K1 - handling issue

[Invisible]

I am afraid mate if you want better handling you WILL need to change the suspension setup.

Other than that its a decent set of tyres and a 4-wheel alignment.

My K1 (cuas it has crappy tyre on front from previous owner) will spin in gear 1 through to 3 and give me the flashing dashboard light.

I can understand your frustration, whilst not being a lotus, you would expect a little more as 'standard' from a hot hatch

 

[freenfast]

I am afraid mate if you want better handling you WILL need to change the suspension setup.

Other than that its a decent set of tyres and a 4-wheel alignment.

My K1 (cuas it has crappy tyre on front from previous owner) will spin in gear 1 through to 3 and give me the flashing dashboard light.

I can understand your frustration, whilst not being a lotus, you would expect a little more as 'standard' from a hot hatch

Its not that i want better handling i wanted to undertstand how the ESP would react in different circumstances and whether in fact it was working at all!!

However i must say i am disappointed and that i agree that i "would expect a little more as 'standard' from a hot hatch"

It just does not feel as planted as my Escort Turbo or Peugot 306 Gti-6 of yest-a-year...

 

[Ruddmeister]

Its not that i want better handling i wanted to undertstand how the ESP would react in different circumstances and whether in fact it was working at all!!

However i must say i am disappointed and that i agree that i "would expect a little more as 'standard' from a hot hatch"

It just does not feel as planted as my Escort Turbo or Peugot 306 Gti-6 of yest-a-year...

Is it worth finding a dealer with a Cupra Demo car (or even second hand one on the forecourt) and seeing if you can get a test drive (unsupervised) and compare the two??

 

[warren_cox]

However i must say i am disappointed and that i agree that i "would expect a little more as 'standard' from a hot hatch"

It just does not feel as planted as my Escort Turbo or Peugot 306 Gti-6 of yest-a-year...

I often feel like this, but then stop to remember that these cars weight about 300-400kgs more than their 'old skool' counterparts, and in the main they are higher too with plenty of randomly dispersed crash protection/luxuries offsetting the balance of the cars. Every hatchback today is nearly a class size up on yesteryear.

Where I do agree, and it's an area where BMW retain some honours, is the state of disconnect the driver has from whats going on beneath him/her. AVG cars have been over servoed, and had any feel engineered out of them. You have almost limitless grip, but then the transition from 'grip' to 'no grip' is the blink of an eye. Not progressive like a Mk2 Golf for instance.

I find the Haldex system quite useful for handling the excess of power in the S3 (although not to everyones taste), and for Leon drivers they have to be far more skilled at their craft than I do in application of power if they want to get the maximum benefit from their cars. Turbo cars deliver a much more torquey power delivery which means unlike the normally aspirated 'old skoolers' you have to be far more considerate of throttle application. A few choice and well selected modifications will resolve some of the issues you are facing up to a point (including some decent tyres).

 

[saintelise]

Fella - I too came from an S2 Elise to a Mk 2 Cupra - most cars feel 'dead' after driving a 'liz for 4 1/2 years.

I can't say I'm too upset at the way the Cupra drives - I don't push it hard enough to get traction lights etc flashing.

I did the driving experince day at Hethel with the Lotus Sport guys - learnt a lot that day that helped me on track days and road.

 

[freenfast]

Is it worth finding a dealer with a Cupra Demo car (or even second hand one on the forecourt) and seeing if you can get a test drive (unsupervised) and compare the two??

This may be an option. I will look into this.