I was driving home today and wondering....I am always wondering lol.
I drive my G40 everyday, it is a fairly stock G40 running around 130bhp. Suspension is slightly modificed with an H&R cup kit, G-laderseite anti roll bar blocks and a front lower brace. I've got standard wheels with toyo proxes on.
The last few days/weeks/months its been awful weather as we all know and even in my (compared to some of you) low powered G40 i just can't drive the car quick without fear for my life. The cornering on roundabouts is terrible, you can feel the nose slipping away from you and just generally in the wet its hairy as owt. The other week i had some plum in a renault clio billabong 1.2 or something as shit ha ha and im not kidding on the roundabouts i couldnt get away. I wouldn't class myself as a racing driver but i wouldnt say I'm particularly bad or an unco-ordinated gimp, I've been driving a mk3 polo since i was 17 and I'm 25 now so I like to think I know very well the characteristics of the mk3 and I am well aware of its breaking point in the changing weather conditions. As most will agree a Mk3 polo really teaches you how to drive without all the driver aid bullshite.
So..for those of you running much higher power than me, how do you cope? Do the PPP subframes really make that much of a difference in wet conditions or is there a better tyre for wet conditions? Or anything else for that mater? What can be done to really and dramatically improve the handling of a mk3?
In the dry i find driving it pretty good and responsive but the wet is a whole different ball game. What about you lot? I'm not really going to do anything about it as such from this discussion, I've been well aware of the polos characteristics for years but as the polos have become more and more powerful with new advances in technology and availability of modifications I wondered how people are 'getting the power down!'
My Polo vs the Clio (172) I'd say can put an equal amount of power down- although the polo can corner harder in the dry, it struggles in the wet due to a lack of any front end weight.
Last year at Oulton Park, there was a silver Saab 9000- the thing was rampant in a straight line, but because it was so damp and wet, the Polo couldn't get the power down in the corners, whereas he could. If it was dry I'd be laughing....
I really rate Uniroyal Rainsports for the winter, they're middling to good in the summer, but excellent come winter.
Amusingly two people have now spun behind me on my local morrisons roundabout- not sure if they're trying to race :D
I have ran both Uniroyal rainsports and A539’s in winter and summer. All round I would say the A539’s seem to do the trick and stop me spinning the wheels up while applying power, however in the winter (mainly rainy weather) the rainsports seemed to do the job, giving slightly more confidence round corners.
Since I have fitted the Gaderseite blocks (2 months ago) the handling has improved, but I still think I gave up putting power down about a month or so ago as it just seemed a waste. I am only running just over 140 bhp aswell so nothing powerful.
I would say though Dan when driving my old girlfriends 182 clio cup, I had about as much luck putting power down on that as I do with my G, so I do not think the effects of the weather are only showing in our old timers.
Perfect time to plug your subframe and you still don't :-)
Kind of upsetting when you borrow your mother's reasonably priced car (Suzuki Liana estate) and that's seem to go round a corner more gracefully at speed then the damn polo.
i have this problem too. might have something to do with a heavy right foot. couple of months ago when wet i was doing about 90ish came round a slight bend and the beast just lit the wheels in top gear. scary but fun, when spinning she was reading 130. round a bouts in the wet are a nightmare i must agree.
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Amusingly two people have now spun behind me on my local morrisons roundabout- not sure if they're trying to race Cheesy
haha someone else has done it in the same place as that Lexus we saw?
I just don't generally drive mine in shit conditions if I can help it. But tyres make all the difference. Diff helps a lot too
It;s interesting that a few people have mentioned these rainsport uniroyals. I might give them a look. What exactly does the subframe do that you sell Yoof? How might it help in the wet.
I've just had a set of Uniroyal Rainsports put on the Passat, it's not exactly pushing the limits of grip but they do seem like a good tyre.
The G40 hasn't had a lot of use in the last couple of weeks (that's what the barge is for!) but the diff does seem to have made it easier to get around at pace.
just dont buy "Wan-Li" tyres, I had some on my passat and it was like driving on ice in the wet :) Recently put some part worn federal tyres on and while they're not exactly "performance tyres" they're a hell of an improvement.
subframe does two things: stops the wheel position moving about so you get a better contact area with the road. And the removal of the anti roll bar means theres no piece of springy steel trying to lift the inside wheel off the road around corners.
i had wan-li's ages ago. not safe and they got done by yoko for copying thier tred design, so a lad told me at camskill. i run toyo proxis and find them really good for the money (around £45) but i think i can get hold of them rain sports for not much over £30 so might try them next.
I only tried Uniroyal rainsports as I wanted to try something different other than A539's. Decided to go back to the A539's as I think personally they are better tyres for all round grip.
My housemates G has toyo proxis on, i was driving it for a few weeks last month and they seemed to be quite solid on the road even in the rain. Only issue I saw with them is that they were a little pricey and for my mileage they wear down to quick.
Just throw another 1k at the car, lsd and subframe and im sure with the power you are running dan it will make all the difference, once i get to a position where everything else stops going wrong i may just invest in those 2 items.
i run falcans on mine. think they are a medium tyre as i do about 10 - 15k over six months when the car is on the road. the bugger of a thing still spins in the dry even with toyo's on. once it hits boost wheel spin 1st and 2nd sometimes a bit of 3rd.
Dan you know how I was loving your H&R kit that day.
