Strange Behaviour

[MarkW19]

Just thought I'd ask some advice on this one...

There's a dual carriageway section (quite short) on my route to work every day. It's straight off a roundabout, and goes uphill (but not too steep) and sweeps to the left quite a bit.

Anyway, I often exit the roundabout in 2nd and overtake in the right hand lane. As I get my foot down, I get a usual amount of slight squirming as my car torque-steers. BUT, this is the worrying thing: When I get up to speed and change into 3rd gear, my car snakes (sort of zig-zags) quite dramatically to the left, just about totally loses control. I think it may be the traction control (ASC) kicking in as well. But this morning it was so bad that I was just about in the left hand lane when I changed gear!

I've not experienced this behaviour at all before, apart from regularly on this one stretch of road. Maybe it's a combination of the uphill acceleration/corner, and the traction control trying to sort things out when it can't.

Cooper S Works 2006 by the way. Goodyear Eagle F1s (18"), Eibach front/rear anti roll bars, JCW strutbrace, KW v2 coilovers.

Any help appreciated!

[Parc77]

Which bit of road is it Mark? im familiar with most of Leeds and its surrounding areas, lived in Alwoodley till a couple of years ago and obviously being an S owner im keen on spirited driving in the right place at the right time

[MarkW19]

Quote: Originally Posted by Parc77 (original)

Which bit of road is it Mark? im familiar with most of Leeds and its surrounding areas, lived in Alwoodley till a couple of years ago and obviously being an S owner im keen on spirited driving in the right place at the right time

Hehe, okie...

If you go down the A62 (Geldard Road) towards Leeds, you'll hit a roundabout when the A62 finishes (just past the Aston Martin garage on your left). At the rbt, you go straight on to the Armley Giratory...or right to go on the bit of dual carriageway towards the train station/Beeston etc. That's the bit of dual carriageway I mean. It's uphill and sweeps to the left.

After you come off it, you turn left to go past Salford Vanhire/Readmans etc.

Know where I mean?

[Parc77]

Know exactly where you mean ...depends what sort of speed your coming off the roundabout, think that dual carriageway is only 40mph anyway, but even if coming off that roundabout ive never had any problems there and ive driven round that way for at least 10 years. The incline cambers a little bit and it can depend on the road surface/conditions it also depends how quickly your coming off the roundabout as you go from turning right to an incline turning left... slow down!

[Root Ginger]

Sounds like it's to do with the camber of the road. The MINI is very sensitive to camber changes especially when accelerating and decelerating.

There is a roundabout where I live and as you come up to it the road turns left slightly, as most roundabouts do but the road is cambered left too. You can feel the car pulling to the left as you hit the camber under braking. So much so that my MINI will actually follow the lane with my hands off the wheel!

[MarkW19]

Quote: Originally Posted by Root Ginger (original)

Sounds like it's to do with the camber of the road. The MINI is very sensitive to camber changes especially when accelerating and decelerating.

There is a roundabout where I live and as you come up to it the road turns left slightly, as most roundabouts do but the road is cambered left too. You can feel the car pulling to the left as you hit the camber under braking. So much so that my MINI will actually follow the lane with my hands off the wheel!

Yeah, braking also results in my MINI pulling in strange directions on this road. So, it basically looks like I'm going too fast, changing gear in the wrong place, and the traction control trying to sort things out mid-gear change with no luck...

Thanks guys, looks like I'll be slowing down then. On that piece of road anyway