for those w/ stock tires...the Potenzas...have u ever taken a turn so hard that u feel like u have lost a lot of control over the max..
for example...i was going to my dawgs houise today...and he has this turn that goes uphill with a pretty nice curve...it forms kind of a ( but with greater angle on the top...so im going up the hill bout 35-40, posted speed was 15...and as im going up the hill i pick up more speed and im turning and my tires are screeching.....and as the turn became sharper, i tried turning more but i felt like i couldnt...as i turned the wheel i felt like the car was actually beginning to straighten out as it began losing more traction...and as the turn ended, the back end of my max fish tailed before i actually straightened out....
this probably sounds wack but it was pretty f***** up...ive done this b4 on turns that are a lot closer to L like at intersections but ive never fish-tailed....
is this juss cuz of extremely horrible driving on my part or am i driving too hard for my tires?...i juss passed 7100 miles so i dunno
A_G

 

I once did a 720 going 90miles on rt80.... It was snowing ofcourse and I was pissing in my pants....
Last month, I did a fish tail racing my friends stupid Jetta on the Sprain pkwy... During Dry weather too. Almost hit the car next to me.. I never heard so many cars honk like that b4....
The Potenzas suck........ I've slipped about 6 times total mostly on dry roads.

 

I don't think it's you... I've been playing too and well the stock tires really suck! They are ok, just not a lot of grip when conditions are less than ideal... If you get better tires and a RSB, that should make life much more fun!!!!!!!!

 

Where and how fast were you going on the Sprain that you fishtailed? The only place where there is a kinda sharp curve is under Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers, and I've taken that at 100 MPH in an E-350. Otherwise an excellent high speed highway. Only place I regularly see cops is SB just past Jackson Avenue.

 

Sounds like you got both understeer and oversteer there. As you were pushing harder and harder through the turn the front end began to slide. As soon a you let off the gas, all the weight transfered to the front wheels so the back began to slide. Simple.

 

Racing a friend at 90 mph on a road where you almost hit the person next to you? Not very smart. I would been honking too. If you've slipped 6 times maybe you should buy new tires, slow down and/or take your car to the track and learn both your driving limits and its handling limits, don't endanger other people.

 

Isn't this the guy who lost it doing about 90 in a snow storm?

 

What about the TCS system in the maxima. Shouldn't that prevent you from fishtailing? Or does that do something completely different?

 

TCS limits front wheelspin durring acceleration (wet roads, snow, etc.). If you drive fast and swing your butt around, yer gonna fishtail.

 

Have a GXE with the Toyo's and 16" rims.

I was coming home about a month ago on a road that I wasn't that familiar with. I was going about 70 in a 55, but the road was not the bad so I'm thinking I'm ok... Never even saw that sign that posted the turn at 15 mph. The road had a little bit of incline, so I couldn't see th turn coming abou 5 degrees, but just enough to be out of sight. At the top of the incline, the road turns sharp and has about a 20 decline.

Well I had about a 9.7 on the pucker scale and felt the car starting to drift. From the inline and the speed, it was almost like a ramp. I felt the body come up and the wheels seemed to come up off the road. There was a slight screech to the tires, but nothing bad that I can remember. (could have just blocked it out b/c I was so scared) To make matters worse there was a road intersecting at the bottom of the turn with car that I just about clipped. I braked hard and turned hard (thanks RSB, I'm sure you saved my *** that day!)

It was totally my fault and I learned a valuable lesson about speeding on an unfamiliar road. I didn't fishtail, but rather the entire car began to drift off the road. I turned hard enough that I went into the opposite lane just before entering the turn. This saved me. If I hadn't taken the other lane I would have been in the Grass, and I wouldn't be typing this message to you.

My suggestion, slow down, but do get some mods like the RSB and FSTB to help you car with handling for those moments where you have a lapse in judgement.

 

Sounds like your tires lost their grip with the road... Don't want this to come out sounding stupid, but among the only ways you can prevent such silliness from happening, is by slowing down.... (or getting softer tires)... Your tangential velocity around a corner matters SQUARED... You can ALSO try to increase the radius (making a bigger arc), although that doesn't matter as much as speed...

Careful in wet conditions with the potenzas.... i've slipped many times... i now keep my distance, and drive cautiously when it rains... until i can put some more decent tires on....

-Tom

 

Any car has limits. Different tires will change the limits, suspension changes mostly modify the way the car behaves at the limits. Skill and judgment keep you on the non-crashed side of those limits.

Dave