How the hell do you keep the power down.

[supercharged spaniel]

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!'

[Yoof]

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 

[wozzaG40]

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.

[grayg40]

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.

[hayesey]

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

[supercharged spaniel]

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.

[Alex]

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.

[hayesey]

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.

[lance]

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.

[wozzaG40]

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.

[grayg40]

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.

[giorgio]

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.

[jez1272gt]

Got Uniroyal Rainsports on the corsa, not exactly a performance car    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!

[AlexG40]

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.

[Yoof]

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!