It's trying to kill me...
Discussion
4 months ago I purchased a Mk1 Tuscan Mk1. It came with 4 new Eagle F1 tyres all round and all 4 wheels freshly balanced.
I covered 3K miles in the first 3 months. Best fun I've ever had outside the bedroom. I thought I'd like this car but I LOVED it. But now it's trying to kill me
My 3K miles wrecked the rear tyres but the Eagle F1 had been discontinued so after taking some advice (from my tyre supplier and on this forum) I had Vredesteins fitted to the rear.
At first I thought it was just new tyres bedding in but I've put another 1K on now and the problem hasn't improved. It wanders around under hard acceleration and at 80-100mph it becomes very unstable, diving off to the left and right, especially when I come off the power a bit.
At lower speeds it's not too bad but at a decent speed it's now pretty undriveable. Have I just gone for the wrong tyres? Another forummer has the same set up with no problems. Any ideas/thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I covered 3K miles in the first 3 months. Best fun I've ever had outside the bedroom. I thought I'd like this car but I LOVED it. But now it's trying to kill me
My 3K miles wrecked the rear tyres but the Eagle F1 had been discontinued so after taking some advice (from my tyre supplier and on this forum) I had Vredesteins fitted to the rear.
At first I thought it was just new tyres bedding in but I've put another 1K on now and the problem hasn't improved. It wanders around under hard acceleration and at 80-100mph it becomes very unstable, diving off to the left and right, especially when I come off the power a bit.
At lower speeds it's not too bad but at a decent speed it's now pretty undriveable. Have I just gone for the wrong tyres? Another forummer has the same set up with no problems. Any ideas/thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Something is amiss.
I have a 2000 MK1 which has never given me such probs. You dont mention if you have 16 or 18 inch spiders. I'm running 18" and have only ever put Toyo Proxys on them and get about 10k out of the rears even with a fair bit of stern driving. Things only got a bit raggy when the shocks were on their way out and I had them replaced with a set of racing reds.
I'd suggest you get the geometry checked out and also get the shocks checked, either one of those being adrift would certainly explain both the skittishness and the overly fast tyre wear.
best of luck
Mike
I have a 2000 MK1 which has never given me such probs. You dont mention if you have 16 or 18 inch spiders. I'm running 18" and have only ever put Toyo Proxys on them and get about 10k out of the rears even with a fair bit of stern driving. Things only got a bit raggy when the shocks were on their way out and I had them replaced with a set of racing reds.
I'd suggest you get the geometry checked out and also get the shocks checked, either one of those being adrift would certainly explain both the skittishness and the overly fast tyre wear.
best of luck
Mike
Indeed. To only get 3k out of a set of rears on the road you'd have to be driving extremely agressivley or the rear alignment has gone out for some reason.
Get the suspension geometry checked (Tuscan's are extremely sensitive to bad settings) and also the condition of the general suspension components. Something might be on the way out or has come adrift.
Get the suspension geometry checked (Tuscan's are extremely sensitive to bad settings) and also the condition of the general suspension components. Something might be on the way out or has come adrift.
dvs_dave said:
To only get 3k out of a set of rears on the road you'd have to be driving extremely agressively or the rear alignment has gone out for some reason.
+1. Unless you smoke your tyres every time you pull away, that looks rather short.Also check the tyre pressure. When I got Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas on my Convertible, the fitter for some reason over-inflated the tyres enormously. For the average car that may be alright, but it will make a Tuscan feel like it's on ice. I simply asked him to lower the pressure to 29 psi, which feels right on my car.
Edited by Arj on Thursday 2nd September 09:32
Arj said:
dvs_dave said:
To only get 3k out of a set of rears on the road you'd have to be driving extremely agressively or the rear alignment has gone out for some reason.
+1. Unless you smoke your tyres every time you pull away, that looks rather short.Also check the tyre pressure. When I got Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas on my Convertible, the fitter for some reason over-inflated the tyres enormously. For the average car that may be alright, but it will make a Tuscan feel like it's on ice. I simply asked him to lower the pressure to 29 psi.
As already suggested get your geo and shocks checked and what on earth were you doing to go through a new set of Eagle F1s in 3k? I had those on the rear of mine and got 12k out of them and I'm not the lightest footed driver in the world.
The problem might be the tyres.
Tyres generate cornering force as a result of slide slip (usually this is very small, so your not really that aware of it, but it's there anyway).
Different tyres (even of the same size) need different amounts of side slip for the same lateral force (this is called "cornering stiffness"), due to different construction, rubber compounding etc.
