Rep Power: 338

ok i took my car out today... and it didnt feel right... it had a lot of understeer and the steering felt really loose... no i didnt check the tire pressure, or anything else... but when im turning, it seems liek the rear was gonna just skid and i wasnt turn that fast but it just felt wrong

now im guessing a few things
low tire pressure
sway bars are messed up
shocks are shot
steering is misaligned
tires are worn (altho they tires were just purchased in november)


now im running on:
15" steelies with toyo ultra 800's (touring)
neuspeed sport springs, with stock shocks (front ones are new)
generic strut tower bars

altho i have a bad rear camber, and a slight front camber... it didnt affect the handling so far

 
Rep Power: 412

Well first, the sway bars shouldn't be messed up unless you didn't tighten the bolts enough. If your shocks are shot, then you would know. You would have leaking coming from and a really bouncy ride. Your tires should still have thread, but see what the tire pressure is and fix it if need be. I don't think that is the problem. My first plan of action would be to get camber kits for front and rear and then get it aligned! SEe how that works first.

 
Rep Power: 380

High levels of camber will actually help cornering grip. In autocross its not unknown to see cars with 2-3 degrees of negitive camber. If your front tire pressure is too low, you will get excessive understeer. Low pressure is only good for drag. Check the end links for bends/cracks on your anti-roll bars. as far as tires being worn, most tires make there best traction just befor they go bald. Tred is only good for dirt and wet traction, When its dry out your better off without it. the shocks could be shot, check them for leaks. How is your driveing technieque? that is as important as any part when it comes to handling. If you are to abrupt you can seriously upset the cars handling balance. How bout the road conditions? wet, dry, Ice? what you may be feeling is the natural balance of the car (or inbalance) When I autocross I can get the tail to slide in long sweepers, its a wierd feeling almost unnatural. Were you braking durring the turns? if you were DON'T! brake in a straight line then make your turn, you'll have that much more traction availible for the turn. rather then splitting your traction between brakin and turning at the same time. Good luck

 
Rep Power: 412

yeah listen to him!

 
Rep Power: 338

well i usually never brake during turns... i usually have my foot on the gas... but ill check the tire pressure

 
Rep Power: 380

that could also be part of the problem. Power induced understeer. Front wheel drive cars are nitorious for this. The biggist issue Ive found with our cars is corner exits. I tend to be a little gas happy on the exits and end up spinning wheels and going nowhere. If you try to give it gass to soon, the front tire that is under load will get very little power(Outside tire), where the tire that is not underload will most likly brake free and spin(Inside tire). when this happens you have even less traction on your nose for turning, and thus understeer. and you also have a lower conrner exit speed. This is some thing I need to work on my self for the next autocross.
Some thing I cant stress enough is TIRE PRESSURE!!! this is probably the most underlooked part of perfomance handling. +-1LB of pressure on the track can cost you a lot of time. On the street it dosn't matter a whole bunch, unless you are constantly pussing your car. Just make both front tires have the same pressure, I run 32LBs on the front and 30 on the rear when on the street. When I race its 44lbs up front and 32 at the back. this is with 205/40R17's
For the street, just use the recomended pressure locaded in the door sill of your car. I run a little harder pressure up front because I love corners.