NC +LSD stepping out badly on damp roads

NC +LSD stepping out badly on damp roads

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hobobaggins

Original Poster:

131 posts

107 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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Question for other NC/MK3 owners, on the 2.0 sport with an LSD, does the LSD make it worse at stepping out on corners, I'm not talking Toyko drift here, simply going along on a nice country lane and there's a bit of moisture and suddenly it's one of those 6 wheel jerks of correction moments? I wondered how this compares to the non LSD equipped cars, are they actually more stable in those conditions? Same question for heavily cambered corners, I always find the car wants to start coming around under any power. GEO etc is all factory with 4x4 ride height, tires are yokos. I'm assuming that ride height isn't the problem here and that tire choice would be the next thing to redo, or have people noticed massive grip changes with just height?
Cheers

Charlie Michael

2,753 posts

191 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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I assume you're driving with the DSC turned off?

I don't find mine steps out (in the dry) unless I make it, in the wet I have to be careful that mine doesn't want to go for a wander when pressing on, but normally I can feel it go before it does, so I wouldn't say that it's snappy.

Mine is running 4 x 4 mode as well. So could be tyres or geo potentially?

SmilerFTM

832 posts

157 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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Where abouts in the country do you live? You need your alignment checking but by a good mx-5 indie garage, North East AK Automotive. North West Blink Motorsports and others further south.

Edited by SmilerFTM on Friday 5th February 20:51

hobobaggins

Original Poster:

131 posts

107 months

Friday 5th February 2016
quotequote all
Charlie Michael said:
I assume you're driving with the DSC turned off?
No this is with DSC on, and the DSC doesn't seem to counter sideways action, I only see it if I'm trying to come off the line hard.
Just wondering as I've always found mine twitchy and somewhat unforgiving in the damp or wet even with gentle throttle and whilst it's always easy to recover I'm not sure if it should act like the general Lee. I've also considered putting 215's on the back just to have a bit more contact patch and don't mind the money if it makes it more stable. So that also raises the questions, do people ever just upgrade the rears to 215 or should I do the whole car? and secondly is GEO worth doing before or after 215's so I don't pay twice for the same work.

I'm south central / south east area btw. ps. I'm not the only driver the car also gets used by mrs HB.

cheers!

SmilerFTM

832 posts

157 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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Skuzzle near Winchester might be worth getting in touch with. Also have you checked your tyre depth and are they all the same tyres in each corner?

hobobaggins

Original Poster:

131 posts

107 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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SmilerFTM said:
Skuzzle near Winchester might be worth getting in touch with. Also have you checked your tyre depth and are they all the same tyres in each corner?
I'll give them a call and discuss the options cheers. Yeh the tyres are all new at the moment, yokos all round. I've had the car 3 years and it was just as bad if not worse on the factory Bridgestones. I'll ring Skuzzle today if they're open and try book it in for some work.

thanks

MX-5 Lazza

7,954 posts

226 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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This sounds like a classic case of being out of alignment. Don't waste your money on wider tyres - mine has 240bhp and is fine on 195 width tyres. Just get the alignment sorted and it'll be fine. If it's never been done since it was new I can guarantee it will be well out. They are usually out direct from the showroom!

p.s. Skuzzle can't sort alignment. I'd recommend Wheels In Motion. it's a little bit of a trek but their work is second to none.

Gandahar

9,600 posts

135 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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Lets get the basics right first rather than geo or other crap

What tyres have you got on the back, how old and how much tread depth ?


SmilerFTM

832 posts

157 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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MX-5 Lazza said:
This sounds like a classic case of being out of alignment. Don't waste your money on wider tyres - mine has 240bhp and is fine on 195 width tyres. Just get the alignment sorted and it'll be fine. If it's never been done since it was new I can guarantee it will be well out. They are usually out direct from the showroom!

p.s. Skuzzle can't sort alignment. I'd recommend Wheels In Motion. it's a little bit of a trek but their work is second to none.
I was wondering if Skuzzle did it. I knew they were close to where he was so thought they could at least point him in the right direction. Wheels in motion do a really good fast road setting by all accounts.

hobobaggins

Original Poster:

131 posts

107 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
quotequote all
hi guys cheers for the advice i'll give wheels in motion a call as well.

The car has had alignment work done by Mazda previously as the steering wheel was never perfectly aligned so about a year ago they had the car back for a quick fix. Tires atm are Yokohama with near perfect tread, but this car has done this also on the factory spec Bridgestones 030s? which I found to be quite a poor match for the car even in the dry. I will invest in the basic alignment first as suggested. Cheers!




SmilerFTM

832 posts

157 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Mazda's own alignment tolerances are pretty rubbish from what I've heard, it needs to be done by a good indie

elephantstone

2,176 posts

164 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Gandahar said:
Lets get the basics right first rather than geo or other crap

What tyres have you got on the back, how old and how much tread depth ?
To put geo in with "other crap" is a bit ridiculous.. That is the first thing i have got done on any MX5 i have bought...

hornetrider

63,161 posts

212 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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If it's never had a geo it will need one. Mine was very twitchy out of the box (bought the car brand new) but took it to WIM for a fast road geo and it came out utterly planted.

sbird

325 posts

185 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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I've had 2 Mk3s, and run a few different brands/patterns of tyres. I agree with the other posters comments - the geometry (of both the front and back) makes a massive difference.


hobobaggins

Original Poster:

131 posts

107 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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hi guys, spoke to WIM today and they didn't seem surprised based on stock ride height plus 3 years of pot holes and a dealership alignment. Sounds common on the mk3 so it will be going to them asap to be setup how they see fit. The chap did mention that the mk3 has a dodgy setup from the factory and that mazda sort of set it back to that but it's not great to start with, so I will let them have a play and perhaps tweak a few things to make it more what I want.

I’ll come back with an update once the work has been done in the next week or two, thanks for the advice guys.


HorneyMX5

5,431 posts

157 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
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WIM are good but expensive. If you're close-ish to Southampton I recommend the Wheel Alignment Centre (http://www.wheelalignmentcentresouthampton.co.uk/) down by the docks. £50 or less for a full 4 wheel set up. Ask for Skuzzle's fast road settings. We use this guy to set up all our race and road cars.

sandys

210 posts

253 months

Friday 12th February 2016
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Just being Yokohamas doesn't mean they are actually any good of course, which Yokos are they? as they do a full range from budget to high performance.

I had terrible trouble with the tyres my car came on, very unpredictable, switched out to PS3 and the car was great, lots of notice, when they were worn I went for cheaper Bridgestone RE002 these were great in the dry but it would snap out in the wet again.

Now those are worn I have put Dunlop Sport Blue response on and these are very progressive in the wet, plenty of notice.

(I'm running 16s so tyre choice is quite limited)

Edited by sandys on Friday 12th February 13:21