I had the same problem when I put changed the rear tyres on my S Series from Yokohama's to Bridgestones, but left the Yokohamas on the front.
Wet traction was massively improved and limit cornering rear tyre sliding was much more progressive, but straightline stability / tramlining immediately became terrible. Problem was immediately solved by fitting lower cornering stiffness Bridgestones to the front, which were a better match with the rears.
Best solution might be to change the fronts as well so that you have the same brand / model all round, plus make sure your alignment is correct as well, as if the car is marginal to start with, any tyre imbalance will be more critical.
Tyres generate cornering force as a result of slide slip (usually this is very small, so your not really that aware of it, but it's there anyway).
Different tyres (even of the same size) need different amounts of side slip for the same lateral force (this is called "cornering stiffness"), due to different construction, rubber compounding etc.
I had the same problem when I put changed the rear tyres on my S Series from Yokohama's to Bridgestones, but left the Yokohamas on the front.
Wet traction was massively improved and limit cornering rear tyre sliding was much more progressive, but straightline stability / tramlining immediately became terrible. Problem was immediately solved by fitting lower cornering stiffness Bridgestones to the front, which were a better match with the rears.
Best solution might be to change the fronts as well so that you have the same brand / model all round, plus make sure your alignment is correct as well, as if the car is marginal to start with, any tyre imbalance will be more critical.
echo all the advice so far, something isnt right!
If you have no luck with your next set of Tyres, would definitely get the go checked, rear adjusters can seize and cause problems, they tend to get left unadjusted. Upper wisbone bushes are another very common problem on the Tuscan.
Would also recommend the 3mm spacers on the front from SP Automotive. I havent tried mine yet but a lot of people are giving great feedback about it. They wont solve your current issues as such, there is a problem there needs sorting, but they make thing even better once you do.
If you have no luck with your next set of Tyres, would definitely get the go checked, rear adjusters can seize and cause problems, they tend to get left unadjusted. Upper wisbone bushes are another very common problem on the Tuscan.
Would also recommend the 3mm spacers on the front from SP Automotive. I havent tried mine yet but a lot of people are giving great feedback about it. They wont solve your current issues as such, there is a problem there needs sorting, but they make thing even better once you do.
Thanks guys, fabulous advice, which I'll follow through on. Steve Heath is coming up to do some work for me in a couple of weeks and he's working out of my mate's garage so I'll get them both to take a look in line with all your suggestions. I'll also check the pressures but I'm pretty sure I did check them as soon as they were fitted and found them to be fine.
To answer one question I've got the 18's.
And to answer another question I've been driving quite aggressivley but not sliding round corners or spinning the wheels (much).
Really do appreciate everyone taking the trouble to make suggestions
To answer one question I've got the 18's.
And to answer another question I've been driving quite aggressivley but not sliding round corners or spinning the wheels (much).
Really do appreciate everyone taking the trouble to make suggestions
I've had (I assume) the same setup on my Mk1 for about 3k miles, ie 235/40 F1 GSD3s on front and 255/35 Sessantas on the rear. Running the pressures at 25 front and 26 rear, well aligned, Nitrons, 3mm front spacers and bump steer mod on track rods. Mine feels much better with the Vreds on the rear than it did before with the F1s, with none of the effects that you are talking about.
It def sounds as though something may be wrong. The only time it's felt that unstable at the rear was when one of the rear drop links snapped, but it did make a knocking noise.
It def sounds as though something may be wrong. The only time it's felt that unstable at the rear was when one of the rear drop links snapped, but it did make a knocking noise.
Robertjp said:
Basil Brush said:
... and bump steer mod on track rods...
Please...explain more!! Easy mod? sounds simple enough, i know it was being discussed in another thread alongside the sterring rack height but didnt know there was a solution?Yeah Basil, I fitted this set up after you and my tyre supplier recommended the same. Was planning to wait for Eagle F1 Asymmetrics but they couldn't be obtained quickly enough (I had a long journey planned for the weekend and they couldn't be obtained before the Monday).
I have to admit I was surprised that they were done after 3K but since I often get less than 10K out of the tyres on my 328ci I didn't think too much of it.
I wish I could understand most of the suggestions you guys make but since I can't, my cunning plan is to print off this thread and slap it down in front of my mechanics, along with the car, and get them to investigate every suggestion. I'm now convinced there's some kind of problem, although I've no idea what it could be. I had the car thoroughly checked by a TVR specialist prior to purchasing it 4 months ago and it came back with an ultra clean bill of health so whatever's wrong has happened since I got it.
