GT handling

jamesbilluk

Junior Member
Messages
114
Hi all

I've started to notice, that on bumpy surfaces, or pot holes, the rear of the GT seems to skip or move around slightly, quite an odd feeling. It's less noticeable when the suspension is in ‘sport' The cars been to Migliori for a checkup, and they said the suspension was fine. It's only done 28000 miles as well. The car seems to be on different makes of tyre front and back. I'm not sure what makes are on the front, but there's p zeros on the rear. Could it be the tires?

James
 

spkennyuk

Member
Messages
5,930
Yes is the short answer. Pzeros are fine in the dry and warm weather. Not so good in the UK. The drop off in tyre performance near end of life is pretty steep as well.

I changed my fronts on a 4200 this year even though the pzeros on the front had tread to spare on them as it was getting a bit skittish and tram lining.

All symptoms cured with fresh tyres.
 

allandwf

Member
Messages
10,958
I'd agree with tyres. I have PZeros with around 2_3mm, entertaining in anything but sunny warm dry days. Due to get changed.
 

jamesbilluk

Junior Member
Messages
114
Many thanks guys, the rubber on the P zeros do seem to be quite hard as well.

What tires would people recommend?
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Upper fronts seem to be the main culprit if not the tyre temperature.

Jack it up and take the wheel off and put a bar in the bush of the upper arm and see if you can move them more than 2mm fore and aft.

If so, they are done, we are working on a solution.
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,756
My GT-S was doing exactly this, especially in the wet and over (flush fitting) man-hole covers. Since having the alignment double-check and re-set it is much improved and far less noticeable.

My Michelin Alpin winter tyres arrived on Monday, so they are due to be fitted soon.
 

jamesbilluk

Junior Member
Messages
114
Thanks guys, just been looking at various tire sites, and can’t seem to find a company that do the PS4’s for the two doffeeent rim sizes. I can only seem to see the P zeros in the two different sizes
 

Contigo

Sponsor
Messages
18,376
Done lots of research on this and the main culprit is tyres. The P zeros in wet or cold are lethal and Michelin or Bridgestone I have used are much better.

There are a few other things to check too

1) wheel Alignment ( you would know if it was out if there is unever tyre wear)
2) Rear tie rods are worn
3) Rear anti roll bar bushes are worn or the bar is loose. (Mine was !!! And it was lethal)
4) worn control arm bushes ( front and/or rear)

From reading your post I would change the tyres first for sure as new rubber makes a massive difference.
 

Craighb

New Member
Messages
24
Haven’t owned my GTS for very long but have just changed my Pirelli rears which were very worn for the Vredesteins and it’s transformed the handling especially in the damp. Fronts are nearly new Pirelli’s and the combination seems to work fine.
 

jamesbilluk

Junior Member
Messages
114
Hi Phil,

Many thanks for that, I’ll go for the tires first, and see how that goes. I’ve found my local fitter does the bridgestone re050a on the front and the rear. These seeem to get good reviews too

James
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,756
I've not had my GT-S long, but it has relatively new Michelin Pilot Sports all round and the tracking/alignment was corrected last week. But its grip and composure in the wet is not as good as my QP GTS, and it is not as confidence inspiring. My current conclusion is that when they cut down the QP chassis in developing the GT, it didn't do the handling any favours.

My GT-S is "quicker" than my GTS, virtue of it being a little lighter and having the 4.7 not the 4.2. But in the wet and on a typical bumpy British country road, the chassis and sports suspension of the GTS allows the bigger car to be driven faster. I wasn't expecting that when I bought the GT-S, but there you go.

But I'll tell you what is better in the GT-S, and that's the position of the heated seat switch. (I'm sure there are other things as well, but to be honest, so far, the fact that the GT-S is twice the price of the GTS doesn't really make logical sense).

Just remembered the sound. That's what you get for your extra £20k. The best sounding V8 there is.
 

Contigo

Sponsor
Messages
18,376
I think you are spot on there, there is something about the GT-S which is unsettled and fidgety even when setup correctly, I'm convinced it could be dialled out with a thicker ARB and a better suspension setup but wtfdik!

I'm surprised too considering you have the handling pack on your car which will make it just that bit better planted too.
 

jamesbilluk

Junior Member
Messages
114
Does sound about right that! At the specialist I took it to recently said it seemed normal too.

I remember watching a harry metcalf video on YouTube about the GT he had, and said that when going over a bump, the skyhook system can’t seem to catch up with it’s self, causing a slight ‘wiggle’ from the rear, but is fine for normal handling.
 

GeoffCapes

Member
Messages
14,000
I think you are spot on there, there is something about the GT-S which is unsettled and fidgety even when setup correctly, I'm convinced it could be dialled out with a thicker ARB and a better suspension setup but wtfdik!

I'm surprised too considering you have the handling pack on your car which will make it just that bit better planted too.

I don't find my GT-S unsettled or fidgety at all. I find it very planted.
However, it did have new bushes on the front just before I bought it. Which may help.

Perhaps we should do a side by side test to compare?

Having said that, mine needs to be out of the garage......
 
G

Guest 1678

Guest
Mid corner at speed the car almost felt like it was waiting for the suspension to settle as the weight transferred. it seemed to stall momentarily laterally as the weight shifted from inside to outside.

I never felt comfortable with it. Mine had steel springs. Never felt like I could comfortably push it too hard and why after a year I moved on. Loved the looks, sound and drama but it never flicked my switch.

The Gransport was always more fidgety but felt more linear in its responses i.e. I trusted it more at the limit and when it broke away it was one continuous flow of interaction.

Probably as much a reflection of my style of driving as much as the car's inherent qualities..
 

rd993

Junior Member
Messages
131
I am pretty happy with the fixed suspension on the QP GTS - handles with a consistency that was lacking in my skyhook equipped GT-S.

However I wasn’t happy with it when I first bought the car - I checked the tyre pressure and they were all overinflated to 38psi...
 

jamesbilluk

Junior Member
Messages
114
Hi Guys,

Just looking around for new tires at the moment, Im having trouble finding the same make on both the front and rear sizes though. Ive seen that my local fitter has Continental Sport contact 3, just wondering if anyone has experience with these?

James.
 

bigbob

Member
Messages
8,952
Hi Guys,

Just looking around for new tires at the moment, Im having trouble finding the same make on both the front and rear sizes though. Ive seen that my local fitter has Continental Sport contact 3, just wondering if anyone has experience with these?

James.

I have been running them as a summer tyre since I dumped the P Zeros a while back, they are excellent.
 

Moz1000

Member
Messages
820
Hi Guys,

Just looking around for new tires at the moment, Im having trouble finding the same make on both the front and rear sizes though. Ive seen that my local fitter has Continental Sport contact 3, just wondering if anyone has experience with these?

James.

I run continental sport contact 5s on the rears and they are so much better than the p_zeros. Now waiting for the front p-zeros to wear out so I can change them also.
Moz