Horrific Oversteer!?

[epts2008]

Right lately Ive been experiencing horrific over steer in my leon not sure if its my setup but if I list handling effective mods perhaps someone could help me.
Lowered 35mm on standard shocks
17x7j alloys
goodyear eagle f1 assy's on the front
dunlop sp9 sport runflats on the back
other than this everything else is standard

Ive found I can go round a roundabout quick or a bend and if I hold the revs up through the bend its alright but if I lift off in the bend the back end just comes out and obviously when braking round a bend (something I rarely do as it unbalances car) it comes out far worse.

any help would be excellent

 

[m0rk]

erm.... runflats?

Stiffer sidewall than a proper tyre, hence your handling imbalance.

Chuck them asap, it's dangerous

 

[S3 Nattie]

Probably because your front tyres have more grip than the rears, so the rear will tends to let go first and will come out very easy them.

Could try swapping the tyres round see if you can feel any difference.

 

[epts2008]

I did Have my doubts about the runflats they do make the rear end feel very tight as theres hardly any movement in the sidewall so less flex but like you say I think they loose grip all of a sudden then its gone. Ill chuck a couple of f1 assy's on the back tomorow and report back to you
thanks for the speedy advice guys much appriciated

 

[TubbyTwo]

as already said with runflats you will loose the progressive feel from the tyres, instead of slowly letting you know when you are pushing it, they will jsut grip then snap into oversteer.

Great fun on the track, not so much fun on the road.

 

[Steely]

lift off oversteer? ever driven a 306 gti6 passive rear torsion beam causes this

whats the condition of the rear sus bushes? worn will make the rear axle act like this and overly flex kicking the arse end out unexpected

 

[epts2008]

I've put a pair of eagle f1 assy's on the back now replacing the runflats so am now running f1 assy's all round it does feel better but it feels alot different aswell like the progressive feel you talk about. Will take a look at axle bushes tomorow though have heard they are a pig to change but if it comes to it I will have to do them
cheers again

 

[jenk]

Your causing the rear to step out with lifting off and braking, enter the corner slower and exit quicker. Lift off over steer can be fun if you mean it

 

[epts2008]

yeh i know it can be fun at times but when ur not wanting to kick the arse out its a pain!! but yeh only thing with entering slow and exit fast is I have a 1.4 so fast exits dont happen more like exit slow enter fast

 

[gulzar]

what your experiencing is lift of oversteer, this happens when you come off the gas and the weight of the car transfers to the front giving more front grip and lightening the back wheels hence less load and less grip.secret is not to come of the gas too suddenly, instead of coming of quickly come off smoothly and control the back end with your right foot(gas pedal). if done well it means you can actually corner better and come out a bit quicker out of the bend.

second thing is braking mid bend harshly is very dangerous. lateral forces on the car result in unsettling effect. if you have ebd(electronic brake distribution) the car can help stop it getting pear shaped but there are limits.try getting most of your braking done as much as possible in a straight line, helps keep car behaving more predictably. as a person gets better and better they can progressively learn to brake deaper and deaper into a corner but as before the car does have limits.

leons generally have i slight oversteery attitude, gives them character ;-).just my two pence worth. im still learning.

 

[volvic]

as no one has mentioned, you shouldn't be mixing normal tyres with run flats on a car. i personally wouldn't even change all the tyres to run flats as manufacturers have tweaked the car to run on run flats..

 

[Gordz]

I had something similar with my old ibiza. But I only had this problem when on original 14's, I moved up to 17's and the problem was no more, and then went down to 15's just before I sold it and there was still no problem.

So maybe it could be down the alloys you have???

 

[mjt]

If you're going to use runflats then you need 4!
Although why you'd have them on a Leon, let alone a 1.4, I'm not so sure.

 

[turbin]

leons generally have i slight oversteery attitude

nah.

 

[gulzar]

nah.

yeah they do if u use the gas pedal with vigor. also granted the runflats wont be helpin, less flex so snap effect.

 

[turbin]

yeah they do if u use the gas pedal with vigor. also granted the runflats wont be helpin, less flex so snap effect.

nah. Leons understeer heavily out of the box.

 

[gulzar]

nah. Leons understeer heavily out of the box.

if thats what you think then dont think theres any point in discussing further, ive driven a fair few hot hatches and can confirm what ive said. dont no how your driving is so cant comment on what you think matey. however if yours is understeery then who knows. ive driven 3 different ones, all similar in behaviour when driven right.

 

[turbin]

if thats what you think then dont think theres any point in discussing further, ive driven a fair few hot hatches and can confirm what ive said. dont no how your driving is so cant comment on what you think matey. however if yours is understeery then who knows. ive driven 3 different ones, all similar in behaviour when driven right.

you know all cars are generally understeered out of the box. Safety feature. FWD cars are extra extra understeered. Try to drive a RWD car and youll know how to drive a car through a corner using your right foot and minimal steering input and then drive your Leon. Youll see

 

[Willie]

Even most RWD cars understeer, as Turbin said, this is how cars leave the factory and help them be a safer drive for the general population on the road.

Not everyone can handle an oversteery car.

100% the MK4 Golf platform is an understeery one.

To get this into oversteer you need a S3 front upper strutt brace and a 28mm rear ARB set on either stiff or medium.

Its possible to get oversteer out of any car if provoked, doesn't mean its naturally oversteery

 

[traumapat]

what your experiencing is lift of oversteer, this happens when you come off the gas and the weight of the car transfers to the front giving more front grip and lightening the back wheels hence less load and less grip.secret is not to come of the gas too suddenly, instead of coming of quickly come off smoothly and control the back end with your right foot(gas pedal). if done well it means you can actually corner better and come out a bit quicker out of the bend.

second thing is braking mid bend harshly is very dangerous. lateral forces on the car result in unsettling effect. if you have ebd(electronic brake distribution) the car can help stop it getting pear shaped but there are limits.try getting most of your braking done as much as possible in a straight line, helps keep car behaving more predictably. as a person gets better and better they can progressively learn to brake deaper and deaper into a corner but as before the car does have limits.

leons generally have i slight oversteery attitude, gives them character ;-).just my two pence worth. im still learning.

Agree up to the last point. Out of the box drive around a roundabout and the front goes a long time before the back gets troubled. Its set up at the factory to understeer for safety.
Fitting a rear ARB can improve this
But you can still get lift off oversteer with effort.