Go out in a subframed-polo. Same sort of thing. Transforms the car.
Got Uniroyal Rainsports on the corsa, not exactly a performance car :D to be honest but i think that they are an awesome winter tyre at a good price. Not so convinced about them in the dry personally but then i dont really ever push the thing as its so damn depressing when you put your foot down and nothing happens!
Yeah, the Rainsports are good winter tyres as are the Goodyear Eagles, Conti Sport Contacts, Toyo's and my current tyre Dunlop SP9000. I always found the Yoko A539 to be a fucking dangerous wet weather tyre if I'm honest. And I'm surprised that someone above has stated they've stuck with the Yoko's because they think the Toyos wear too fast! A539's melt just looking at them! LOL.
People seem to have problems with Yokos wearing out quickly... to be honest I got 10-12k out my last set, just got to rotate them every 1k and make sure geometry is good.
Yokos are not good in the wet, but once you've got some heat in them are better. They're a control tyre in stock hatch series, which says alot IMO.
Goodyears are average, not massively impressed with mine in the dry, do hold well in the wet. Dunlop SP9000 are utter crap!
I found the yokos great in the dry but terrible in wet and I too found they just melted away! The toyos are ok to be fair. I'm tempted actually to possibly invest in a subframe. I know I'm all into oem and all that but if it really enhaces the driving experience I could be swayed. Plus it's removable isn't it. Along with you giorgio a load of people have said the H&R kit is a world away from the phil j ki. Can't grumble for the price of the phil j kit though in comparison.
I think tyres are one of those things where people have to try them for themselves to get the best idea. Once you leave the Nippon Slipoffs behind and move into the premium brands there seems to be a lot of varying opinions on the same tyre. Yoko's are a classic example.
FWIW my next tyres will be Toyo's as they were what I had on my red G and they were way more consistent than anything else I've used.
sometimes it down to tyre size and availability also, i rin 175,50,14's atm and its sonar's lol, i run continental sport contact 2 and 3's onmy ibiza an there great. yoko's i dont rate themmuch ! and eagle f1' found were pretty good all round.
iuse budgets because i work for kwik fit my discount is great plus i go throo alot!
Ive got some P600's on mine that I got off DKnight and its stupid in the wet, 4th gear before you can stick the boot in a bit.
I ran Yoko A048's for a short time, Medium compound, and they were amazing in the wet. Even on the motorway with a lot of surface water they were great. Just a shame I killed them off in 1000 miles lol.
The thing is we are all trying different tryes on differrent cars, all with slightly different suspension, power delivery and characteristics. So for us to make a valid comparison it's near as impossible usless we use the same car and try all of the tyres, who wants to the the guinea pig lol. (i have a feeling i like the word different)
Personally for grip/price i will continue to buy A539's, yes they are not great in the wet but then in theory you shouldnt attempt to drive a 19 year car with "shopping trolly" suspension fast in the rain.
Hi guys. Been out of the scene for a while (car off road for 5 years!) and need to catch up!
What's this about PPP subframes and Gaderseite blocks? I don't know what you're all talking about!
And as for tyres, I also have Uniroyal tyres on the car, and from what I can remember they were quite good, but they are 195/45/15. Even so, the wheels were too big for the car, ruined the agility. 14's for the revival!
Well PPP is the company run by yoof and his brother Andy on here. Polo Performance parts. They sell exhausts and chips, do mapping and have been very active over the last few years developing a range of modifcations particularly with G40's. The subframes they sell are well exactly that, a subframe. Fits on the existing mounting points under the engine. I dont have first hand experience of this as I don't have one and haven't been in a car with one but the quality of the stuff they have had fabricated is always top quality. As a consequence they dont come cheap though but I've never heard of anyone complaining about the parts they've bought from them.
As for the G ladersiete anti roll bar blocks.
http://www.g-laderseite.de/eshop/product_info.php?products_id=120&language=en&osCsid=210f4cd7325536457c717a711234b9d0
Many owners swear by them as a good modification if you have lowered your car. These blocks will pull the anti roll bar back into the position it was meant to be. Good quality stuff. This kit shown on the link includes bushes for the outer joints of the bottom arms too and rear axle bushes. I never fitted the rear bushes though as I'd heard they're a bit harsh and as a daily car I decided it was not for me. You will not need these if you purchase a subframe though as it does away with the anti-roll bar. Hope this helps. Dan
Cheers Dan. I should have guessed PPP since I've been browsing at the exhaust systems thread!
Front roll bar and rear beam already have polybushes fitted, and the lower arms were brand new VAG items fitted at the same time. They only had a year of low milage use, but are now over 6 years old! As long as they're OK they'll stay on the car for a while. But know I know what the the alternative is!
I have uniroyals on mine, proper decent tyres last a bit longer than proxies n are way better in the wet
QuoteI ran Yoko A048's for a short time, Medium compound, and they were amazing in the wet. Even on the motorway with a lot of surface water they were great. Just a shame I killed them off in 1000 miles lol.
that's amazing, I found the exact opposite. I almost killed myself on the M67 once with A048s on & standing water. Aquaplaned right onto the hard shoulder and I couldn't steer until I was on to tarmac that didn't have standing water on it. I love the tyres on dry tracks and keep a set on my second set of wheels but I dont use them on the road anymore (plus like you say they dont last five mins). Get about two track days out of a set.