Not Happy with Performance Pack Traction this am

[joe603]

I've had the car a couple of years now and usually I'm happy with how she performs. I've had to replace the rear tires already (9k miles), but the fronts still had tons of tread. It's a 21 with the performance pack...so I expected more traction than a stock GT. Well this morning, turning from a 55mph road, I encountered understeer. She plowed into a corner that normally grips for me. Granted I was going 60ish...just didn't expect that much. Luckily, nothing bad...just 1 tire off the pavement. But it maybe time to replace the fronts. I have OEM up front and Continental DWS Sport on the rear.

Anyway, just wanted to see if understeer was relatively normal for some of you track/spirited drivers for the Performance Pack guys.

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[Dana Pants]

The understeer these cars produce stock is unforgivable.

But also, you goofed.

 

[WildHorse]

The understeer these cars produce stock is unforgivable.

That's driver induced. Let the car do it's thing and it's very predictable & rarely gets into trouble.

 

[Egparson202]

Not enough information. There is a wide range of possibilities: Too much speed, road conditions, tire pressures, throttle-on understeer and more.

 

[Dana Pants]

That's driver induced.

The stock PP1 is a plow machine no matter how you initiate a turn.

 

[Fury_Sauce]

yeah to many variables could contribute to this, especially the driving behaviour, you.

morning drive, did you heat up the tires a bit for optimal grip? what was the outdoor temperatures like? PSI tires ?

at 55mph, you have the 350tq available pretty much immediately, all of it depending on your RPM, if you did this at 55mph, third gear? you are tapping on all that torque at low RPM anyway, which can contribute to this.

 

[joe603]

No, you guys hit it...was going pretty fast, but I expected more grip. She's usually pretty stable and planted. I guess I hit her limit.

 

[EFI]

Anyway, just wanted to see if understeer was relatively normal for some of you track/spirited drivers for the Performance Pack guys.

Yes, tiny tires up front on a front heavy car is going to induce understeer. Most cars nowadays are setup that way from the factory for safety.

 

[KingKona]

If you car came with the Pirelli OEM tires, well......they're shit.

Pirelli starts with steaming piles of rancid dog shit. They leave them to dry in the hot, dry sun and turn white. And then they mold them into tires.

Switch to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S or Conti Sport Contact 02s, all the way around. They're much, much better tires. And you shouldn't have different tires front and rear.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Sure they're set up for a bit of understeer ... like nearly every other popular sports car. They know you guys can't handle it at the limit and understeer is safer than oversteer, because your instinct to slow down won't get you ass-backwards and spinning with understeer like it can with oversteer.

.. but in this case I'm wondering if it wasn't that your front tires are shot. This is why you prefer to replace tires at both ends of the car at the same time... the handling stays predictable.

But anyway, I'd recommend trying some autocross for a while. Learning how the car works at the limits can really save your butt. If you wan to address the mechanical oversteer built into the suspension, there are ways to do that, but it doesn't matter much what you do to the car if you don't go out and get some experience/instruction with how it behaves at the limits. The most important nut in the suspension is the one behind the wheel.

 

[Egparson202]

So in most respects, the car simply performed as designed. In the only way it can, it asked for some combination of reduced demand or increased supply. You can address this with wider, grippier tires/wheels or reduce the demand in corners such as this. But as the engineers hoped, it provided a manageable level of understeer and no lasting damage was accrued.

 

[joe603]

If you car came with the Pirelli OEM tires, well......they're shit.

Pirelli starts with steaming piles of rancid dog shit. They leave them to dry in the hot, dry sun and turn white. And then they mold them into tires.

Switch to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S or Conti Sport Contact 02s, all the way around. They're much, much better tires. And you shouldn't have different tires front and rear.

I know...but at 9k the fronts had like 7mm so tons of tread, and I hated them...so that's why the Conti's on the back. When I do the front (which may be soon now) i'll match.

 

[joe603]

I guess I was just trying to see if understeer was common, even in the performance pack for these cars. Definitely found her limit this morning. Still better than my last tank of a car (2016 SCAT Charger).

 

[KingKona]

I know...but at 9k the fronts had like 7mm so tons of tread, and I hated them...so that's why the Conti's on the back. When I do the front (which may be soon now) i'll match.

But you put A/S tires on the back. If you want sticktion to the road, go back to Max Performance Summer tires, all the way 'round. If you put the Continental DWS Sport on the front, you'll have even more understeer.

 

[Egparson202]

As an alternative, there is also some opportunity for increasing the front grip by increasing the negative camber on the front.

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