Unstable at speed???

[blueorb]

Driving my rev 2 tubby home from work last pm, and decided to wind the speed up a bit. I was a little concerned with the way the car feels over the 100mph mark. Almost unstable and boat like. WTF?? Is this normal for these cars?

My wifes VW polo feels safer at that kind of speed.

Any ideas?

[Dale_V]

they get a little light, but it shouldnt feel unstable mines even fine at taking corners at those speeds

[BLOODUK]

I was a little concerned with the way the car feels over the 100mph mark.

mines even fine at taking corners at those speeds

Holy Crap Dale, id like to drive your car if you can corner at 100mph

[craig]

Dale's a nutter, ya need roller coaster style harnesses when he goes round corners......

[BLOODUK]

Dale's a nutter, ya need roller coaster style harnesses when he goes round corners......

Rofl Sounds Fun

[Dale_V]

lol at you two

Bluorb, maybe try those later rev 4/5 front wind flaps that go infront of the wheel on the arch. !?

[CosmosblueMR2]

Tyre Pressures. Have you checked them ?.. if they are too high? then what with the friction of the tyres on the road this heats up the air inside yet further and increases the tyre pressure yet further.

FYI the general consensus for pressures is 28psi front and 33psi rear

go check them !

[Spittinflames]

I actually noticed this the other day.. first time i took my tubby over 100mph and it felt really light and didnt exactly fill me with confiedence... Not greatly impressed Is there any mods that can be done to make it feel more stable at high speed?

[GHOST]

Actually, at around 70mph my front judders a bit. Can feel it through the steering wheel. Any ideas?

[DannyW]

the cars definatley shouldnt be unstable at high speeds. i've hit in excess of 145mph (private road) in my car with over 125000 miles on the clock with original suspension components and it felt solid as a rock.

[LuizeGT]

mine was like that, the bushes had gone in the rear tie rods. worth checking.
the judder could be wrong tyres pressure, tracking or wheel balancing

[Spittinflames]

I dont get any judder or wobble just feels like the whole fronts gone light.... gotta say though slappin your foot back down at 100mph it pulls harder than my evo.... this cars a fekin beast.... why didnt i buy one ages ago... Would wider tyres help at all? it's smooth but just a little to light for me... although i will now go and check tyre pressures


*All quoted speeds where done on private roads*

[CosmosblueMR2]

*All quoted speeds where done on private roads*

LMFAO

[stevenb]

My cars light at 70mph.
Cornering is taken with caution. i have recently uprated my bushes.
I will be fitting koni's and lowering springs in the next few months. once it's set up I'll be more confident.

[Blokey]

If you've had the speedo changed from kph to mph that may be part of the problem although at those kind of speeds I'd have expected the the power steering would be off anyway.

The Mk2's have speed sensitive power steering which gives less assistance the faster you go. If there's a gadget in there to convert your speed from kph to mph this will fool the power steering in to thinking you're doing 100kph (for example) when you're actually doing 100mph - the result is you get more power steering assitance than you'd like and the front end can feel light through the steering.

Mk1's should feel light, nimble and utterly chuckable - throw it into a corner and it'll go around it, it may move a little but it'll still go around it. If the handling gives anything other than a feeling of confidence on a Mk1 I'd suggest getting a four wheel alignment - it'll probably need one after the new bushes and with your new suspension it'll transform the car.

B.

[blueorb]

Front tyres are running 32psi, will try dropping this to 28psi and see what happens.

[CosmosblueMR2]

Front tyres are running 32psi, will try dropping this to 28psi and see what happens.

think that's your answer chappie.


mine was stupidly light when i got new tyres fitted recently... they had done 35psi all round !

was like bamby on ice !

[Mark Edwards]

My car is perfectly stable at 155mph.

[fizz]

If you've had the speedo changed from kph to mph that may be part of the problem although at those kind of speeds I'd have expected the the power steering would be off anyway.

The Mk2's have speed sensitive power steering which gives less assistance the faster you go. If there's a gadget in there to convert your speed from kph to mph this will fool the power steering in to thinking you're doing 100kph (for example) when you're actually doing 100mph - the result is you get more power steering assitance than you'd like and the front end can feel light through the steering.

Mk1's should feel light, nimble and utterly chuckable - throw it into a corner and it'll go around it, it may move a little but it'll still go around it. If the handling gives anything other than a feeling of confidence on a Mk1 I'd suggest getting a four wheel alignment - it'll probably need one after the new bushes and with your new suspension it'll transform the car.

B.

That sounds like a very possible reason...

Mine is solid at 155+... (german Autobahn) and ive not had my speedo's converted..

I know it was 155+ as i was following a mate in a rex with an apexi gizmo recording the max speed...

These cars are solid in my experiance at high speeds.. very strange..

spittin flames - I would check to see if the above info is true with yours?...

[blueorb]

Speed converted by Stef Dermer. He assures me that the chip he uses compensates for the difference in speed the ECU detects, therefore giving the correct assistance at speed, so I am sure it is not this.

Will lower front tyre pressure and see what happens.