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  • 23rd September 2020 at 9:15 am #13909
    david-barrington-bullock
    Participant

    Hi All,

    I have a 2012 Gran Turismo S. When I first owned the car it was fitted with four nearly new Hankook winter tyres which the previous owner had used for continental commuting to Croatia and back year round. The steering was reasonable but not inspiring so I recently changed to four new Pirelli P-Zeros through the fuel card offer.

    This coincided with the bi-annual service so I took the opportunity to have the tracking set up. The garage that did the service spends a lot of time setting up track cars (Ferrari/Porsche etc) and charged £200 for doing mine. The result is that the car now feels much more ‘active’ or ‘light’ and frankly a little unstable. Great if you’re pushing the corners and enjoying a little ‘knife edge’ Italian motoring but on the motorway the slightest distraction will see you off towards another lane. The car runs true and straight at all times so I suspect the front wheels have been set to parallel. I’m wondering if anyone knows what the factory settings are and whether I should go back and ask for some toe out to produce a little more stability even if it costs me rubber.

    Never having driven another Maserati I wouldn’t know if mine is at fault or in fact normal.

    Thanks for any advice.

    23rd September 2020 at 5:55 pm #13925
    Eric Toft
    Keymaster

    Hi David

    I assume the garage did the tracking with the new tyres and if a dealer or independent specialist they should know the factory settings.

    Did you drive before the tracking with the new tyres on or after so could feel a difference?

    Normal tyre pressure with P Zeros is 32 psi front and back so worth checking.

    Also the tyres are sided so have a MKI eyeball just in case one was put on wrong it should say outside on each tyre sidewall.

    Pirelli make matched tyres for the GTS so should say MGT on the side wall, check they are all the same and not mixed with standard P Zeros.

    The other area is that the steering is hydraulic speed sensing and the fact it has just had a service may just be coincidental but speed sensing issues can cause wandering at speed if too quick which will also give a skittish feel on corners like you describe.

    regards Eric

     

    25th September 2020 at 5:21 pm #13944
    david-barrington-bullock
    Participant

    Thanks Eric,

    On purchase and over the last two years the car has been stable on the Hankook’s but wasn’t inspiring. The tracking was way out and one front tyre was so far toe in that it’s scuffed the inner edge. Luckily not much as I don’t drive the car daily and have only done a couple of thousand miles a year since purchase.

    The tyres are supposed to have been ‘homogenized’ for my car and I’ve checked the pressures since fitting myself. I will check them again.

    The speed sensing might be an issue though so I’ll look into that as it does make sense that the steering doesn’t seem to adjust for speed. It tends to feel too light when underway so that might make sense.

    21st February 2021 at 11:57 am #14620
    david-barrington-bullock
    Participant

    Further to my posts above the garage discovered that the offside front suspension spring had snapped in a very inconspicuous place (so much so it got through an MOT!) so both springs have been replaced.

    The result is that the car now feels much more stable and less ‘bouncy’ but still a little volatile in directional stability. The garage describe it as ‘feeling as if nothing’s wrong, but it’s not right either’.

    Some years ago my wife had an Alfa Brera that a garage set to a neutral toe setting (it normally relied on substantial toe out for stable handling and feel) and I’m wondering if I should deviate from the factory settings that have been set on the GT and increase the toe out.

    I did say above that the Hancook winter tyres I took off felt better but they did show some minor wear on the inside rim so I suspect the car had some toe out when it was wearing those.

    Does anyone have any settings that they’ve tried and found successful that deviate from the factory recommended figures?

    Thanks for any advice and help as always.

     

    22nd February 2021 at 9:06 pm #14627
    Tony Jaskeran
    Participant

    I’ve known friends that have changed the toe settings to suit their drive style. On my old 3200 I had the toe out set less & felt more comfortable in my driving. I am missing a tendon in my right foot &never floor the pedal so no high speed stability to worry about. When I go to Goodwood track days in my GS I’m always last for the same reason.

    I don’t think you have much to loose by making the adjustments and reverting back if you are not happy.

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