Car Has Little Grip/doesn't Seem Planted

[JamesE 5]

Hi, just bought a 1.6 J reg which looks standard but it doesn't seem to handle right. I had an Mi16 about 12 years ago and remembered the handling to be a lot better compared to my run around ( an Ibiza Cupra).

 

There is a lot of vibration at speed through the wheel which I presume means the tracking needs doing, can that really affect the handling? Car is on 1.6 alloys with proper 60 profile tires - although they are Avon ZV3s which on googling don't appear to be that good although almost new.

 

New damper/springs are on my gradual wish list, the rear wheels appear to be sat wrongly in the wheel arches as I can get one finger in the rear gap at one side, but not in the other. Could the car have been lowered?

 

Cheers in advance.

[dandanger 12]

sounds like the rear beam will need replacing... common problem on these things

[pugmarshall 4 1 Cars]

Tyre pressures? Nothings gonna feel too planted on 60 walls either!

 

Check all the bushes and bearings etc

[Cameron 16]

What? 60 profile are the standard 1.6 tyres!

[JamesE 5]

Mmmm dont think it's pressures as the feeling is a lot worse than that

[Tom Fenton 1,540]

Where to start...

 

Well I suppose the first thing to say is that you are by no means alone and that the majority of otherwise standard cars are often very much like yours- vague, not confidence inspiring, even nervous.

 

The main culprit of this is simply worn out/tired suspension and steering components which basically rob the 205 GTI of all its legendary road manners that many of the road testers when the car was new raved about.

 

Dampers as you mention are a very good idea, typically the cars are very often on the original dampers front and rear, with even the youngest now 20 years old then you cannot expect them to be as good as they were.

 

However before that I would advise that the rest of the car needs a thorough going over - steering rack, track rods, track rod ends, wishbones, bushes, wheel bearings, top mounts, anti roll bar drop links and bushes at the front of the car; at the rear then the rear beam is a common problem these days and there are lots of other topics on the forum that cover what is required.

 

Once that is done then new dampers will really set it off, however do not be tempted to fall into the common trap of going too hard if it is a road car- some of the nicest cars I have driven recently have had new OE spec dampers, and hold the road exceptionally well.

[JamesE 5]

Cheers Tom, do you fancy a few Beer tokens to give it the once over

[pugmarshall 4 1 Cars]

What? 60 profile are the standard 1.6 tyres!

 

I know! Haha

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

Also, once you have been over the steering & suspension components as suggested by Tom, have the steering geometry / tracking checked by a decent place who knows what they are doing.

 

It doesn't take much wrong on these settings to make the car feels nasty & unstable.

 

Are the tyres all the same size? It wouldn't be unknown for 1.6 alloys to have a differentg size on from the 309 SRDT (175/65-14 iirc), although this should be picked up at an mot, especially if they are on the same axle.

 

g

[kyepan 291]

And really do check the tyre pressures, it can make a massive difference

[JamesE 5]

And really do check the tyre pressures, it can make a massive difference

 

More so than on other cars? Played around with pressures on my Ibiza for 6 years, but seems to be dependant on the make of tire!

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

Tyre make & pressures can make a surprising amount of difference to how the car feels if they are mixed on the same axle, less so front to back but if they are well above or below the recommended pressure for the car it will be noticeable.

 

g