Wheelspin in 1st gear?

[gshaw]

Since I've had my FR (150 ACT) I've noticed that anything but the lightest of launches in first gear will cause the wheels to lose grip and anti-skid lamp to come up in the dash.

Read in another thread that the OEM Bridgestone tyres are largely to blame, is this the general consensus on why the car does this?

Quite annoying when needing to get away early at lights and suchlike, not had it on any of my other cars but never had Bridgestone tyres either.

 

[bretth1974]

I have a cupra with conti's and perhaps I have quite a light foot but unless I really floor it very hard I rarely get wheel spin.

 

[SiR26]

Get constant wheelspin, even get it in 3rd when it's wet. These Bridgestones are just a sham. Michelin PSS next for me

 

[weirdkerr]

I have Pirelli P7 on mine and haven't had that much wheelspin, though I do have the standard 17" tyres

 

[FamilyGuy]

Mines got Pirellis on 17s, they're not great tyres but liftoff is normally fine unless the weather's freezing...

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

 

[chrisRibiza]

My Pirelli P7s cracked for some reason so I changed all 4 tyres to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's and they are a far better tyre. No more wheel spin in the wet and even on ice last week they were great!

I'd recommend them to anyone looking for a decent tyre at a decent price.

 

[philhoward]

Look on the bright side - you don't have Dunlops.

A spirited getaway can easily cause an almighty banging as the wheel hops and bounces about. Bloody annoying to be honest.

 

[italianjob]

Wheelspin in 2nd for me on entry/exit of roundabouts in an ecoTSI DSG, bloody annoying and that's driving fairly gently. Assuming it's naff standard tires.

I think part of the problem is the quick transition from 1st to 2nd.

 

[squidie]

I occasionally spin in 1st on a number of hills I set off from, nothing else and I’m using the Bridgestone Potenza S001s.

 

[philhoward]

Wide tyres will never be good in the wet/snow given there isn't that much weight on the front end (in the great scheme of things) so it's no surprise (given the low gearing of 1st as well) - just sounds and feels terrible when I think the wheel is about to bounce out of the front wing!

I also find the Dunlops rather noisy as well - can't remember what the temporary hire FR I had was on but even though they were 18's and it was a diesel, it was quieter..they certainly weren't Dunlops though because I checked.

 

[Dr.Dash]

... just sounds and feels terrible when I think the wheel is about to bounce out of the front wing!

I also find the Dunlops rather noisy as well ...

Which Dunlops are these ph? I've got SportMaxx RT's on mine (17" wheels) and they are pretty good, certainly better than the Pirelli and Bridgestones which I managed to compare in a quick back to back test.

The only time they generate obvious road noise is on concrete motorway surfaces, but that's the same for most tyres IME. Grip levels are good and breakaway is progressive which I find ideal for regular use.

I started off at the recommended pressures, but these are clearly designed to minimise fuel consumption (2.5/2.3 Fr/rear) at the more sensible "comfort" pressures then feel/grip/ride are all markedly better.

Getting serious wheel hop regularly isn't good. I had a Golf GTI which did this so violently that it fractured the front sub-frame, cracked the gearbox mount and damaged the wiring loom which had to be replaced in its entirety, all that on a 3 week old car! Took 11 weeks to be fixed as the loom had to be custom made

 

[G.P]

given there isn't that much weight on the front end (in the great scheme of things) so it's no surprise (given the low gearing of 1st as well)

Most the weight is over the front, the less weight the better..

 

[philhoward]

From a handling point I agree. From a traction point of view, not so much. Given grip is a function of pressure applied to the contact surface of tyre against road and its ability to apply the friction, hence grip.

Overcome the friction by means of excessive torque applied = wheelspin
Reduce the amount of rubber contacting the road = wheelspin
Reduce the weight on the front (pressure on the contact patch) = wheelspin

Mechanical engineering isn't my discipline but there's a sweet spot of torque vs tyre vs weight and I'm not sure it's right on the 1.4 FR Leon. Didn't get this much wheelspin on my Fabia vRS - same engine torque, similar gearing, near identical weight but only running 205 section tyres.

 

[Mk3 Se]

Mechanical engineering isn't my discipline but there's a sweet spot of torque vs tyre vs weight and I'm not sure it's right on the 1.4 FR Leon. Didn't get this much wheelspin on my Fabia vRS - same engine torque, similar gearing, near identical weight but only running 205 section tyres.

With 205 55 16's on my 140 PS SE in normal driving I don't have an issue. One corner near home had the traction light flashing in my BMW on virtually every occasion I went round it, Leon just goes round that corner with no drama.

The Fabia vRS would almost certainly have used the iron block engine which would have put a fair bit more weight over the driving wheels.

If you want wheelspin (especially when moving off) buy a 130PS Ford Moneo TDCi. Give it a normal amount of throttle on a greasy road and the wheels would light up so grab second and the engine would initially die then shortly after all hell would break loose again. By this time the granny in her Yaris was miles ahead and all the nice folks behind wanted to kill me.

 

[mx5]

Get constant wheelspin, even get it in 3rd when it's wet. These Bridgestones are just a sham. Michelin PSS next for me

I had this too, the traction control was even kicking in when engine was around 6k in 3rd, so we'll past the surge of torque you get going into boost in 1st and 2nd.

I had nokian wr4s winter tyres on in Jan and ambient was between 2&14 degrees. Turning off traction control didn't help either the wheel spin light would still flash and restrict power. I read the manual and it says all 4 tyres must be same size and preferably same tyre pattern as different wheel speeds will cause traction control to come in.

I reset the tyre pressure monitor just in case it was reading different speeds. I was also adjusting the front pressures to get more grip and less t/c cutting in. Resetting the tyre pressure monitor has vastly improved my traction control problem and it only cuts power in extreme situations.

 

[philhoward]

With 205 55 16's on my 140 PS SE in normal driving I don't have an issue. One corner near home had the traction light flashing in my BMW on virtually every occasion I went round it, Leon just goes round that corner with no drama.

The Fabia vRS would almost certainly have used the iron block engine which would have put a fair bit more weight over the driving wheels.

Overall weight of the Fabia and the Leon are quite similar TBH - mine was the Estate so had more hanging over the back. They used to fit 25kg of weights to the bumper bar on the hatch..

 

[Leonfr140]

Have the same with the Bridgestones potenza s001, i suspect its a mix of not so good tyre and the way 1st gear has been created, i did pull of in 2nd by mistake once but it seemed ok, also like someone mentioned i had wheelspin in 3rd gear!!

Although i found a loner 14 corsa 1.4 n/a (i think with 17 conti) would almost everytime i would pull out of work would wheelspin!!

I would like the Goodyear Essy 3 next time, how much mileage are people getting from their tyres??