New T350 owner tail happy problem................
Discussion
Greetings, I’m new on here and am after some advice:
I am a new T350 owner and am very concerned about a moment I had at the weekend. I was following a friend (he has a T350 with a 400bhp engine) down a motorway sliproad he was in front and gunned it, ( it was wet ) he had no problems and i saw him disappear off into the distance. I also gunned it on the same stretch of road with NO lock on the steering. My car's back end came out to the left in a massive way and to be honest i was very lucky to get away with it.
Could there be anything wrong with the car to make it behave so badly? Diff? Shockers? Tyres? Or just old fashioned bad driving?
The car is a standard T350 on Eagle F1's - I believe they are the same tyres as was fitted at the factory, although i cant be sure - The car has only done 9000 miles on a 54 plate. Tyre pressures were 28 all round.
I realize that tail out action is to be expected in a TVR but I didn’t expect something so drastic in a straight line.
Cheers……………..
I am a new T350 owner and am very concerned about a moment I had at the weekend. I was following a friend (he has a T350 with a 400bhp engine) down a motorway sliproad he was in front and gunned it, ( it was wet ) he had no problems and i saw him disappear off into the distance. I also gunned it on the same stretch of road with NO lock on the steering. My car's back end came out to the left in a massive way and to be honest i was very lucky to get away with it.
Could there be anything wrong with the car to make it behave so badly? Diff? Shockers? Tyres? Or just old fashioned bad driving?
The car is a standard T350 on Eagle F1's - I believe they are the same tyres as was fitted at the factory, although i cant be sure - The car has only done 9000 miles on a 54 plate. Tyre pressures were 28 all round.
I realize that tail out action is to be expected in a TVR but I didn’t expect something so drastic in a straight line.
Cheers……………..
It could be a multitude of things in honesty.
From just a fluke, momentary loss of traction as you applied too much fun pedal, down to geometry set up or faulty components
I would say its almost impossible to say from the above what caused it.
Get the geometry checked out, along with suspension etc and see what comes up
From just a fluke, momentary loss of traction as you applied too much fun pedal, down to geometry set up or faulty components
I would say its almost impossible to say from the above what caused it.
Get the geometry checked out, along with suspension etc and see what comes up
If in theory his car is putting out 50bhp more then yours can he not "gun it" more gently at lower revs than you for the same result meaning he is less likely to lose traction?
As others say it could be anything, including a diesel/petrol spill on the road, not necessarily your car. From what I recall a few Cerbera's have come a cropper accelerating on slip roads so it may be worth searching that forum to see if anything came to light.
I would be tempted to drive it for a few more weeks as is as it seems it is only trying to do you in in extreme conditions. (such small words but so complicated...)
Also if it was geo, shocks, etc I would have thought it would manifest itself in other conditions, I.e. tramlining.
As others say it could be anything, including a diesel/petrol spill on the road, not necessarily your car. From what I recall a few Cerbera's have come a cropper accelerating on slip roads so it may be worth searching that forum to see if anything came to light.
I would be tempted to drive it for a few more weeks as is as it seems it is only trying to do you in in extreme conditions. (such small words but so complicated...)
Also if it was geo, shocks, etc I would have thought it would manifest itself in other conditions, I.e. tramlining.
I am the said friend, hi rhyspw.
Not sure if it makes much difference, I have had my car for over a year; it now has a 4lt engine, 3.71 diff and Nitrons. I accelerated as quickly as I dared in the wet!! I had no problems with traction; I can only assume that there is a problem with his car.
Same stretch of road, same conditions, two different reactions from two cars! I think a change of tyres (they are 4 years old) a good Geo and time to get used to the car will do the trick:0)
Not sure if it makes much difference, I have had my car for over a year; it now has a 4lt engine, 3.71 diff and Nitrons. I accelerated as quickly as I dared in the wet!! I had no problems with traction; I can only assume that there is a problem with his car.
Same stretch of road, same conditions, two different reactions from two cars! I think a change of tyres (they are 4 years old) a good Geo and time to get used to the car will do the trick:0)
Don't think your experience is a shocks problem - although the HB originals can be easily upgraded. Reducing your 28psi tyre pressure to 24 all round should help with tramlining. With respect it sounds more like you were a bit heavy with the right foot, especially in the wet. Happened to me last summer, too. Progressive acceleration is the trick!
I had a brand new Tuscan. If I drove it the same as my Chimaera, on the same roads/conditions it would tend to get out of shape, whereas Chims never did. I put it down to a manufacturing fault with that particular car. It demonstrated the self same characteristic as you described (alarmingly with road wheels pointing straight!!)
Looking at the this post (especially the classified link)....
http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
.... just as well you didn't dent it or the past owner who seems to have put a bit of time into it may have been a little dismayed.
http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
.... just as well you didn't dent it or the past owner who seems to have put a bit of time into it may have been a little dismayed.
