Sticky front tyres to improve handling?
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Sticky front tyres to improve handling?
Was doing some spirited driving tonight on my NX200t F sport AWD , got myself some understeer and a thought suddenly pop up on my mind
since the AWD on NX is heavily front biased, and most of the weight's at the front, if I switch only the front tyres to something really sticky, say Pirelli P Zero and leave the rear stock, that should reduce the understeer and improve overall handling of the car?
since the AWD on NX is heavily front biased, and most of the weight's at the front, if I switch only the front tyres to something really sticky, say Pirelli P Zero and leave the rear stock, that should reduce the understeer and improve overall handling of the car?
#2
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Simple answer, no, certainly not with tires alone.
If you wanted something sporty, I would have recommended a different car. This is a small family SUV.
If you want a performance vehicle, you'll need to get a sports car. The geometry, gearing, and suspension are not made for sport, only a "sporty" edge. Perhaps if you're willing to change out the shocks, A arms, struts, and tie rods, you might be able to gain some driveablity, but are you willing to spend 2-3k to change that all out? Then again, you could also go for wider wheels, go from a tire size of 225s up to 275s (which probably won't fit in the fenders), and have a shop work with you on some toe an camber adjustments to gain some drivability.
Finally, sticky has nothing to do with a specific type of tire. You want a SOFTER tire but then you might be unhappy when you're chewing through them every 8-10k miles. And FWIW, Pirelli P Zeros get oily when hot, not sticky.
If you wanted something sporty, I would have recommended a different car. This is a small family SUV.
If you want a performance vehicle, you'll need to get a sports car. The geometry, gearing, and suspension are not made for sport, only a "sporty" edge. Perhaps if you're willing to change out the shocks, A arms, struts, and tie rods, you might be able to gain some driveablity, but are you willing to spend 2-3k to change that all out? Then again, you could also go for wider wheels, go from a tire size of 225s up to 275s (which probably won't fit in the fenders), and have a shop work with you on some toe an camber adjustments to gain some drivability.
Finally, sticky has nothing to do with a specific type of tire. You want a SOFTER tire but then you might be unhappy when you're chewing through them every 8-10k miles. And FWIW, Pirelli P Zeros get oily when hot, not sticky.
Last edited by Swacer; 07-30-15 at 09:47 AM.
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Simple answer, no, certainly not with tires alone.
If you wanted something sporty, I would have recommended a different car. This is a small family SUV.
If you want a performance vehicle, you'll need to get a sports car. The geometry, gearing, and suspension are not made for sport, only a "sporty" edge. Perhaps if you're willing to change out the shocks, A arms, struts, and tie rods, you might be able to gain some driveablity, but are you willing to spend 2-3k to change that all out? Then again, you could also go for wider wheels, go from a tire size of 225s up to 275s (which probably won't fit in the fenders), and have a shop work with you on some toe an camber adjustments to gain some drivability.
Finally, sticky has nothing to do with a specific type of tire. You want a SOFTER tire but then you might be unhappy when you're chewing through them every 8-10k miles. And FWIW, Pirelli P Zeros get oily when hot, not sticky.
If you wanted something sporty, I would have recommended a different car. This is a small family SUV.
If you want a performance vehicle, you'll need to get a sports car. The geometry, gearing, and suspension are not made for sport, only a "sporty" edge. Perhaps if you're willing to change out the shocks, A arms, struts, and tie rods, you might be able to gain some driveablity, but are you willing to spend 2-3k to change that all out? Then again, you could also go for wider wheels, go from a tire size of 225s up to 275s (which probably won't fit in the fenders), and have a shop work with you on some toe an camber adjustments to gain some drivability.
Finally, sticky has nothing to do with a specific type of tire. You want a SOFTER tire but then you might be unhappy when you're chewing through them every 8-10k miles. And FWIW, Pirelli P Zeros get oily when hot, not sticky.
By no means I'm trying to turn my NX into a performance based car, I have plans of actually getting a proper sports car in a few years' time, in the meantime, doesn't hurt to make my beloved car a little more enjoyable on occasional spirited driving though right?
My first thought was actually as you suggested upping the tire size to around 265, but then I thought, if I only want the front to give in to understeer a bit later than it does now when corning hard
wouldn't providing more traction to the front do the trick? And there comes my thought of having mix set of tyres
Originally Posted by LexBob2
Also, it's not a good idea to mix and match tires on a AWD vehicle.
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Excuse my poor choice of words, by "sticky" I meant grippy and providing more traction under corning
By no means I'm trying to turn my NX into a performance based car, I have plans of actually getting a proper sports car in a few years' time, in the meantime, doesn't hurt to make my beloved car a little more enjoyable on occasional spirited driving though right?
My first thought was actually as you suggested upping the tire size to around 265, but then I thought, if I only want the front to give in to understeer a bit later than it does now when corning hard
wouldn't providing more traction to the front do the trick? And there comes my thought of having mix set of tyres
This is actually what I'm not so certain of. To my knowledge the AWD on NX200t doesn't engage permanently but rather reactively, most of the time the car is fully front wheel drive. When it does engage I think torque is transmitted to the rear via a clutch + viscous coupling. If the torque transfer mechanism itself relies on plates slip to deliver torque anyways, provided the wheel diameters at front and rear are the same, would having different grip at front & rear damage the drivetrain?
By no means I'm trying to turn my NX into a performance based car, I have plans of actually getting a proper sports car in a few years' time, in the meantime, doesn't hurt to make my beloved car a little more enjoyable on occasional spirited driving though right?
My first thought was actually as you suggested upping the tire size to around 265, but then I thought, if I only want the front to give in to understeer a bit later than it does now when corning hard
wouldn't providing more traction to the front do the trick? And there comes my thought of having mix set of tyres
This is actually what I'm not so certain of. To my knowledge the AWD on NX200t doesn't engage permanently but rather reactively, most of the time the car is fully front wheel drive. When it does engage I think torque is transmitted to the rear via a clutch + viscous coupling. If the torque transfer mechanism itself relies on plates slip to deliver torque anyways, provided the wheel diameters at front and rear are the same, would having different grip at front & rear damage the drivetrain?
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