Brown pants moments.

[Judderi]

Thanks for all your replies and suggestions. I dont slide when braking just when keeping a steady speed round a round about. I have a few things to try and resolve the issue.

1. Move the big heavy 50 Litre LPG tank from the side of the boot to dead centre (was gonna do this anyway to make way for stereo)

2. Install Polly bushes on rear suspension to match the front.

3. Run the front coil overs a little stiffer than the rear.

P.S Tyres are brand new and have good pressure. Also the mk2 is an amazing handling car! In the dry anyway!

[roverspeed]

i would have though it better to run a FWD car with all 4 wheels the same width, as VW intended. I can't see the advantage of running wheels 2 inches wider at the back(unless on a RWD car). Surely this is gonna upset handling somewhat. What tires are you running on it?

[Judderi]

I would of liked at the wheels to be the same size but i could only find a set of Design 90's where the rears were wider. If anybody wants to do me a swap of 2 wheels so that we both end up with a matching set then i would be more than happy to oblidge.

[ANDY597]

I am new to the VW scene as I have always been into minis before. I have a GTi 8v which is absolutely fantastic and handles on rails even in the wet.  It is a standard set up with 195/50/15's allround. Good ones.

However, I have built, customised and drived minis that would out accelerate my Golf Gti 8v, but the scary moments on the roudabouts always remain the same.

Golden rule, slow in - fast out.    If your lifting off anywhere on the corner then you can kiss that tail feather goodbuy in any front wheel drive car.

See how your car handles on a roudabout or a steep bend in the dry in perfect conditions.  If its still doing it then you have a problem.

You have to consider that your trying to force a car with well over 100bhp hard out of a soaking wet circle. Its like running down the street when its snowing.

Cheers and Beers
A

[mix]

it could have been the positioning of your lpg tank, as it isn't exactly a lightweight piece of kit........would mess up the centre of gravity a bit and shift it further towards the back......which isn't where vw expected it to be

[rubjonny]

You'll prob need to adjust the rear brake pressure reg if you havent already, loosen it and adjust so the slack is just taken out of the spring with a 'normal' weight in the boot

[S11EPS]

It has nothing to do with the braking bais - listen to what the guy is telling you

I dont slide when braking just when keeping a steady speed round a round about

This is clearly a suspension/weigh transfer issue.

I would certainly look at relocating your LPG tank so the weight is cetralised to the centre of the boot, rather than to one side or the other, as this will have an effect when the tyres load-up during cornering.

I would not suggest having an huge differnce in damper settings front to rear, as this is usually done to make a car handle at extremes. You desire a 'neutral' chassis, so front to rear settings should be within 10-15% of one another; I certainly would not suggest that you make the front of the car signifcantly stiffer than the rear, as this will have the opposite effect to that you wish to achieve (minimising oversteer) as it will actually give you a 'loose' rear-end (fnnaaar fnnnaaarr).

[rubjonny]

Yes I know that, I have read through the whole thread.  I didn't say 'the bias valve is causing the problem'

He'll still need to adjust the bias valve if it hasn't been done, to take into account the extra weight in the boot. 

Edit: Actually thinking about it, probably the valve should be left alone as it will be increasing braking force at the back as it should be to take into account the extra weight!  The weight is still there after all...

[roverspeed]

ah i get the wheel width difference, they are off a porche 944 or something yeah?

My 1.6 driver on standard sus is really really neutral, to be honest it was wet tonight and i was using a little bit of handbrake on mini roundabouts to add to the fun, very controllable, my rover had about the same amount of lateral grip, but let go very differently, front end would start to edge out first, then lift off would bring her back in, if let off to quickly, back end loses traction very suddenly, find it much more progressive in the golf and the back tends to go first, unless u really push the nose in too fast. Looking forward to seeing what difference the coilovers are gonna make to it. Have fun changing the set up to get it right, looking forward to some of my own brown pants action 

[Judderi]

Thanks for all the suggestions. This weekend i adjusted the bias valve although i dont think this is causing the problem as im never braking when the back end slides out. Still wont harm having it set up correctly to match the height and weight of the car.

I attempted to move the LPG tank but hit a bit of a brick wall when i could not find the cut of valve on the tank, and it was full (50 litres) so was bloody heavy too. I will wait till the fuel scare is over and run it dry before trying to move it again. As for my suspension set up, is it worth me stiffening the damping on the rear shockers a little leaving the fronts a bit looser? I might also see what its like with the rear strut brace removed.

Just gotta wait for rain then. Just to clarify, the car handles amazingly in the dry! I get comments from loads of people about how well it handles, i even scare some of them, it seems to defy the laws of physics!