stitos2k

It took me a lot of practice to get mid corner shifting down right. I can do it now with little or no weight transfer and maintain my speed within 1-2 mph if I'm really serious about it.

Front wheel drive cars royally screw up your driving skills when you go from FWD to a RWD as twitchy as the s2k.

But other than that your aignment is probably borked.

pantyraider

It's almost certainly a lack of alignment and more likely the "truck" tires you have on it. I know because I was in a bind with a rear tire blowout and the only tire I could get was literally size 205 truck tires in the back. The car feels like it has rear steering, its extremely unstable.

So, like everyone says check your alignment, and get OEM rubber or OEM -like stagger with better rubber. What you're describing isn't normal handling for this car.

revS2k

Thats what I was thinking the problem might be.

pantyraider

I'm assuming since he's mentioned he as a track-only Civic, he has experience on the track and knows how to rev-match and heel - toe. Don't think that's the problem here.

ryanvnw

Shifting with any kinda of spirit in a corner will always lead to oversteer. I experienced this once or twice in a AP1... Sitting at red going to make a left turn. Got the green arrow but was not paying attention, car behind me honked so then I took off to about 5k in first shifted quick into 2nd and the back end stepped out. Easily recovered but was still surprised how easy it was.

mxt_77

The good news is that I know exactly what you're talking about (unlike the people that are talking about 'oversteer' and tire widths). The bad news is that I have no idea what is the exact cause or how to remedy it.

Yeah, it is some sort of artifact of weight transfer. To me, it feels similar to having "tread squirm" on the rear (i.e., when you have new tires and the tread blocks flex or "roll over" when you corner). However, I know that's not the case on my car, because there is very little tread left on the rear tires. It's kinda like the front end turns in, and the rear end pauses a half-second before deciding to turn in, also.

I agree that it's very disturbing, because it occurs even at very low speeds. Oddly enough, I've never noticed it as a problem when I've had the car at a track/autocross. Maybe because I'm paying more attention to managing weight transfer there. I dunno.

FYI... I'm running OEM S02s on stock wheels and an alignment very similar to the UK alignment specs (w/ Tein RA coilovers).

RED MX5

^^ Yes, but he's talking about the car steering when he depresses the clutch in a corner, not when he shifts. Unless he's slamming the clutch to the floor under power he's not upsetting the cars balance very much. I'm also inclined to believe that the man understands things like weight transfer and the importance of smoothness because he has track experience.

When I had non-OEM 225's on the back of my car (that's the way I bought the car) the oversteer was nasty, but because of the low thresholds involved here (and the drivers experience) I'm inclined to believe that the cars alignment (probably rear toe) is off. LOL, once he gets the car on the alignment rack I may well be proven totally wrong, but at this point I have to believe that alignment is the source of this problem. Either that, or something is broken. What does the car drive like when one or more of the rear subframe mounds is broken or defective?

mxt_77

Yes, I experience the symptoms upon clutch-in for an upshift (or just clutch-in, with no shift). One possibility is that he doesn't clutch-in as smoothly as he thinks. A while back, I found out that I'm not as smooth as I thought originally. "Racing" on a wet and very slick track, I went for the 2-3 upshift, and locked the rear wheels because I lifted off the gas too quickly before putting the clutch in. Engine braking was sufficient enough to lock up the rear wheels and almost cause a spin.

I'm not discounting the possibility that he simply suffers from a bad alignment, but I'm pretty sure that I have the exact same symptoms that he has, and my alignment is good (with a hair of toe-in in the rear). It does sound like an issue of rear toe.. but I dunno. I agree that he should verify/correct his alignment, but I'm not confident that will solve his problem.

I also won't discount the possibility of suspension damage, considering the fact that my car has been in an accident with a considerable amount of damage to the suspension.

smyroad

On one entrance ramp on my way home from work, I get the weight transfer steering effect.

It's an up hill right turn after a light so I'm usually accelerating up it. If I lift the throttle slightly, The car turns in to the turn slightly. It feels more like the front tightening up then the back moving out.

It's the only curve I've experienced it on, but it is repeatable.

It's a subtle effect.

RED MX5

[QUOTE=mxt_77,Jul 14 2006, 12:23 PM]The good news is that I know exactly what you're talking about (unlike the people that are talking about 'oversteer' and tire widths).