Just had the car at Torque RVT the rear left shocker is buggered - leaking fluid.
I'm sure this contributed to the moment i had at the weekend - that and my heavy right foot. Think i am going to replace them with Gaz Golds all round. Got a price of 750 plus VAT, fitted with full geometry. Or 700 inc vat and geometry if i fit them myself. Does that sound about right? cheers
I'm sure this contributed to the moment i had at the weekend - that and my heavy right foot. Think i am going to replace them with Gaz Golds all round. Got a price of 750 plus VAT, fitted with full geometry. Or 700 inc vat and geometry if i fit them myself. Does that sound about right? cheers
I bought my Gaz Golds a few months ago and the costs were.....
Shocks: £599 (inc Vat)
Fitting: Fitted myself so 6 hours of my time, skinned knuckles and a tremendous sense of achievement.
Geo: £75 inc VAT
Total: £674
If you fit them yourself then your quoted costs will be about the same as mine. £180 seems OK to fit them as I believe it is 3-4 hours labour, so really a case of pay your money take your choice......
Shocks: £599 (inc Vat)
Fitting: Fitted myself so 6 hours of my time, skinned knuckles and a tremendous sense of achievement.
Geo: £75 inc VAT
Total: £674
If you fit them yourself then your quoted costs will be about the same as mine. £180 seems OK to fit them as I believe it is 3-4 hours labour, so really a case of pay your money take your choice......
Edited by Moulder on Wednesday 16th April 11:35
Its not uncommon to find cars with rear toe out one side and toe in the other.
This can make for interesting traction differences between the two drive wheels in the wet.
I would normally sugest geometry as a first point of call but if you have a leaky shock,then you need to get advice and Ian can steer you right. .
This can make for interesting traction differences between the two drive wheels in the wet.
I would normally sugest geometry as a first point of call but if you have a leaky shock,then you need to get advice and Ian can steer you right. .
John
The main reason for buying mine was I was fed up with RS4's, Evo's, etc driving away from me at high motorway speeds when I had to back off because it was too bumpy and the car was all over the shop. The Gaz Golds have definitely cured this and it now feels much more planted/stable on motorways and fast A-roads.
Where I haven't found a big improvement is on the pitted streets of your average town. They are certainly better than standard but I have found not by much, however with 18 inch wheels and tyres like elastic bands they are never going to iron out everything.
I drove a BMW Z4 over the same streets and that was almost as bad. If that had worse(?) shocks and more tyre to soak up the bumps then the Gaz's probably are doing well to get close.
Would I buy another set? Yes. To me it was worth £700 (inc fiting and geo) to get the car "right" without breaking the 1k mark for Nitrons. As far as I am aware the only other game in town at this price are the Racing Reds which weren't out when I bought the Gaz's
The main reason for buying mine was I was fed up with RS4's, Evo's, etc driving away from me at high motorway speeds when I had to back off because it was too bumpy and the car was all over the shop. The Gaz Golds have definitely cured this and it now feels much more planted/stable on motorways and fast A-roads.
Where I haven't found a big improvement is on the pitted streets of your average town. They are certainly better than standard but I have found not by much, however with 18 inch wheels and tyres like elastic bands they are never going to iron out everything.
I drove a BMW Z4 over the same streets and that was almost as bad. If that had worse(?) shocks and more tyre to soak up the bumps then the Gaz's probably are doing well to get close.
Would I buy another set? Yes. To me it was worth £700 (inc fiting and geo) to get the car "right" without breaking the 1k mark for Nitrons. As far as I am aware the only other game in town at this price are the Racing Reds which weren't out when I bought the Gaz's
I believe the consensus of opinion is.....
Road use and occasional track days- Gaz Golds
Road use and maybe a few more track days (on a budget) - Racing Reds
Road use and track days - Nitrons, other high end shocks
A search in the forums will get you the details on each, though as Racing Red's have just come out there isn't much information or experiences about them. What ever you buy check how often or if they need to be refurbished.
The likley truth is that for 99% of the time it wouldn't matter.
Road use and occasional track days- Gaz Golds
Road use and maybe a few more track days (on a budget) - Racing Reds
Road use and track days - Nitrons, other high end shocks
A search in the forums will get you the details on each, though as Racing Red's have just come out there isn't much information or experiences about them. What ever you buy check how often or if they need to be refurbished.
The likley truth is that for 99% of the time it wouldn't matter.
I'd also add the new Bilsteins + Eibachs to that list, for fast road use. Not adjustable, but top quality and transformed my drive for a titch less cash than the Gaz's ... which does leave me wondering about the latter!
Edited by earlyriser on Thursday 17th April 10:49
Edited by earlyriser on Thursday 17th April 10:49
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