opposite lock?

[L0rdMike]

Yeah why the left lock?

You steer where you want to go.

Mine went out on me once the road started to dissapear to my right so I steered that way.

[dawolf]

Yeah sorry I posted wrong. I did just turn to the right full lock, it was the front of the car that was heading left. Lol.

[Goto10]

This happened to me yesterday driving home from work in the wet:
Was going round a tight roundabout and put my foot down to accelerate as I came off, the backend slid out to the right so I turned right full lock, the car skidded, somehow just missed the left hand kerb and ended up sideways across the dual carriageway facing the middle section. Scraped my plastic front splitter slightly but apart from that no damage luckily. The engine cut out but restarted again fine. Just as I thought I'd got used to the handling this happened just to warn me how unforgiving the MR2 is in the wet. Perhaps having Nankang tyres on didn't help either. Very scary moment!

The engine cut out but restarted again fine.

That's called stalling it
Don't p1$$ about with the tyres, ditch them ASAP and get 4 decent tyres fitted along with a 4 wheel alignment. Money well spent.

[Lauren]

Getting some tuition would be money well spent. Do a track driving course or similar. or do an airfield day and get some tuition.

Driver upgrades are the best mod you can do by far.

[speedy_g]

If you really don't want to do that again, buy an evo

[Brian]

Getting some tuition would be money well spent. Do a track driving course or similar. or do an airfield day and get some tuition.

Driver upgrades are the best mod you can do by far.

Definitely or a trip to skid pan would be a useful too, with tuition.

[senie]

totally agree. Although i have owned a tubby in the past, i realise hey can be lethal i the wrong hands. once my new one arrives, i will be searching out a skid pan day as im coming from FF again.

Again, get some F1's or SO3's.

Once youve done this, the real beauty of the handling comes out.

[bennycrow]

I've just done exactly the same thing, wet roundabout, too much on the way out, spun and bent a wheel on the kerb. It was a busy dual-carriageway and rush hour, thankfully there was nobody else about. Only been driving a 2 for a couple of months, now i'll think twice before pressing the accelerator when its wet. I was stupid and lucky to get away with it. Needless to say the Nokia tyres that came on the car when i bought it are coming off! They have about as much grip as a mobile phone. Lesson learned.

[Don Cool]

Eek! I'm a bit worried now.. I'm a newbie (1 month in!) to the pure unadulterated joy that is owning a mkII MR2 (NA) and, as one tyre was getting down when I bought it, the first thing I did was buy 4 new tyres and get them balanced etc. Got them done through a contact and they were pretty reasonable (£180 for the four) but I've just been out to look and they are NANKANGS.

So what's the score? Are these things the scourge of MR2 owners? Or will they keep me right as long as I behave myself? They certainly handle okay in the dry and I have always had a healthy respect of any machine that could kill me so there is no chance of me 'pushing the envelope' on a bendy slip road onto the A1. Is it a case of me having to watch as they wear down and swap 'em out early? Just in case?

Any advice appreciated.

DC

PS - Someone told me the tubbys were known as "The Widow-Makers". Is that true? Or is that the generic name that is given to any RWD that can have you spinning off a bendy wet road in a blaze of glory?

[Lauren]

Eek! I'm a bit worried now.. I'm a newbie (1 month in!) to the pure unadulterated joy that is owning a mkII MR2 (NA) and, as one tyre was getting down when I bought it, the first thing I did was buy 4 new tyres and get them balanced etc. Got them done through a contact and they were pretty reasonable (£180 for the four) but I've just been out to look and they are NANKANGS.

So what's the score? Are these things the scourge of MR2 owners? Or will they keep me right as long as I behave myself? They certainly handle okay in the dry and I have always had a healthy respect of any machine that could kill me so there is no chance of me 'pushing the envelope' on a bendy slip road onto the A1. Is it a case of me having to watch as they wear down and swap 'em out early? Just in case?

Any advice appreciated.

DC

PS - Someone told me the tubbys were known as "The Widow-Makers". Is that true? Or is that the generic name that is given to any RWD that can have you spinning off a bendy wet road in a blaze of glory?

Nankangs are TDFs (Taiwanese Ditch Finders) and are at best cheap crap. You'll find out in the wet. I would think about driving very carefully until you can get some better tyres ie SO3s/F1s.

Don't know about that urban myth. Its not the car that kills people its always the driver. Get some tuition, ie IMOC trackday. Skidpan days would be an option, but as they are police drivers they will teach you some bad habits which will hinder rather than help you, so i can't recommend one of those really.

[dawolf]

To be fair I have found the Nankang's to be pretty damn good for the money, in the dry they stick like anything. In the wet they've let go twice in the 6 months I've had them which isn't too bad, was partly my fault too. My rears need changing soon, haven't decided whether to stick with Nankang or not yet. I bet a lot of the people who make negative comments haven't even tried them before.

[Lauren]

To be fair I have found the Nankang's to be pretty damn good for the money, in the dry they stick like anything. In the wet they've let go twice in the 6 months I've had them which isn't too bad, was partly my fault too. My rears need changing soon, haven't decided whether to stick with Nankang or not yet. I bet a lot of the people who make negative comments haven't even tried them before.

But try some good tyres and you'll see the difference. I've tried lots of different tyres in my time and as a rule you do get what you pay for.

[Don Cool]

So how many miles can I expect to get out of these Nankangs then? My MR2 is a NA and I'm mostly driving up and down the motorway. Would I get more miles out of better tyres or is it that they just stick better in the wet?

[dawolf]

That's a good thing about Nankang's, they last ages. Even after about 8,000 miles of aggressive driving all 4 tyres still have plenty of tread. Rears have worn slightly more of course.

[Lauren]

So how many miles can I expect to get out of these Nankangs then? My MR2 is a NA and I'm mostly driving up and down the motorway. Would I get more miles out of better tyres or is it that they just stick better in the wet?

You'll get better grip and perhaps more importantly more progressiveness.

Wangkangs last so long because they are harder which is why they are so utterly crap, especially so in the wet.