To be honest it drove perfectly until I took it for new tyres. As soon as I collected it from the tyre place I knew there was something wrong but like I said, I thought it might just be the new tyres bedding in. It was on the drive up to Edinburgh that it started the high speed diving about, at which stage I realised there was a bona fide problem.
I'll report back when I know. It's scheduled for the garage week after next so I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it.
I have to admit I was surprised that they were done after 3K but since I often get less than 10K out of the tyres on my 328ci I didn't think too much of it.
I wish I could understand most of the suggestions you guys make but since I can't, my cunning plan is to print off this thread and slap it down in front of my mechanics, along with the car, and get them to investigate every suggestion. I'm now convinced there's some kind of problem, although I've no idea what it could be. I had the car thoroughly checked by a TVR specialist prior to purchasing it 4 months ago and it came back with an ultra clean bill of health so whatever's wrong has happened since I got it.
To be honest it drove perfectly until I took it for new tyres. As soon as I collected it from the tyre place I knew there was something wrong but like I said, I thought it might just be the new tyres bedding in. It was on the drive up to Edinburgh that it started the high speed diving about, at which stage I realised there was a bona fide problem.
I'll report back when I know. It's scheduled for the garage week after next so I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it.
1PMA said:
Thanks guys, fabulous advice, which I'll follow through on. Steve Heath is coming up to do some work for me in a couple of weeks and he's working out of my mate's garage so I'll get them both to take a look in line with all your suggestions. I'll also check the pressures but I'm pretty sure I did check them as soon as they were fitted and found them to be fine.
To answer one question I've got the 18's.
And to answer another question I've been driving quite aggressivley but not sliding round corners or spinning the wheels (much).
Really do appreciate everyone taking the trouble to make suggestions
The same thing happened to me, I got 2 new rear tyres fitted before I got on the ferry, I've never been so scared, the deceleration sent me across the motorway lanes, I had it checked out visually in Kilmarnock, by someone who knew and worked Tvr's he also raced a Cerb, as I was on a tour of the UK he suggested it would probably bed in after a few miles as he couldn't see any other issue.To answer one question I've got the 18's.
And to answer another question I've been driving quite aggressivley but not sliding round corners or spinning the wheels (much).
Really do appreciate everyone taking the trouble to make suggestions
It did, but only to the detriment of the new tyres, I don't think I was lucky to get 3k miles, I had the wheel settings checked and they were found to be out.
I now have Toyo's all round and it certainly feels as planted as when I first got it, I am still on 16's as I'm not bothered about aesthetics.
Kind regards,
James.
OK guys, I'm embarrassed in the extreme to report back but hey...
I genuinely thought I'd checked my tyre pressures after getting the new tyres fitted but it turns out I hadn't.
The factory recommendation for 18" wheels is 25 psi all round. I checked today and the new tyres on the rear had been fitted at 35 psi. The fronts were running at 27 psi. I lowered everything to 25 and I have a brand new car. Solid, planted, better than it ever was.
Hammer me with your disdain.
Thank you and sorry for the trouble.
I genuinely thought I'd checked my tyre pressures after getting the new tyres fitted but it turns out I hadn't.
The factory recommendation for 18" wheels is 25 psi all round. I checked today and the new tyres on the rear had been fitted at 35 psi. The fronts were running at 27 psi. I lowered everything to 25 and I have a brand new car. Solid, planted, better than it ever was.
Hammer me with your disdain.
Thank you and sorry for the trouble.
1PMA said:
OK guys, I'm embarrassed in the extreme to report back but hey...
I genuinely thought I'd checked my tyre pressures after getting the new tyres fitted but it turns out I hadn't.
The factory recommendation for 18" wheels is 25 psi all round. I checked today and the new tyres on the rear had been fitted at 35 psi. The fronts were running at 27 psi. I lowered everything to 25 and I have a brand new car. Solid, planted, better than it ever was.
Hammer me with your disdain.
Thank you and sorry for the trouble.
Good to hear it was an easy fix. Hey, it gave everyone something to think about for a while anyway. I genuinely thought I'd checked my tyre pressures after getting the new tyres fitted but it turns out I hadn't.
The factory recommendation for 18" wheels is 25 psi all round. I checked today and the new tyres on the rear had been fitted at 35 psi. The fronts were running at 27 psi. I lowered everything to 25 and I have a brand new car. Solid, planted, better than it ever was.
Hammer me with your disdain.
Thank you and sorry for the trouble.
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