I've searched around and have yet to find a real answer so I figured I'd just ask. My question is: is there a good way to get more traction other than tires or LSD? I have a set of v rated decent performance tires, and I do not have an LSD. Poor little Earl will peg leg all the way through first and second gear before finally catching asphalt in third. I know I know " throttle control and clutch control" but there's the fun in that? When I stomp it I'd like it to grip and go lol. Anyone know of any good traction adders?

P.S.
This is all with DSC off. When its on, poor Earl falls flat on his little face on take offs...

 

R53's aren't prone to peg-legging unless there's an alignment issue, or you're on a particularly crowned road. Exactly what tires [including size], suspension components [including front control arm bushings], and alignment are you running?

Good mechanical grip starts with good ingredients.

 

Fuzion touring 195/55R16 87v tires all the way around, stock suspension ( as far as I know, I'm third owner but it all looks stock), and I'm unsure of alignment but the front chamber looks squatted to me, but then again I'm not sure of what stock looks like either. Other mods are 15% pulley and new intercooler boots, running 14 psi boost.

 

What temp tires are they? Id get something wider and maybe lose tire pressure on the front.

 

Your Fuzion Touring tires are listed on TireRack in the category "Grand Touring All-Season". They are not a performance tire at all.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...romSurvey=true
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/tiretype.jsp

 

Hmmmmmmmm good info RKW! So new tires go on the list, AS IS, what psi should I be running all four corners? I have 30 psi all around... Also I have no clue what the temp rating is on the fusions...

 

Also, can I run wider tires on the stock rims? They are all I have at the moment. I'm not sure what the widest I can go is on an r53

 

If running conventional tires on 16" wheels, most people go with 205/50-16.

 

I'll check them out real quick and see what's up. As much as I'd like an LSD, my bank would rather toss a bear Trap into my face region....

 

Your gonna need real grippy tires if you want no wheel spin. It's front wheel drive so your gonna have shift earlier to keep the power down.

 

Ok so as far as type of tire, Earl is my DD, since the f100 gets around 6 mpg... So would I be looking for "ultra high performance all-weather" or... What?

 

Thanks for the tip bavmotors, this is my first fwd car... So any advice is welcome

 

Dunlop direzza star spec II, really though some poly uthathane motor mounts and front control arm bushings. The unfortuane part is you probably will end up spending more on the long run on remedys vs a lsd

 

The fun in throttle modulation is that you get to accelerate as fast as the car can go.

 

NITTO NT01 225/40/18
Wavetrac LSD

 

Welcome to front wheel drive That's kind of the nature of the beast....the harder your mini accelerates, the more weight is put to the rear tires, and taken off of the front tires = less traction and wheel spin.

I've never seen any kind of suspension mods just for adding traction to the front wheels. Like you said...LSD and sticky tires is about as good as you can do.

 

I probably could use some new bushings and struts to begin with, @91k miles I'm sure it needs alot of new stuff by now lol. I'll check out those tires later today and see what's up. If I could find a decent used LSD to rebuild I'd do that lol

 

Have you considered coilovers?

Since the FWD car has the weight transfer issue mentioned above time has taught the racing community how to overcome and that there are PLENTY of ways to sort out FWD problems. You'll need to buy coilovers with different spring rates and make sure your rear is a heavier spring rate. This will cause more resistance to the from wheels lifting off the ground. The stiffer the rear I.E 12-to 14kg the more resistance. If you happen to get some with dampening adjustment you can also dial out some if the ride comfort issues that will come from using aggressive rates.
My 02.¢

 

I was thinking about going to coilovers but its just out of budget right now. Also how much would the 205/50r16 tires affect the speedo? The 195/55r16s I have seem to make the speedo read a couple of mph over what I'm actually doing, but I've only checked it with the road side cop signs vs my speedo, as I crushed my GPS not too long ago.

 

honestly, no suspension setup will help you gain traction over tires. tires are the only thing that creates friction from rotating engine to the road, yes a proper alignment will help. technically 0-1 deg of camber on the front wheels with 0 toe will help the most for getting off the line traction.


hate to break it to ya, tires are the only thing and technically they will be the cheapest option. Tire Width and compound will make the difference. coilovers will not help noticeable traction.


depending on what you want from tires I can give you some options. since you live in TN, you can run performance tires, some get decent mileage out of them as well. all season tires are great at nothing but mileage, and sacrifise everything to gain so. stickier the tire, grippier it is, but wears out faster. but they will also be better in wet traction due to the compound. and allows you to brake faster.


its the same thing for braking performance, ultimately its what the tires can handle for grip over the calipers, pads, rotors and suspension.


would you change your suspension to help brake distances? same thing applies for acceleration

 

The best investment you can make is better tires....
I have run both UHP-ALL seasons, and touring/grand touring tires... Huge difference... Night and day really.if it is cold, or there is a bit of sand, you can still spin the uhp's a bit, but not much...
Heck I once left a 75 foot stripe of rubber with my touring tires....were cheap and lasted long for commutes. So they are good for winter, used them for two winters , and while not as good as snows, the deeper treads did give better traction than the super shallow groves of a uhp tire in the snow and heavy rain.....
With tires my u got exactly what you paid for...I have run cheap and more $$ tires....often I ran Generals (now owned and made by Continental)....my last experience with even cheaper rubber, aka pepboys/fuzion/cooper crap was exactly that...crap...folks seem to post glowing reviews of then cause they had low expectations and they were better than terrible....
You might consider going to s 205 width...they for the sock rim fine with a 50 height...cheaper too...16 rims are actually nice and light, and provides better acceleration that 17 or 18 rims than can weigh 2x the amount....
Changing you suspension, etc till you get more traction from your tires us a waste of $$...so IMO save up....a LSD can be nice...but till you have about 200 HP, it can be a wish list item that is not really needed...heck $1000 is lots of $$, but if you add a used on in when you do a clutch, can save a few $$....

 

So tires it is. I do notice huge rear squat at launch but I'm sure the struts are worn out by now. So tires and then sturts should help, along with foot control haha

 

Yes, those tires you have are your low hanging fruit. Go with a 205/50-16, slightly wider, same overall diameter. If you need an all-season, something "ultra-high performance" like the Conti Extreme DWS 06, or slightly grippier but shorter life, BFG g-Force Comp-2. I'd choose the latter if you have little or no snow.

Here's a link to Tire Rack's offerings.

It also wouldn't hurt to have a shop double check your alignment is OK.

 

Agreed. With uhp all seasons I can only really spin in first and I don't even have a lsd.

OP I noticed quite a reduction in weight transfer during accelerating and braking when I went to a good spring and shock combo.

 

I have a LSD and performance summer tires, and unless I dump the clutch, I get acceptable spin at like 4500 rpm, but I also have a pulley, full exhaust, full intake and lightweight 17 inch rims with 215 series tires. I have sumitomo HTR Z-3 they are cheap, seem to last a bit and are comfortable without being noisy