Help me out y'all. I have a brand new, broken-in 2005 Enthusiast that I've began to push hard on curvy, cresty roads near me. The grip on the Bridgestone is not stellar, I know that. But, what I'm worried about is that handling is squirelly at the limits of grip, especially with direction changes. Is this from the OEM tires (or being 50 series tires) or sway bars or suspension? I suspect that its a combination of the three but I want to have the most bang per buck fix since I just spent a few hundred bucks on a JDM badge, kevlar weave bra and POP Charger. Input appreciated.

happy motoring,
Greg

 

Portland? Hell, you have to get together with the small group of us that meets every couple weeks!

Sounds like all of the above. I'd suspect that the tires are the main culprit.

 

I tried sways still push at low speed but not as hard - perfect for tracking. tried fronts to rear and vice versa (happy camper) - most bang for the buck. Just don jerk your steering wheel when going more than 60 mph, go easy. Dont try this if you plan to go tracking - tail too happy.

 

Going from the OEM tire to a tire such as the Eagle F1 will make a big difference in straight line stability, how the car responds to minor steering corrections, and how the car reacts to small defects in the road surface. Whether you consider those differences as “better” is a judgment call.

I guess that the major difference between my new and old tires (OEM) is that I now relax when driving in the rain. The OEM tires were downright scary.

 

Scary, you mean it didn't breakaway progressively? I have noticed that. What tires are you using now?

 

the car is set up to understeer alot from the factory. it kinda depends what you want with the car, and how you plan to drive it. if your overdriving the car into the corners and not being smooth with it, it will feel scary and uncontrolled. however, since i'm a drifter, the car can very easily be provoked into oversteer if thats what you want, just with driving style.

short answer is you can try to change the car by changing parts on it, or you can drive it differently. go do some drivers edge track days with nasa, or go play at your local autox. beware that autoxs don't really teach you much finesse and car handling, but can be a great entry into the world of performance driving located in your hometown.

be smooth with your inputs and enjoy the car. its great in stock form, and since it has a very sporty setup stock, you will not find huge amounts of grip and performance from simple bolt on cheap parts. if you must, try a set of light weight 17x10s all the way around with some 255s on them. the same size tires all the way around will help make the car feel more neutral.