When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I picked up my F56 a few months ago and it came with aftermarket wheels on it. Over the last few months I've been pushing it a little more in the corners to find the limit. It seems that it doesn't take much for the traction control to kick in compared to other cars I've driven in the same corners.
I'm starting to suspect the wheel and tire setup. The wheels don't seem to recommended for my car by Motegi. They are MR127, 18x8 38et. The rims even seem to extend past the fenders some. Looking at the "Official F56 Wheel" it seems that the backspacing seems to be all over the place with aftermarket wheel.
Anyone with more knowledge than me with suspension setups and tires/wheel combos have any input or suggestions.
Orange is factory wheel and tire combo. Green is what my car is currently running
It is almost certainly the tires that are causing this. If there are some no name crappy tire on the wheel, it will do exactly what you are explaining. My car certainly doesn't do that, AND I have lowering springs and Koni shocks set to cause oversteer. I am also using Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3+, a non run flat tire designed as a "high performance" all season. One of the better tire choices would have been the Michelin Pilot Super Sport, but I could not afford the tread wear on those, I chose one of the many close seconds. I'm pleased with my compromise.
@DunkM the tires are Continental ExtremeContact DWS, 540 A A. Not the most extreme tires out there but I wouldn't say cheap tires.
@TheBigNewt I wish!
I agree that it isn't likely that the wheel size/offset has had much effect on your handling, likely the tires are the culprit.
How many miles on the DWS's and how old are they (i.e.- date code on the tires)?? I ran DWS's on my former Legacy and they were great for the first ~30K miles, then went downhill pretty quickly. The last 16K miles were a little slippery. Total time on the car was about 5 years, so they kind of ran out of 'good' grip after ~3 years even though there was plenty of tread left on them at that time (i.e.- still showing the D & W). Don't get me wrong, they were a very good tire, but didn't last as long as I had hoped. The DWS-06's are likely a better version of the tire, but I haven't driven on those.
They where on the car when I bought it so I don't know the milage. The "DWS" is still visible on the second rib. The tires have a production date of 7/15.
I have driven another F56, a few actually, while Mini was replacing my engine. After the engine replacement, I remember my steering wheel feeling like it had a lot of play in it compared to the loaners I had. I took it back and was told there was nothing wrong, they said it was my wider tires. Strangely enough after that visit the play in the steering wheel was improved..
I'm not planning on running out and getting new rims and tires, it just seems that the cars I've drive with factory setup handle better than my setup. Apparently wider is not always better
Doesn't sound like age/miles are your issue then. The DWS's have 'soft' sidewalls and tend to 'wallow' about a bit at door sticker tire pressures. I always ran mine at 37-39 psi, which felt like a completely different tire compared to when at 32-34 psi. Those were 225/45R17's on a 17x7" rim. There is a reason the Conti's are 3-5 lbs lighter than other brands of tires, they have less material in the sidewalls and are 'tuned' differently than other makes. My guess is your steering improvement was the shop putting a couple of additional psi into your tires.
I also just noticed that you are running 215/40's on an 8" wide rim, which is too narrow of a tire for that rim width...IMHO. I am sure others will debate this, but I can almost bet your sidewalls pitch outward between the tread and bead. My OEM Subie tires were 205/50's on a 7" wide rim and their sidewalls were pitched outward, which is why I changed to 225/45's. A good 'square' fit is a 225 on a 7" and a 245 on an 8" rim. Below is a pic of my Mustang's wheels, which are 245/45R17's on a 17x8" rim and you can see how the sidewall is flat or square to the rim and tread. When your sidewalls have an outward pitch (i.e.- too narrow for the rim) you end up with a 'numb' on center feel and lose cornering grip due to how the contact patch deflects under cornering loads. Something to consider when you go to replace your tires/rims. YMMV.
The tires are too narrow for the rim, they do pitch in. When I have to flip the bill for tires I'll go a bit wider. I notice when I bought it, but thought perhaps the previous owner did it for fender clearance and didn't give it much thought.
Your suggestion of the air pressure made all the difference. I checked the inflation before heading to work and lo and behold they had bumped up the pressure to 36 psi. On your suggestion I went to to 38psi and man, what a difference. Its like a new car!
On the drive home I pushed it a little bit and the grip was much improved and no sign of the DSC kicking in. There still is a bit of a squishy feeling when the cars center of gravity shifts over but much better. Even just driving down the interstate it was more responsive. I really appreciate the input!
No problem, glad the Conti tire pressure 'trick' worked! The Legacy crowd was having all sorts of issues with 'wallowy' feeling tires and cutting sidewalls in potholes with various Conti tires years ago and the general consensus across various forums was to simply bump up the pressure ~5 psi above your door sticker. Despite that I still went for the DWS units and tried the lower pressure on my trip home from the tire shop. They felt like marshmallows compared to the OEM Yoko's, so up to 39 psi I went and never looked back.
