Wheelspin?

[GI]

ello,

Ever since I bought my V8S I've wondered about wheelspin. Yes I've had it sideways at 10mph on a greasy road, which has scared the giblets out of me, and just prior to putting it into a flood I was alternately aquaplaning and fishtailing at 30mph on a road awash with water. I've even had it sideways literally all the way up a hill in the snow, with my own mini rooster tail of the white stuff out the back pelting a Ford Galaxy.

However, the car has never had wheelspin in the dry from a standing start... or while trundling along for that matter. I can launch as hard as I like it seems and the wheels don't break traction.

I read somewhere else that the S has superb grip; is this an S community boastful myth, or do these cars really have more grip than power? Does it sound like my car is down on average power maybe?

I haven't sought to get wheelspin cos I can't afford the tyres for one thing - just noticed that it never happens in dry weather. In the wet I'm too much of a sissy to explore whether I get wheelspin. I like hedges to be outside my car.

I've read about the Pod day but it seems those V8s were modified and weren't on a normal road.

Any comments?

[honourablepickle]

you really haven't been trying have you ?
the s has dinky little 205 tyres and a medium size v8 engine - there is an abundance of power for wheelspin
find an empty car park
put the car in 1st whith the clutch dipped
bring the revs up to 5k
dump the clutch and boot the throttle
if the wheels don't light up take it to a garage cos it's bust !

if the car park is big enough try driving around in 2nd gear - as you make a tight turn , again boot the throttle the limited slip diff should light up both tyres and you can practice drifting around with the wheels spinning

make sure you have lots of space !
try to keep the revs steady between 4 and 5 k not banging off the rev limiter

have fun
reb

[DarkMatter]

honourablepickle said:

put the car in 1st whith the clutch dipped bring the revs up to 5k dump the clutch and boot the throttle

I tried something like that years ago with a Hillman Imp - it sheared the bolts which attach the driveshaft couplings

I also tried it in a GT6 - it shattered the 1st/2nd gear synchro hub

[GreenV8S]

The S does have very good traction, but it should be able to spin the wheels easily in first gear if you engage the clutch harshly. Not that you should normally *aim* to spin the wheels, but if the clutch isn't transmitting enough torque to spin the wheels from a standing start, that is probably a sign that the clutch is on the way out.

[honourablepickle]

Darkmatter - your tales of woe are exactly why the british car industry went down the toilet - parts designed and made to the bare minimum - happily for us, small scale makers like TVR tend to over spec components so the more childish of us can give their toys some abuse without them exploding into a million bits - hooray
reb

[GI]

It's not that I aim to wheelspin or really wish to, though I couple of times I've taken advantage of a clear wet car park to just get it a little bit sideways with tentative boots of the throttle in first or second. And I'm somewhat wary about dumping the clutch so severely; DarkMatter (Hi Andrew!) shows it's not going to do me car much good.

The point is that I assumed that from experiencing traction loss in the wet a number of times (which I can understand) the car shows very little wish to lose any traction on a dry road.

I'm not a physicist and don't understand quite how much a wet road reduces grip but I'd have thought that a car than can easily spin its wheels on a wet road would more easily do so when it's dry. But even flooring the car in first and second while inching along raises the bonnet but not a trail of smoke. I do have relatively newish tyres on it though (Feb 2005 - S03 PPs)

[GreenV8S]

GI said:

I'm not a physicist and don't understand quite how much a wet road reduces grip but I'd have thought that a car than can easily spin its wheels on a wet road would more easily do so when it's dry.

Do you want to have another think about that bit?

[GI]

Heh - no I don't mean that the car should spin its wheels more easily on a dry road than a wet one.

I mean, if it spins its wheels very easily on the wet, I thought it would be easier than it seems to be to do the same in the dry.

[GreenV8S]

You're right. If you give it plenty of welly and are brutal with the clutch you should have no trouble inducing wheel spin in first gear regardless of the conditions. It it won't spin the wheels in the dry regardless of what you do, it may be that the clutch is on the way out. However, you mentioned some tests you'd done with a rolling start (just opening the throttle as far as I could tell) and that doesn't use as much traction and is far less likely to induce wheel spin; I'm not particularly surprised if you can do that without wheelspin in the dry.

[GI]

I never really floor the throttle 100% cos I've one eye on the longevity of my throttle cable, being that I never got round to fitting a pedal stop. But I've definitely given it beans a few times and the car has just surged forward. I have done this from a standstill as might be imagined. I mentioned the slow roll to show that it wasn't just down to me not dropping the clutch fast enough.

It's difficult for me to describe what my clutch feels like - I don't really feel any slipping if that's what you mean about being on the way out. It has a narrow biting point... i.e. raising the clutch slowly will not move the car much but then at a certain point OFF WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[honourablepickle]

spinning up the wheels on the throttle once moving takes a lot more power than the clutch dumping method
my car won't break the tyres away from a rolling start unless the surface is very poor
i've just been out and tried it in the dry - tyres light up no problem from a standstill even feeding not dumping the clutch as long as you boot the throttle
once underway at even walking pace in first i couldn't get the tyres to break away in a straight line
perhaps your clutch is fine -(or mine is knackered as well - but i think not)
reb

[keithyboy]

honourablepickle said:

. . . bring the revs up to 5k dump the clutch and boot the throttle

Shouldn't need as much as 5k revs and if you go around dumping the clutch at those revs regularly you do risk weakening drive shafts etc. As has been said - get off road or in a quiet road somewhere and just practice you starts. Finding the clutch biting point and letting go from there is a real art - you should've gone to the Pod - those V8S were modded but standard performance on the V8S is perfectly adequate. I think your excuse about not flooring it to save stretching the throttle cable is laughable btw - I have a OE spare cable if you want to make me an offer!

>> Edited by keithyboy on Wednesday 12th April 10:59

[GI]

I mean I have no pedal stop so jamming the pedal as far as it can go is going to stretch and weaken the cable.

[GreenV8S]

Yes it is, I think a throttle stop is a very worthwhile addition (and very easy DIY). Even with a throttle stop, it will still much throttle cables if the cable routing or pedal height are wrong.

[S2 Giles]

Keep a spare cable in the boot & enjoy the knowledge of not limiting performance.

Wheelspin is easily attained without dumping the clutch, but as for rolling breakaway, i get what i would call scrubbing & fighting for grip in 1st....almost lighting up but not quite

[GI]

At £60 a time for a throttle cable, I won't be seeking to break them

I have one in the boot as a spare though.