Wheel spin

[rudi]

Hi guys!

Wonder if anyone's got any SIMPLE ideas on how to stop the front wheels spinning when pulling away! it seems to spin almost everytime i pull away at more than a crawl ! Would fatter (wider) wheels help.... don't want to lower it as that will bump my insurance up and also have a pregnant misses who finds it hard enough getting in and out of the SR as it is.. oh yeah.... my mota's a 1.3 SR with no mods.. so it's not like it's a supercar or anything! Any ideas would be greatly appeciated....

One other thing... has anyone ever changed the Steering Column Gator themselves ( the thing that holds the oil round the steering column)??? how hard is it and is there any good guides apart from the one in Haynes

[brian]

you're on about the steering rack????? :?

[carltoncrazy]

unless ya got some werid gear box ratios,
think ya just need to clam down a bit,my lass used to do that in her sr,
or ya culd just pull away in 2nd,not as fast but wont spin

[Doc]

New tyres on both front sides. Even better, new wider tyres on both front sides, that will sort your problem out. :wink:

[rudi]

Thanx Doc!

I thought that wider wheels might help, obviously the more grip the less chance of spinning! Do i need to buy new wheels or can you just put wider tyres on the standard rims? Any idea where i can get CHEAP ones? and how much are they?....

Thanks

Rudi

[carltoncrazy]

just take em off a cav or sumthing bit bigger but wider(im asuming ya still got steel wheels).
and if there off a mk2 cav then ya can put ya 13" hubs back on

[rob.slader]

Cheap tyres will give you poor grip, expecially re-maufactured tyres, so avoid this if you can. Also if your suspension has gone soft you will get poor grip on the road.

[Stuart]

you must be revving the tits off it then if your always getting wheel slip.

as was said before CALM DOWN

[rudi]

I understand when i'm pulling away hard and dropping the clutch it's gonna wheel spin, and in the dry, that's the only time it does it... but in the wet it's a fuckin' nightmare! I was pulling away from a traffic light controlled roundabout yesterday, and had my misses in the car who's 8 and a half months pregnant, and it wheel span just pulling away norally .. rev's were at about 2000 = 2500 somewhere. In the wet i'm havig to drive like an old granny to stop it wheel spinning! I'll try getting some cav wheel with decent tyres on them, hopefully that will make a diiff....

How can you tell is your suspension has gone soft??

Thanks

Rudi

[Doc]

I think SR standard tyre size is 175/60/14. I dont know how much u know about wheels and tyres but i'll give u some basics. 175 refers to the tyres width in mm, so its 175mm wide. 60 refers to the tyres radius in mm, ie the distance from your metal rim to the outer edge of your tyre, and 14 refers to the width of your metal rim in inches i think, so 14 inch wide.
Now i think you can fit a slightly wider tyre to your existing rim ie, go from 175/60/14 to 185/60/14. This will be the simplest option for you, just buy a pair of new tyres of half decent make eg michelin/goodyear etc and get them fitted by the tyre place. A pair of new tyres in that size go for around ?40-?50 round my way. If you want to stop wheel spin, dont buy remoulds, part worns or cheapo new tyres. It wont solve your problem and you will need to replace them more frequently. Hope this helps :wink:

[rudi]

Thanks mate... yeah that does help.. always wondered what those tyre stats meant!

[saleen]

Sorry to be pedantic but the "60" in the 175/60 14 is the aspect ratio of the tyre, not a measurement in mm. in this example it means 60% of the tyre width (60% of 175mm) which is 105mm. as Doc said this is the measurement from wheel rim to outside of tyre.

When getting new wheels u want to b aware of how much ur overall wheel diameter will change, since this will affect ur speedo.
if u can't be arsed to calculate yourself here's a link to a page that does it for ya:

http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresize.html

[Fester]

what technique are you using to start off with?

