greasy weasel

[nervous]

my cars handling that is, not my weasel. that, sadly, remains grease free.

now then, i know its a bit cold and wet outside, but what the is up with my car? it is all over the place. Ive spun out 'big style' (as i believe those crazy kids say) several times over the last few days, with very little warning and certainly no provocation from me. indeed, one of them was quite a big 'moment' and it scared the bejeesus out of me. i literally have no bejusus left in me. not a jot.

so, Ive not been driving like a tit, my tyres are good, i respect the weather conditions, but I'm getting overwhelmed by over-steer a lot. what the is up all of a sudden? my cerbera was more stable than this. anyone else experienced this?

my thoughts for reasons are:

a: my pirrelli tyres are crap in the wet?

b: i need to drop the pressures all round for winter conditions by a few psi?

c: Ive lost 4 wheel drive (does this happen?). the car is certainly over-steering a lot more than id expect of a 4wd version, and much more in keeping with a 2wd.

thoughts, folks? I'm getting nervous driving it. thats fine as a login, less fine as a log-on.

[verysideways]

nervous said:

a: my pirrelli tyres are crap in the wet? b: i need to drop the pressures all round for winter conditions by a few psi? c: Ive lost 4 wheel drive (does this happen?). the car is certainly over-steering a lot more than id expect of a 4wd version, and much more in keeping with a 2wd.

a) yes
b) might not be a bad idea
c) errr, no
d) you need a geometry check, from someone good, and soon...

[nervous]

thanks VS

can geometry just go out then? the cars been fine up until now...

how much do you reckon on the psi drop?

glad its not likely to be a drive issue tho : phew :

[verysideways]

nervous said:

can geometry just go out then? the cars been fine up until now...

I'm not sure that's true - your 20mph roundabout diddly a few weeks back was a weird one too. Maybe the geometry's been out since you got the car. But your tyres may not be great either - what exactly are they and how much tread do you have left on each?

[nervous]

thats a good point, perhaps something is loosening and getting progressively worse? id better get that checked out. just wheel geometry or full suspension geometry check?

as for the tyres, they are virtually brand new, with plenty of tread. they're pirrelli p zeros i think (too cold to go outside and check), but they're the ones with the red writing on them. i had pirellis on a Subaru a few years ago and the gripped like a bad habit in the dry but were god-awful in the wet. perhaps its a characteristic of the brand? ill drop 4 psi all round tomorrow, that sound appropriate?

thanks for your time VS

[verysideways]

usual 996 geometry check at somewhere well respected
pirelli's aren't the best, but they're not that bad, agree on wet/dry performance
start with 2psi drop all round, make sure you are using a decent guage (did you get one with the car, the Porsche one in it's own little pouch?)

[DanH]

Doesn't sound right. What are your tyre pressures now?

[nervous]

the tyre pressures are as it says in the handbook, ive checked them with the lil pressure guage thingy that came with the car.

ill drop it down 2 psi in the morning and see if that helps

[DanH]

nervous said:

the tyre pressures are as it says in the handbook, ive checked them with the lil pressure guage thingy that came with the car. ill drop it down 2 psi in the morning and see if that helps

I don't see 2 psi making a world of difference. Are the tyres brand new? If so they take a few hundred miles to scrub off the release compound. Otherwise as others have said its time to check the geo/suspension hardware.

The roads are a bit slippery at the moment, but it sounds not great. You didn't go to the Jeremy Clarkson school of incompetence behind the wheel?

[nervous]

no, no. im naturally incompetent. you cant learn this: you have to be born to it

so, wait...more than 2 psi then? the tyres have done about 2500 miles now, so the release agaent is all but gone i would hope.

>> Edited by nervous on Monday 28th November 08:23

[Don]

The roads have been exceptionally slippery of late.

Clearly - get your car checked out but I expect that isn't the problem.

Michelin Pilot Sport (not Cup) tyres are brilliant in the wet and nasty. Very hard wearing too - I thoroughly recommend them when its time to change.

Rear engined car does behave very differently...once it oversteers its a hell of a job to get it back. Classic 911 problem...

[james s]

Sounds like you are not getting on well with it at all.

FIrst thing to do is take it to a good speciliat and get them to drive it for a bit, preferable someone who is renownd for their geometry skills (JZ Machtech are well known, as are others) as this may well be where your problm lies.

From the number of incidents you mention sooner rather than later .The roads are bad at the moment but my 993 C4S hasn't once misbehaved

[nervous]

i do expect some level of 'driving a pendulum from the wrong' end behaviour, you cant beat physics after all, but i guess i was expecting less trying-to-kill-me action with the carrera "its the wrong model Grommit" 4's extra blanket of protection for us slightly girly supercar drivers (IE those of us that have even less money than their tiny amount of talent). I'm hoping you're right though. actually, come to think of it, perhaps its just me getting worse and not the car at all....

thanks for the tyre advice, ill be sure to change to those when i next replace my boots

[nervous]

james s said:

Sounds like you are not getting on well with it at all.

no, no, i still love it. and its been pretty much flawless. I'm just trying to ascertain whats normal, whats expected, whats 'character' and whats broken

I'm going to see a specialist this week. then, once the meds kick in, ill get the car checked too

[tertius]

If its any help at all (and I dare say its not) I was in north Suffolk (near you iirc?) at the weekend in my 993 C2 and whilst I had my little one in the back (so was driving fairly steadily) in spite of the roads being genrally awful, I had not a moment of bad behaviour. I also have brand new (say < 2,000 miles) Pirelli Corsas.

In fact I had a rather fab drive home yesterday, just occasionally I got the opportunity to put my foot down and the sound of that engine sucking air in behind you and really just going ... ... awesome!

Even a NA non-vario is quite fast isn't it?

Dan

[nervous]

tertius said:

If its any help at all (and I dare say its not) I was in north Suffolk (near you iirc?) at the weekend in my 993 C2 and whilst I had my little one in the back (so was driving fairly steadily) in spite of the roads being genrally awful, I had not a moment of bad behaviour. I also have brand new (say < 2,000 miles) Pirelli Corsas. In fact I had a rather fab drive home yesterday, just occasionally I got the opportunity to put my foot down and the sound of that engine sucking air in behind you and really just going ... ... awesome! Even a NA non-vario is quite fast isn't it? Dan

youre right. thats no help at all thanks mate must be a problem with me then

spose they are quite fast. y'know, if you can keep it in a straight line

[tertius]

nervous said:

youre right. thats no help at all thanks mate must be a problem with me then spose they are quite fast. y'know, if you can keep it in a straight line

Yeah, well, the weight of all that water in the back of yours may have all sorts of unanticipated consequences.



Edited to make the quote work

>> Edited by tertius on Monday 28th November 09:45

[Don]

nervous said:

spose they are quite fast. y'know, if you can keep it in a straight line

Is your car fitted with PSM? If it is then stop switching it off!

If it isn't may I suggest a right-foot upgrade.

[nervous]

tertius said:

[quote=nervous youre right. thats no help at all thanks mate must be a problem with me then spose they are quite fast. y'know, if you can keep it in a straight line

Yeah, well, the weight of all that water in the back of yours may have all sorts of unanticipated consequences.

[/quote]

:cheapshot:

jokes on you: ive removed all the water as part of a weight saving programme. im sure itll help it be much faster. once.

[nervous]

Don said:

Is your car fitted with PSM? If it is then stop switching it off! If it isn't may I suggest a right-foot upgrade.

are you kidding me?! switch it off?! after this week i darent even switch the rear screen demister off

reckon youre right about that foot upgrade though: this one i got from douglas bader is getting really worn out