Grip (or lack thereof)
 

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

:iagree::iagree:

Are we serious here?

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

:facepalm:

Common sense does not exist on the internet, so we just have to work around it. :icon18:

:bowrofl::roflpuke2::bowrofl:

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

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

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

Hmm, I like where your head is at.

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.

I'm more annoyed by the wheel hopping to the side when I hit small bumps. The streets here are terrible, so sometimes (even in parking lots) I feel like I'm driving a monster truck. It angers me that we don't have quality road work... even new roads are bumpy.

just wait till it warms up then the car comes alivve!!!

Wow. You really shouldn't let folks get to you like that. Most of them were just poking a little fun. My take is that it will take some time to become one with your machine. I know I will have to take my time with it and feel it out. Hope everything works out for you. Be easy man.

When you get a new car, there's a learning curve that everyone will learn if they push their car, if they never push it then they'll never know the limits

In my opinion the stock Bridgestone tires are truly summer tires and they are terrible in the cold weather. A tire that I have found to be very good is the Toyo T1-R, very good in the dry and the wet, and much better in the cold than the Bridgestone, it has good treadwear life too. I'm not a Toyo salesman, just think they are much better tires, and they are much quieter on the road also.

I used to own an E46 330Cic. I now own a 370Z Roadster with Sport.

Different, different animals. My 330 did have the M sport suspension, but still dove and rolled in turns. The Z is as flat as my first wife. That translates into grip relative to the suspension setup.

As for the power, I agree you'll need to get used to it. Your Bimmer delivered similar performance while dealing out less power in a much more smooth, predictable way. The Z is more raucous, so things like wheelspin and hop are going to surprise you until you know how to manage them. You will also be able to kick this much shorter wheelbase's tail out a lot easier with your right foot, too. To an accomplished driver, this is a tool, not a flaw.

Part of your difficulties may also lie in the clutch, which is also not as smooth to engage as the 330's. Try feathering it out in the lower gears or add more gas sooner, until you learn better where it engages. Once muscle memory is established, you can regulate your throttle a little more.

Remember, you're putting down more HP in a lighter car with a shorter wheelbase. Proceed accordingly.

:icon18: A winnar is you.

The optimum temperature for the stock sport tires is difficult to obtain (around 110-120) below 60 degrees. At 75+ it gets a lot easier.

Even if you live in a southern state that doesn't get snow I would contemplate all-season tires for the winter for better cold temperature traction.

You actually believe yourself don't you? Keep using that throttle like an on-off switch and you'll reach the limits sometime soon. More than a few guys here have thrown their cars away and done serious damage ( including killing themselves) driving just as you describe...

PS: It's NOT the car.