if you rev her up and then suddently take your foot off the clutch youll get wheelspin, i assume this is what youre doing hence revving so high. dont be so harsh with the clutch but on the flip side down burn it ou by holding it on the clutch either

a good thing u can do which is what i got taught in my first driving lesson :) u can set off without using the accelerator at all. just sit there and utilise the clutch - this will give u a much better idea of whats involved

assume also this is happening when youre not racing i.e. with the pregnant missus in there, so just give it some practise in a quite area without the accelerator

fester

[carltoncrazy]

he is right i do think it has mrore to do with ya driving style,
as i said b4 CALM DOWN.
no ones impressed by someone reving up at light,they just thing ya a pr***.
thats good advice,i taught myself to drive after riding bikes and anyone who has taught themselfs has learnt that pulling away on the idle is alot easyer,saves petrol,clutch and puts less stress on the engine+box+diff.
my SR brakes are F*** they rub badly,and i can do 15 on the idle in1st(idel about 700rpm)and it pulls away from lights without a problem.on the idel,
not being rude but maybe you need to get rid of the boy racer thoughts in ya head.and 2000-2500 is more than enough to pullaway,thats motorway revs,(im asuming we all stick to 70hehehehhehehe)
the other thing i can think of(tho i think its you drivin honestly),is do you have alot in the boot?
reason i ask was i remeber towing a car back,so my rear end was low down,hence front high up,so it couldnt get tractions,
i surpoz following on from that is to get some cheap GTE front springs just to lower the front a bit.
just a thought but my next door can drive my SR and he`s 14,without wheel spinning,
think you need some self control on the clutch.
unless ya aint had the car long and ya getting used to it,
but id just try other ways of driving before you spend money

[Ben (lurk75)]

I used to suffer like mad in my GSi when i first got it, and then it went away thinking back this happened at the same time i had it lowered so prob was my suspension

[CP]

I can't really see how from what you have said you are getting wheel spin that you can't easily avoid. You must be letting the clutch off sharpish and burying the throttle. Get and experienced driver to have a go in it in the wet and then see - it might be just your technique?

As rgds the steering problem, there is no oil held in by a gaitor around the steering column. The column is the bit from your steering wheel down through the floor just above the brake and clutch pedals - the indicator stalks etc are located on it. There are rubber gaitors on the steering rack that runs across the back of the engine bay behind the engine. This has grease in it. To replace these you have to disconnect the track rods which are attached by ball joints to the hubs. Its not a particularly easy thing to do esp. as you should get the tracking checked and sorted after doing it. Since it has safety implications I would get an experienced professional to sort it.

[carltoncrazy]

rudi if ya live near milton keynes il meet ya some where and let ya drive my sr and il try yours.because i really cant see how else you have this problem unless its ya driving(no afence)

[ade]

ref checking if suspension is gone (fronts) simply put car on level ground, puch hard down on one corner of your wing with your body weight and let go, the car should go down up and then settle level. If its gone, it will go down, up down up and settle (or a few more downs and ups) - this means the shock has gone and its bouncing on the spring.

If the spring has gone - e.g broken, you'll probably hear it when you go over a bump rattle about - have a look in yer wheel arch, you can see the spring - feel if it is loose.

Tyres - kwick fit will give you a good range from reasonabbly cheap to dead expensive. Prices include valves, balancing, fitting and vat too

Good luck with the baby m8! any idea what its gonna be? :D

[Ben (lurk75)]

a human hopefully!

Ade you are obviously loaded, there is no way i could afford to buy tyres from kwik fit! they wanted ?65 for a 195/45/15 falken and i got em for ?38 at another place!

[Alex]

if you go to kwik fit you may as well go to the queen. She will also do a better job!!!

[rudi]

Hi!

Thanks for all your help etc... i think it is a bit of both to be honest, like i said .. in the dry when it wheels spins it's because i'm burning off some xr2 or summit :twisted: , but it's a bitch in the wet even when pulling away fairly gently..... wider wheels would be better all round i think as it would improve the grip on the road and look shit loads better as well...

Thanks as always geezas!!

Oh, and yes... i did only pass 3 weeks ago so i have done all that pulling away without using the throttle stuff!

Gimme a car with traction control anyday !!

Cheerio! 8)

[Fester]

traction inthe wet would be worse with wider tyres, as pressure = force/area youre putting the same force over a bigger area hence less pressure. if you think about it on an extreme level the studded tyres on ice racers take this principle out to the full - all the cars weight on the stud forces it into the ice.

i still reckon u should just be a bit more gentle with it :P

[benji]

check your tyre pressures ain't too high