NT05's, LSD, and snow.
11-09-14, 05:03 PM
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NT05's, LSD, and snow.
I got home from a 2 wk. trip late Friday evening. Overnight it snowed for the first time this year where it stuck around for any length of time. Saturday morning I had to go to the grocery store before I had time to put on the snow tires (crock pot food, needed several hours). I knew Nitto NT05 had a bad rep for snow, which is no surprise given what they are designed for. Last spring I put in a clutch type LSD and this was the first summer I'd used these tires. So I figured if I just took it easy, I should have no problem.
Did what I usually do when I start to go somewhere, which is turn off traction control and VSC. I really disliked traction control last winter, so I didn't really think twice about it.
I got to my first intersection and had to make a left turn. But I didn't just turn 90 degrees, more like 270 degrees. All at 5 mph or so. Fortunately traffic was light and I didn't hit anything. While it was happening I couldn't figure out why. I've sure never lost control of a car at that low a speed before. Enlightenment came a few seconds too late.
The problem was that the car was cold and idle was high, so just taking my foot off the brake was enough to spin the tires. With the LSD, that of course means BOTH tires spin so once the car starts turning, the back end just wants to keep on going. Applying the brakes a bit just stops the front tires, but the rear powers through and keeps on spinning, making things even worse. As mentioned earlier I had turned of traction control and vsc. If they'd been on they would have saved me from looking stupid. If I'd been a bit smarter I'd have realized all I had to do was put the car back in neutral and I'd have regained control pretty quickly, but that didn't dawn on me until after I'd already come to a stop.
The winter tires were on the car later that day. I also recently bought a 2012 fsport steering ecu, but hadn't managed to get it programmed. A new obd2 cable was waiting for me when I got home and I managed to get it programmed. So this afternoon I drove the car to an industrial area which has no traffic on a Sunday and tried a few things out with traction control on and off. I left the house again with traction control/vsc off to try a couple of turns just to see how bad it would be with winter tires now. But I had no problems.
My little tests in the industrial area were all done with vsc on. Even with the icy roads I felt I had better control with that ecu and traction control on that I had last year. Same tires, but of course the LSD is new and obviously changes how the car will handle. In any case, I think the ecu improves the handling. Although 1 day is probably not enough of a sample. Last year with traction control on, I just couldn't get the car to go when it was really icy. I had to turn if off, but with the LSD and the new ecu I think the situation is much better. As I say, I'll need a few more days of really icy streets to know for sure.
I'll know next year to change the tires BEFORE the first snowfall, not after
Did what I usually do when I start to go somewhere, which is turn off traction control and VSC. I really disliked traction control last winter, so I didn't really think twice about it.
I got to my first intersection and had to make a left turn. But I didn't just turn 90 degrees, more like 270 degrees. All at 5 mph or so. Fortunately traffic was light and I didn't hit anything. While it was happening I couldn't figure out why. I've sure never lost control of a car at that low a speed before. Enlightenment came a few seconds too late.
The problem was that the car was cold and idle was high, so just taking my foot off the brake was enough to spin the tires. With the LSD, that of course means BOTH tires spin so once the car starts turning, the back end just wants to keep on going. Applying the brakes a bit just stops the front tires, but the rear powers through and keeps on spinning, making things even worse. As mentioned earlier I had turned of traction control and vsc. If they'd been on they would have saved me from looking stupid. If I'd been a bit smarter I'd have realized all I had to do was put the car back in neutral and I'd have regained control pretty quickly, but that didn't dawn on me until after I'd already come to a stop.
The winter tires were on the car later that day. I also recently bought a 2012 fsport steering ecu, but hadn't managed to get it programmed. A new obd2 cable was waiting for me when I got home and I managed to get it programmed. So this afternoon I drove the car to an industrial area which has no traffic on a Sunday and tried a few things out with traction control on and off. I left the house again with traction control/vsc off to try a couple of turns just to see how bad it would be with winter tires now. But I had no problems.
My little tests in the industrial area were all done with vsc on. Even with the icy roads I felt I had better control with that ecu and traction control on that I had last year. Same tires, but of course the LSD is new and obviously changes how the car will handle. In any case, I think the ecu improves the handling. Although 1 day is probably not enough of a sample. Last year with traction control on, I just couldn't get the car to go when it was really icy. I had to turn if off, but with the LSD and the new ecu I think the situation is much better. As I say, I'll need a few more days of really icy streets to know for sure.
I'll know next year to change the tires BEFORE the first snowfall, not after
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