Torque steer - Handling issues with 18" wheels

[deon_attard]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum. *I've got a BA Astina.

The reason for this post, I've got a set of 18" ANZ Mags on my car with Toyo Proxies tyres. *The car suffers from torque steer where by the car wants to pull all over the road when under hard acceleration.

Has anyone else experienced this? *I've got the complete whiteline suspension kit in the car, bushes, all the sway bars, front and rear strut braces, koni adjustables. *I'm running the standard springs as I don't want to lower the car for clearance reasons. *Up here in north queensland the roads are pretty poor.

I took the car back to the place I bought the wheels from and they've recommended running 28 psi in them. *Handling suffers a little bit, but ride is smoother and torque steer isn't as bad but is certainly still there. *At such a low preasure I'm sure the tyres won't last too long as well.

I'm thinking of getting rid of the 18's and going for something smaller. *Are the guys running with 17's having the same problem? *Particularly interested to hear from the turbo guys as I'm pretty certain that I'll do the gtx conversion in the next 12 months.

Would appreciate any feedback that I can get.

Regards,


Deon.[/colorost_uid0]

[bRaDiNhO]

[color=#FF0000ost_uid0]Welcome Deon.

You've got a front-driver: its always going to torque steer. However, I've never really noticed it too badly in my car ('90 SP).... never thought the 1.8l had enough power to be that bad. ??? Smaller wheels means less width, thus less road contact and grip = more wheelspin. Certainly not the effect you are looking for. That tyre pressure is quite low.... i run mine at 38psi which was recommended by a couple of people i talked to.

How bad is the torque steering? Only when you rip it hard out of a full lock turn or on most corners? Can't help much more sorry.

~Brad~[/colorost_uid0]

[BigMal]

[color=#000000ost_uid1]Don't run 28 pounds in the tyres with 18" rims. Only run
40-42 they have to be hard. I posted in another string
the wheel alignment setting I got from my last whiteline
alignment recomend those. Even with turbo I don't get
that much torque steer unless its a **** road or I am
boosting around a corner etc. If you cant find that post
let me know and I will find the alignment sheet again.
You problem does sound to be an alignment one.

Regards

Mal
p.s how do you find the rear strut brace Its on my list
to do soon.[/colorost_uid1]

[deon_attard]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Hi Guys,

The torque steer is bad enough to create an element of uncertainty particularly on rough road. *Most of the roads here are rough. *I was running the tyres around 38 psi and found it just so harsh when you hit any sort of a bump, like you could feel it through the dash and everything. *The lower preasure feels alot more comfortable.

On a rough road doing a redline change into second I've had it rip the wheel out of my hands, pretty scarey stuff. *Generally its not that bad, but you've got to be 100% focused to keep it straight which just takes the fun out of it. I should probably add that on a smooth road, I don't have the problem - it feels beautiful and handles almost as well as my gokart!

If I lived down in Sydney I'm sure there would be no problems at all as the roads are much better.

Alignment wise I'm running the setup recommended by whiteline, its not the same as their article - but one they said to use. *I had the problem with the standard alignment before I went to their settings so don't believe the problem is in that area.

Anyone want to buy / trade a set of mags? *I'd like to post some pictures of my car but can't work out how to do it?

Finally for Mal, the strut braces have made a really noticable difference. *I put the rear one on first and straight away had more grip, I felt that the front one made the biggest difference though. *The car handles unreal with the suspension and tyre configuration, but soon as you hit some rough road its terrible. *I'm pretty much ready to go for some smaller rims :-(

Deon[/colorost_uid0]

[BigBoyLemonade]

[color=#006666ost_uid14]yeah mine has bad torque steer but only with the turbo.. How low is it? I think that is the case... mine was fine when it was only 2" low

send your photos to lantis@astinagt.com[/colorost_uid14]

[Rupewrecht]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]I'm running 17's but never encountered that much torque steer...well not much more than pre-turbocharged ::[/colorost_uid0]

[TURBO MAZDA]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Have you adjusted your konis ????[/colorost_uid0]

[deon_attard]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]Adjusted to match the spring rate of the standard springs when they were installed.

It does sound cool though!! :-)[/colorost_uid0]