Oversteer

[chrismar]

Hi i drive a mondeo 2.0 tdci 54 plate saloon on a recent trip i went round a roundabout heading straight across. on the exit to the roundabout i felt the rear end twitch which was unusual as ive been round the same road hundereds of time with nothing happening to the car. further to this later in the same trip i went right at a larger roundabout only to have the back end come away oversteer quite badly. now considering the previous incident i was going slowly round the roundabout just incase and not feeling so confident in my car. mitigating circumstances where car low on fuel not so much weight over rear, low tyre pressure in offside rear tyre and moderate rain fall. having said that i correct the tyre pressure filled up and have been using the car recently in the dry but the back end still feels like it wants to oversteer when turning right unless i keep the speed well below normal. i would just like any suggestions as to where the problem might lie ive bounced all the corners to check the suspension but there is no signs of a shock absorber knackered as it recoils about one to one and half times then stops looking at the springs there seems to be no broken ones so im at a loss as to the cause any help or suggestions much apperciated.......

[btmaldon]

What tyres do you have on the rear and how much tread do you still have? Also is the wear even across the tread.

If its not due to tyre quality and the suspension is OK, the only other thing I can think of is the rear wheel tracking. If your rear near side wheel is towing out, that could give you oversteer on a right hand turn.

[Z3 MON]

my rear tracking is out and i have the same issue....... answers on a postcard

[Stoney871]

A full wheel geometry adjustment will do wonders.

Reference fuel tank levels though, i always found my MK1 drove better with a full tank, the extra weight really seemed to make the back end more tight.

[Z3 MON]

How much is a full geo these days ???

[Stoney871]

Haven't had one done apart from with a tyre fitting for ages.

Ring qwikfit for a price guide and then look around tyre fitters or garages.

A tyre or rim fitter will probably charge much less than a garage though.

[btmaldon]

Last one I had was £50 and that was a few years ago.

[Z3 MON]

one of my garages do it for £20 on my old car and i double and tripple checked its full allignment and not just the tracking but i can never be sure what it they are doing.....