[Guest]

I've had my Evo 6 GSR for 10 months now, and whilst I love most aspects of the car, I'm not happy with the handling of the car when driving on wet roads. The level of feedback the car gives leaves a lot to be desired, and it seems almost impossible to tell how much grip there is left. It's difficult to describe, but basically the car feels skittish in the wet, and like it's cornering on tip-toes.

Does anyone know what I mean? Are there any mods I could make to fix this? Or maybe new tyres? (The car is still on its original Bridgestone S-01's).

TIA

Gary.

 

[Guest]

i know what you mean about wet weather handeling .
but i also know what your problem is , you have already guessed it it is your tyres ,
when i had the so-1s on i did not like the feel in the wet ,my so-1s only lasted 6months i then replaced them with s0-3s which i personally like (lots of others dont seam to )i have a lot more confidence in them in the wet and the feed back is better.
also worth getting all the alighnment cheaked/set at the same time to make use of your new tyres

 

[Guest]

I've only had my car seven weeks from new and it's about a month now since I made the descion that my SO-1's would have to go because of exactly what you describe Weland (and I've got a TME which is supposed to have better feel then a GSR anyway apparently - change them tyres asap, winter is coming!)

Still not too sure what to go for though, I would like to hear some serious feedback from people with either Yoko's or Toyo's fitted.

 

[Guest]

Cookie

You might find that Yokos are good but don't last too long - a bit soft.

 

[Guest]

Agree with you all about the so1's ability in the wet.As for steering feel or feedback thats easy it hasn't got much get used to it.

 

[Guest]

teri,

is there no end to your tallents? now your a tyre rep...cool

 

[Guest]

Gary...not wishing to teach you to suck eggs, but if you haven't already done so take the car on a few wet track/airfield days and that skittish feel you describe in the wet will give you a different appreciation of the cars handling characteristics. You will find that beyond tip toe is an amazing amount of grip and poise before anything drastic occurs.

Whilst the SO1s have less grip than SO2s or similar, they do allow you to exploit the EVOs trick diff set up and balanced chassis at a lower speed, which means with experience it is quite easy and safe to drive the car sideways on the road or track, something that the car was designed for and what a lot of us nuts crave for!

If you are after surefooted handling, gripper wet weather tyres will push the performance envelope further before you reach the limit of the cars handling capability, but it will still feel tiptoe once you get there. For the majority it seems the SO2 or similar gives them the wet driving confidence they need, but believe me the EVO is only just starting to live when the wheels are starting to slide and whats more its incredibly safe and easy to control with practice.

The EVO VI is the only car that I've never spun (except at MIRAs wet handling facility where spinning is the order of the day).

Steve

 

[Guest]

Original Post:
Cookie

You might find that Yokos are good but don't last too long - a bit soft.

Yeah I was wondering about this too. How many miles on average could I expect you reckon? I only do about 8000 miles a year so would be happy to get just twelve months out of them (and as I understand it the fronts wear a lot quicker then the rears so maybe I could swap them front-to-back after a few months to maximise wear)

BTW, you still happy with your induction kit? I still havn't done anything about replacing the standard kit on mine - still really not too sure which way to go.

Ady

 

[Guest]

Wow, thanks for all the responses! If anyone has some specific tyre recommendations, I'd be grateful to hear them. I've heard that S02's are good with huge levels of grip, but Toyo Proxies provide a more progressive breakaway. Anyone care to comment?

Steve - I've taken the car to Bruntingthorpe, to do some limit handling, where fortunately it was wet (or else I think it would have destroyed the tyres). I do know what you mean about the amazing level of grip and poise before it slides. I did manage to spin the car several times though - mainly experimenting with lift-off oversteer, which I found it punishes quite quickly on the limit. The trouble is, it's difficult to carry out such experiements on the road with any degree of safety. I don't pretend to be anything special when it comes to driving, and the feel of the car at lower speeds in the wet certainly does not inspire the necessary confidence.

Gary.

 

[Guest]

I'm about to put toyo RA1 on the car. This will be the 5th set of tyres I've fitted. Will post results on my page.

Andrew

 

[Guest]

Weland

I have been reading this thread with interest. I have a 7 GSR which has all sorts of electrical tricks to keep the car on the road so I don't know how similar the handling in the wet is. However, I believe that in the wet not a lot beats the S02's. The breakaway is very progressive and easily controlled. I found the S02's to be good on other cars as well.

I was a bit suprised by your post so I wonder if it is more than tyres. I presume that after 10 months you have removed your lead driving boots but have you checked the geometry. This could make a difference .

However, there will always be some compromise between dry and wet handling and it depends what you are after. Tyres in particular are that compromise and for some on the forum, the S02's aren't up to the high speed driving they do in the dry. However, their choice of tyre would be even worse in the wet. For those who the car is a second car or weekend only. For every day use you need an all round tyre such as the S02's but these are getting in short supply now and the S03's are not in the same class.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, you can't get the S02 anymore and people seem divided on the S03. Basically the question mark on the S03 is that it doesn;t feel well planted at high speed.

I have just replaced all my S01 due to a puncture. After much investigation I decided on S02 only to find you couldn't get them. So in the end went for the Yokohama AVS sport due to mixed feedback on S03 and have always been pleased with yoko's in the past. So far I'm impressed with the Yoko's as they are quiet, grip well in the dry and are well planted at high speed, grip in the wet isn't brilliant but they slide progressively (which the S01 don't IMO). Dunno how long they will last as the tread depth is not massive and they seem quite soft.

 

[Guest]

Maybe all we can hope for now that the S02's are gone is a tyre that is progressive and predictable in the wet rather than all of that and high levels of grip. I would go for progressive and predictable and lower grip rather than higher grip and no feel and sudden breakaway.