s3 power oversteer?

[nky_84]

All this talk of S3's understeering all day long made me want to have a wee go at a few roundabouts (sweeping bends are a bit ambitious for now...). Had my S3 just over a month and theres been no rain for ages so couldnt really do any safe trails in the dry as too much grip equals too much speed which equals if it all goes wrong, and the possiblity of :busted_cop:.

I was out in the car with a mate yesterday when it was ******* it down, so off went the ESP as i was approaching a small roundabout, on exit applied the power mid bend an the rear flew out as the 4wd kicked in, it was a slightly brown staining experience to say the least as i just wasnt expecting it at all. Mainly due to all the understeering threads on here. Once i had it in my brain the car CAN oversteer i could have a little fun with it and swing the tail out an hold it for a few secs

So a word of warning to people who think their S3 will always understeer, it might just catch you out one day. To anyone else who experiences a bit of rear end action , get some action stories/pics/vids up!!

 

[campbell]

what tyres are you running ? are they low tread? i try and push mine and it just sticks and understeers, i had it whip out when it slightly rains for a second or two-good fun eh

 

[nky_84]

I think they are called "Fulda's", came with the car, swapped the fronts to the back when i first got it, so there is a little less tread on the rears but not much and a few thousand miles left in them. Also changed the tyre pressures to 35F/38R

 

[Aky]

I haven't been able to powerslide mine, tried several times. Even tried a donut in a field on Saturday and couldn't get it to do that either. Only time I've had the back end out was in the snow.

 

[nky_84]

check the youtube section

 

[Aky]

check the youtube section

I must try harder. What surface you on? Looks like you've probably put some nice scratches down your car!

 

[jojo]

It's not impossible to get the S3 to slide, just not predictable enough, as you don't know when the S3 will send the power to the back wheels when needed... try and take a corner with a bit of rear end slide and try it again after you have turned your car around... bet it doesn't do the same of what you ask of the car lol.

 

[nky_84]

fine gravel, had a go on some grass before that which kinda worked once you get it going. Car is scratch free, thank ****

 

[scib4]

Only ever had mine power oversteer on snow and ice, even on a dry track you have no chance. Not even lift off oversteer unless you upset the balance first.

The only sniff you have on a wet road is maybe booting it in 1st gear on a very tight corner. 2nd, 3rd gear more power = more understeer

 

[scib4]

try and take a corner with a bit of rear end slide and try it again after you have turned your car around...

Whats rear end slide? Lift of oversteer, which is nothing to do with power.

 

[jojo]

Whats rear end slide? Lift of oversteer.

Should have been more clear, power oversteer like they do in Scooby's and Evo's.

 

[Starry]

i can get mine **** out in the wet, but i have got the heldix replaced with a better split. but as already said it is a little unpredictable. i have come from an m3 and that was a peace of cake and very predictable. rear wheels to drive, front to steer:thumbsup:

 

[Dave B]

Ive had the **** end out at about a ton 3 up and recently had much fun in the carparks at badminton horse trials doing doughnuts and slides?

its all in the mind and the commitment!!!!!

 

[242spot]

Mine used to overstreer all the time under power in the bends.
Just recently put goodyear f1's on though. A completely different beast now.
Your crap tyres are the reason why its oversteering.
Put some good tyres on you will be twice as fast in the bends..... (admittedly not as much fun though)

 

[nky_84]

Mine used to overstreer all the time under power in the bends.
Just recently put goodyear f1's on though. A completely different beast now.
Your crap tyres are the reason why its oversteering.
Put some good tyres on you will be twice as fast in the bends..... (admittedly not as much fun though)

Run that one by me again. Surely if the fronts are as crap as the rears then it makes no difference, the loss of grip will just occur at lower speeds?
IMO F1's are very over rated and have appeal cause of the snazzy tread pattern. Michelin tyres are by far the best i have come across and if you want stupid amounts of grip give a set of yoko A048 or toyo R88's a go.

 

[242spot]

Yeah your right you would think that but its really not the case
I had cheap tyres the same kind on all four wheels same tread depth, used to overstreer at any chance it had.
Now with the goodyears it doesn't do it anymore ..... under the same conditions it power slides all four instead of starting from the rear.
Just speaking the truth thats the way it was and is now. Cheap tyres make way more difference than you would think.

 

[mordz]

Mine stepped out about a month after i got it, i was doing 35-40 and took a sharp bend and the back end stepped out then the front followed it - went sidewase for maybe 2 seconds and then gaind traction again (it had been raining) thank chuff for leather wipe down seats

this could all be because my tyers came free in a box of golden grahams.

 

[Dave_Bayern]

Tyres make a MASSIVE difference, I dont know why there are so many doubting Thomas's here???

They are the only point of contact between your car and the road, and the average area of grip is approximately the size of the palm of your hand, per wheel.

If you have cack tyres, different things happen because of the way the tyres react under pressure.

nky_84 mentioned they had the same tyres on front and rear so that couldnt possibly mean it was tyres - not so, as the pressure on the front wheels is vastly different to that on the rear, theres a whole engine over the front two wheels.

Goodyear Eagle GSD3 and Toyo T1-R are not hype and a fancy pattern, they are excellent tyres. There are others as good, but those two are the most popular. The Toyo is the most popular Subaru tyre too, for good reason.

 

[ChriS3]

When my last set of Parada's were at the end of their life I could get the back end out on a wet roundabout. Most of the time its a four-wheel powerslide, but with an emphasis on understeering. It's a violent thing to do to the car, and not exactly predictable (even with the haldex upgrade). It's not an option with the Potenza S03s, nor when the Parada's were new.