Grip (or lack thereof)

vivalaReagan

background: bought my z ~4 months ago and it's my first z. traded a 2004 bmw 330ci vert. b4 you flame, i did a search and didn't find exactly what i'm looking for.

question: does the z seem to lack the grip you would expect it to have? since i bought my z, i have been very impressed with all aspects except grip/traction. i have a base 6m and since purchase i haven't been able to get comfortable pushing this car, especially on twisties. keep in mind that i'm only referring to moderate conditions (dry/clean roads, temps in the 50-60's) and i don't expect this car to be a winter driver.

for example, when i start from stop on a straightaway and moderately accelerate to ~5k then shift to 2nd and jump on the gas, the vdc light blinks, the rear end seems light and i feel some wheel spin. tonight, i was turning left out of a parking lot onto a busy road and the tail wagged enough to force me to back off of the gas. i didn't push it hard, in fact it was a pretty tame turn at a moderate speed and i was shocked that it stepped out like that.

i love this car but i just can't get comfortable with its handling. it seems to lack that confidence inspiring grip and i'm not sure if it's the tires, suspension, vdc, driver, etc. anyone else feel the same or am i experiencing something unusual? thanks in advance.

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m4a1mustang

Well, the lower limit of the sport tires is 40 degrees. 50-60 degree weather will still require a fairly good warmup period before they get to operating temperature, but even then the ambient temp and surface temp is still too low to offer "maximum" traction.

It's also a powerful car, so you're never going to get away from spinning the tires in the lower gears. 300+ hp and gearing to go = wheel spin. That's just a fact of life and with some more seat time you'll get used to it.

Quite frankly I am very confident with the car. Steering feedback is pretty good and the car feels solid negotiating corners in spirited conditions. I can drive through the wheel spin just fine, and the car does very well in a slide... very controlled.

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PapoZalsa

I believe that if you don't have the Sport Pkg. you don't have the Viscous limited-slip rear differential, don't know if the base has VDC also.

Also the tires are summer tires, not all season. So if the road is a little icy, wet or cold your tires will not grip as good if is dry.

Those might be a few reasons for the lack of grip.

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feelzpwr91

this has happened to me too, everything you listed above has happened to me and im sure many others its the cold weather, the power of the car in lower gears, and the force of throttle. It will be better in the summer when our tires are better gripped from the warmer weather

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m4a1mustang

Summer is a completely different feeling. I bought mine last March so I have driven it through the hot and cold... it's definitely best in that 70-90 degree range.

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feelzpwr91

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Trips

Are we serious here?

about grip? keep your foot off the gas on twisties, you're not in a formula 1

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m4a1mustang

Common sense does not exist on the internet, so we just have to work around it.

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Trips

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frost

SmoothZ

It's only been four months.... takes time to get used to the feel of the car in all the seasons.

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2theextreme

Whoa! If those letters leaned to the right that would be SUPER DEADLY SERIOUS, y0!

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Trips

I got the feel of it, at my first empty Parking lot, Burnout....

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frost

Hmm, I like where your head is at.

vivalaReagan

thanks for the serious replies from most of you guys. i'll see how it feels come spring.

cool guy, nobody said anything about my foot being on the gas in the twisties or me driving like formula 1 or doing burnouts. i think i mentioned several times that my driving was moderate, pretty tame, i didn't push it hard, etc. and yes, i'm serious here. so if you're serious too then we are serious here.

common sense may not exist on the internet but boy there sure does seem to be a proliferation of smart a$$ 16 year olds.

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Facts are stubborn things --John Adams