MX-3 grips the road TOO well

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Leedeth
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MX-3 grips the road TOO well

Post by Leedeth »

Boy have I got a story for you guys.

This early morning was beautiful. Clear skies, full moon. 3:00am. So I decided to go out for a drive, enjoy the night and the car. Throughout the trip I see at most 10 cars on the road. This city really does sleep at night, which is the best time for a drive. I didn't go in the downtown core though, it was out in the countryside.

Yes, I did push the car, but I didn't go past my limits, or the car's before. I pushed it a bit far this one time. The limit was 60km/h and I took this long sweeping left corner at 100km/h. Car took it fine, but I wanted to know the limit so I turned in sharply at points. Tires didn't squeak but I could hear it was near its limit because I could kind of feel it losing grip and hear it sliding across the road. Then near the exit I turned in REALLY sharp. Damn, took it fine. But I overcompensated on the turn out. Car swerves to the right. HOLY quit. The steering actually turns to the right a bit by itself. I compensate to the left, but this time it doesn't swerve so bad, so I recompensate to the right again and I'm straight. I think I might have hit the gas a bit to help keep the tail from swinging around, since this is a FF, but I'm not sure I did that. Looking back I'd say the weight transfer was the culprit, and a HUGE one at that. Jesus. This MX holds the road so damn well that it could spin itself out.

Just to be clear, the tires never squealed or squeaked during the whole time. They do have plenty of tread left. So I'm thinking that they actually held traction the whole time.

I'm NEVER going to push it that close to the limits again, except on a track or such. That scared the quit out of me.


On the way back something broke...I'll post this in the Parts and Problems section: http://www.standardshift.com/forum/view ... p?p=143719
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VTECaddict
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Post by VTECaddict »

huh? if it grips the road really well nothing would be sliding/swinging/swerving at all.
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Post by eaglecatcher »

VTECaddict wrote:huh? if it grips the road really well nothing would be sliding/swinging/swerving at all.
thats what I was gonna say.

my car on the other hand, it can't stay on the road to save its life.
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Leedeth
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Post by Leedeth »

Well...I dunno. The steering was so light that it actually tugged pretty hard to the right when the weight transfered to the left.

I didn't hear the tires screeching, but I guess I was at such a high speed that it's harder to hear it. Maybe my tail swung out a bit after all.

I took a corner at a lower speed today, at about 45km/h, and the tires did screech indeed.
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Post by Johnf514 »

Sounds like the car lost traction for a split second, then found traction faster than what you're used to. Crazy, eh? :)

Glad you're alright. Sometimes we have to push things to the edge to see where they stand.
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Post by GarySheehan »

Tall treaded non-performance street tires can generate very large slip angles without squealing the tires. Also, some tires are so crappy and hard that they will not squeal when they slide.

I strongly recommend you explore the limits of your car and your capabilities at lower speeds in a safe environment, like autocross. It will cost you $30 for a day of thrashing your car on an autocross track.
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Post by eaglecatcher »

GarySheehan wrote:Tall treaded non-performance street tires can generate very large slip angles without squealing the tires. Also, some tires are so crappy and hard that they will not squeal when they slide.
oh, I know tons about hard compound, low grip, tall treaded, non performance street tires that don't squeal when they slide. I can do donuts, and my tires don't squeal at all.
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Post by hockeystyx16 »

my tires dont squeal, and have amazing traction. yesterday was the 1st time i got even close to the limit, when i took a racing line thru a 90* right turn at a intersection on the way to school at 730 at night

got over the train tracks, theres about a 100 feet til the intersection. green light, nobody next to me. i jump over into the left lane and gun it. hit the turn entry at about 40 and take a wide curve coming all the way from the left lane to within feet of the inside curb and back out to the left lane. it was pretty sweet. when i was turning, i could feel the left front wheel chattering a little.

that was pretty sweet tho, i will definitely do that again next time i go to class at night. its kinda risky concidering theres a cop station a block down the street i turned onto, but what kind of boringass lives would we live if we never took risks

then when i was in class it started raining. i was pissed cuz i couldnt drive my way, had to derate everything for the wet road. instead of taking the hihgway onramp going 50, i took it going a very grannyline 35, then as i was about to get on the highway, dropped it in 2nd and gunned it. wheelhop. my car never wheelhopped that bad. mazda mounts are pure sh1t, and the wheelhop scared me, cuz thats how the tranny cases crack in our already weak trannies.

now when im putting in my duals, im definitely filling the mounts with polyurethane or something to make them much stiffer.

damn i love this car
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Post by Prodigal Son »

hockeystyx16 wrote: but what kind of boringass lives would we live if we never took risks
Long ones. With no jail time.
Just some guy on the Internet. Heed with care.
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Post by dshPls »

Prodigal Son wrote:
hockeystyx16 wrote: but what kind of boringass lives would we live if we never took risks
Long ones. With no jail time.
I bet you were home-schooled.
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Post by GarySheehan »

dshPls wrote:
Prodigal Son wrote:
hockeystyx16 wrote: but what kind of boringass lives would we live if we never took risks
Long ones. With no jail time.
I bet you were home-schooled.
I bet you're still IN school.
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Post by eaglecatcher »

GarySheehan wrote:
dshPls wrote:
Prodigal Son wrote: Long ones. With no jail time.
I bet you were home-schooled.
I bet you're still IN school.
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Post by eaglecatcher »

paul34 wrote:That's something. I don't know what the limits of my car are. Granted, I do take some 30 MPH on ramps at 60 MPH, but those are large radius, banked ramps. There are forces, but its not crazy, even at such speeds. The sway bar keeps me pretty flat - meanwhile, I'll see a SUV nearly rolling over taking the same ramp at 40 MPH.

I've tried a few fast turns, even to the point of intermittently squealing my OEM Yokohamas "S32A"(I don't know how good they are; I assume not that great, but at least better than the death rubber that used to come stock on tCs before - Bridgestone Potenzas), but I still feel like the car controls me instead of the other way around.

When I make that "crazy" turn I feel like I'm barely in control of the vehicle... as in, I'm fighting to stay on the pedals and hanging onto the wheel rather than being able to concentrate 100% on control.

I'm thinking that maybe I should start autocross - I really want to get rid of this feeling I've had since I started driving - that the car rules me and not the other way around.

Plus I have to do something about the whole "flying out of my seat" feeling when turning. I think I just need to get used to the stronger forces.
autocross is great for teaching you about your car.

its fun as hell too.
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Post by DocPHD »

Prodigal Son wrote:
hockeystyx16 wrote: but what kind of boringass lives would we live if we never took risks
Long ones. With no jail time.
oh, jail time builds charactor. :lol: j/k
GM CEO wrote: What is a Camaro? it's a small ferocious animal that eats Mustangs
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Post by eaglecatcher »

DocPHD wrote:
Prodigal Son wrote:
hockeystyx16 wrote: but what kind of boringass lives would we live if we never took risks
Long ones. With no jail time.
oh, jail time builds charactor. :lol: j/k
so does digging holes.

lol
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