High Speed Cornering

[altezzaz]

Has anyone else noticed how much the car floats through high speed rough corners? I've had the car for about a month and thought that it's a good comfortable car, but it doesn't inspire confidence the way my old 306 did.

Any ideas what the best way to fix it is?

[Rodders_UK]

One of the keys to safe fast cornering in a RWD is to keep the power on through the turn and accelerate as you leave the turn - prolly needs a bit more planning ahead than a FWD. When you accelerate / brake, you're moving the centre of gravity around and that affects the handling.

Try entering a corner artifically slow and booting it hard as you leave the apex - you'll see what I mean.:bounce:

[Monster-Mat]

but do not brake entering the corner hard......the back end will over take you...:o

keep power on..........power out

[Steve]

i dont have to worry.. my Lexi is front wheel drive

[vic]

Yep, I know what you mean mate...the car does feel a bit like it's slipping out but that is just due to what the others are saying....bit of practice & youll be flying through the bends also remember that youve got traction control too that will look after you! But for more confidence go for the anti-roll bars & lowering springs....just had mine done & the ride feels firmer & bumpier, but it now feels like the cars on rails:smilegrin:

[Rodders_UK]

Originally posted by superchargedIS200

but do not brake entering the corner hard......the back end will over take you...:o

keep power on..........power out

Yup - do all your braking with the steering as straight as possible - this moves the centre of gravity to the front of the car so that when you start to steer you've got extra weight over the front wheels. Do most of your steering at a constant speed to keep the weight there and then hit the gas hard as you start to straighten up again.

Big bit of advice - try to get your speed right before you enter a corner - if you bottle it and let off the gas during the bend you shift the weight back towards the rear of the car - which means that the wheels doing the steering lose traction, and chances are you'll lose it.

Good reason to join Gold and come on our track day!! - you can practice all you want without worrying about ditching it or hitting a tree!!:bounce:

[altezzaz]

Thanks guys, but I think you do the 306 a dis-service - you back off mid corner in one of them and it'll bite just as hard as a rwd.

The feeling I was trying to describe is when you're pushing on on a rough road the tyres seem to skip about - I was wondering about fitting new dampers or new anti roll bars to try to tighten it up. Seems a shame though 'cos the ride's great everywhere else.

I agree with the 'promoting safe driving' but you should be allowed to have a little fun now and again....

[ricky_is200]

Altezzaz,

Where you at Lexus Woodford on saturday? There was a Altezza the same as yours parked outside when I went to pick my car up.

[altezzaz]

Yup, that was me...

[ricky_is200]

I was going to hello and ask about the car but you looked busy looking over proper is200's!

[altezzaz]

Cheek!! ;)

Iwas trying to get them to suss out my stereo - they were busy telling me that my wiring loom is different... I think that's just a story as both cars come out of the same factory.

Perfectly happy with mine, thanks.

[altezzaz]

...after all I couldn't afford your fuel bills

:lol:

[rob200]

hey this is a lexus club not a toyota club :D

i dunno if this'll help with your stereo (is300.net post) - according to the RS200Z bloke - the stereo could be very different...

[Edited on 11-6-2002 by rob200]

[Monster-Mat]

the stereo is very different,the IS200/300 uses an active system with a seperate amp,the Altezza uses a stereo with the amp built in....its weedy and needs a band expander to pick up UK frquencies...

the wireing looms are totally different for the hifi,the is200 one is uin 3 parts

[altezzaz]

Strangely for a car sold as a Toyota it doesn't actually badge up as one - the grille and rump only have "Altezza" on them - just as well as "Altezza RS200 Z Edition" would take up the width of the boot...

Windows, keys and so on have got Toyota on, though.

So, seeing as noone's volunteered info on the dampers, anyone got any idea what to do about the stereo?:sniff:

[UltraViolet]

I actually agree with you that the Pug is a great handling little car - it has a really good chassis and is very controllable on the limit - I used to have one and could with great regularity get it to lift one wheel when heavy cornering on my favourite twisty back road.

As for snapping when lifting off mid corner - this trait isn't actually one to aspire to and isn't what people love about RWD (except gooners).....

I have 1 FWD car and 2 RWD (though one of them is also mid-engined so MR is more acurate) anyway.... I am not certain but your lack of confidence in the car's cornering could stem from what struck me very quickly on getting the car - the steering is VERY over-assisted. It almost feels as though the tyres are over inflated. It means you get very little feedback, and a somewhat floaty feel when pressing on, but once you get used to it, the car is actually more capable than it feels.

I love Jap cars, but over assisted steering is something they do a lot.

[altezzaz]

... if replacing them will stop the car floating so much through lumpy corners.

Having said that I've changed the way I drive - drop another gear and floor it through and I don't get the problem at all - does get entertaining in the wet, though;)

[lewispv]

Originally posted by ricky_is200

Altezzaz,

Where you at Lexus Woodford on saturday? There was a Altezza the same as yours parked outside when I went to pick my car up.

So many of us at Lexus Woodford over the weekend, I just swapped my IS200 for an IS300 - what a totally different car !!

[javadude]

:bounce:

[Ezzer]

I have a 306 Cabrio..... I love it loads to and hoon it around a lot.....

What had been said I totally agreee....... its the over-sensitive steering. The pug has one of the best steering in the business IMO. It's very very well weighted and gives lots of decent feedback and its sharp to the point so makes it very confident inspiring.

I got the same feeling when I first gave the IS a 'go' through fast corners, and it was quite unnerving through the bumpy stuff. But get used to it.... and you'll start feeling the decent feedaback that it gives and you'll start appreciating the limits of the car. It does have 215/45 17s very good tyres afterall.

I have just noticed though that in the Pug, I rely a lot more on the feedback I get from the helm.... and in the IS, I rely more on the seat of the pants feedback! interesting.

Also..... does anyone notice this: When accelrating from say 60mph all the way to 80-100mph, going through a corner (say on the motorway passing a de-restriction zone) in 6th.... the steering is very light and way over-sensitive.... something to do with the power steering not loading up due to low and slow build up in revs? It's not a good feeling.

[javadude]

Mine was very light on the steering especially at speed. Found that if I dropped it to 5th accelerated hard then when I put it back into 6th the act of taking my hand off the steering wheel to change up almost wobbled me off the road. It's fine now that I've had the wheel alignment sorted out though.