Donuts in a 1.9??

[Fraser]

In this case, not the doughy, sugary, lip licking good confectionery with the hole or jam filled objects of delight but the usual tyre screeching, stomach turning, dramatic looking spins that can be achieved in a car with enough power and rear wheel drive!

We had a bit of a mess around this week with a few different cars trying some donuts as we had a very large, private tarmaced area within Rockingham race track , and whilst myself and the other owners are very protective of our cars, it was an opportunity that just couldnt be missed and put some smiles on peoples faces!
The toyota Supra was great with 330hp and twin turbos, and even the Mazda MX5 was good at sliding the rear end out......

But......

All i will say on this, is that after giving it a go in the Z3 for a couple of minutes, i now have no worries that i will end up in a bush somewhere no matter how hard i push it, which in the real world is exactly what you want so I'm certainly not complaining!!

In donut terms however, it was useless and slightly embarrassing, and i knew it wasnt me as i had slid the MX5 easily! (And yes, i had turned the ASC off on the Z3!)

So, my question is this...... (Not that i intend to have another go!)

Why is it so difficult to get the back out on the Z3, when the MX5 was really quite easy when they have the same power output???

 

[Ianmc]

I don't think that turning off ASC totally turns off all the driver aids. Not sure of the detail, but this is my understanding.
My M44 (early 1997) doesn't have ASC (or DSC or anything else) and I can get the back out and spin the wheels! Don't do this too often mind, as I am not as young as I used to be!

 

[Dino D]

The ASC Is turned off by one click on my 2.8 (later DSC cars might have 2 stage requiring a Sec press for deactivation).

Theb2.8 is helped by power and LSD but if you are not ‘brutal’ enough with turn/throttle it will still grip at the rear, but once you have it break away even the 1.9 should do it well albeit with one wheel smoking.
You probably have decent tyres to so to over come that pump them up the to max pressure..


I know this from reading top gear only...no personal experience


Oh and usually any other car other that your own is usually easier for some reason, like rentals for example, no matter how small the engines they always seem to fly..

 

[Fraser]

I let Jordan the photographer have a go as he had the MX5 spinning really well, but he struggled with the Z3 (he wasn't holding back at all, whilst i was standing watching and whincing expecting something to break!!) and he got out of it really underwhelmed i think!
I asked if it was something that needed looking at, but JJ said they're all like it!

I just wanted to see what everyone else's experiences were!

 

[Ianmc]

If you can't work with 140bhp (assuming the car has it), the driver is doing something wrong.

 

[Fraser]

3 of us had a go at it, and whilst it did loose a bit of traction and got a bit of smoke going, it soon came back and didn't look half as impressive as the MX5!!

Oh well. Maybe I've got a bit of a power shortage somewhere??

 

[Dino D]

Here’s a 318 with massive tyres doing just fine, doesn’t even seem to be trying hard wither:

View: https://youtu.be/MZr8n0off5U


Bring it round and I’ll check it out for you

 

[Pingu]

Donuts are all about controlled sliding, and sliding is all about losing grip. If your car won't lose grip, do something about it. More aggression on the throttle (sounds like your MX-5 guy tried that) or less grippy tyres.

 

[Fraser]

@Dino D It didn't look anything like that when we tried!

That's got to have more than 140 brake!
Either that or he's got KY on the tyres!
Or, mines not chucking out 140 BHP.

Would the low profile tyres on the 318 would help though as the side walls won't flex as much? I'm thinking they're probably 19 inch rims, where I have 17 inch? (Can you tell I'm just clutching at straws now!!)

@Pingu It was mentioned that tyre pressures may need to go up a bit which would reduce the flex in the tyre and potentially reduce the contact patch and try again. What do you think?
The aggression bit was attempted........ I wasn't sure the engine and clutch were going to make it out alive!!

 

[Pingu]

High tyre pressures is a good way to reduce grip - worth a try. Lower the pressure in the fronts to encourage the rear to go loose and the front to grip.

I really struggle (mentally) to do donuts as they are anathema to everything that I try to achieve with a car, but I enjoy watching others do them in their cars.

 

[BMBabe]

@Lee loves a good tyre burn out

 

[Fraser]

High tyre pressures is a good way to reduce grip - worth a try. Lower the pressure in the fronts to encourage the rear to go loose and the front to grip.

I really struggle (mentally) to do donuts as they are anathema to everything that I try to achieve with a car, but I enjoy watching others do them in their cars.

I completely agree about the mental attitude and i treat the car with utmost respect most of the time, but after being in the Supra and seeing the MX5 do them, i thought i'd give it a go. I wouldn't have done normally, but I'm now wondering if there is something wrong with the power delivery somewhere.

Think i need to come out on a meet somewhere so that someone in the know can take it for a drive and see if it's all ok!

 

[Mazza]

I have a 1.9lt 140bhp and tried donuts in the car the first week I had it....

Never again.....jam and sugar everywhere

 

[5harp3y]

If a Mx5 with 120-150bhp can do it the z3 can.

 

[Sean d]

Do them on grass, its dead easy

 

[Carl Brown]

Hmmm I could get the backend out and take corners at 45* in everyone of the 4 3 series I had even managed it a couple of times in the 5 series. Now I have the 4 series it sticks to the road like glue all were M sports ?? But the Zed as much as I’ve tried for scientific reasons not a bloody chance. However I have managed a meagre wheel spin from the off

 

[Fraser]

Hmmm I could get the backend out and take corners at 45* in everyone of the 4 3 series I had even managed it a couple of times in the 5 series. Now I have the 4 series it sticks to the road like glue all were M sports ?? But the Zed as much as I’ve tried for scientific reasons not a bloody chance. However I have managed a meagre wheel spin from the off

Yep, that's been my experience pretty much too!

Maybe I just need to get a 2.8............................

 

[Fraser]

Do them on grass, its dead easy

I've heard that ice works quite well too!

 

[miller1098]

Doughnuts take a little practice,the best place is your local playing fields after a light shower of rain it takes much less input once you have the technique you’ll know what’s needed.mostly big revs and aggressive steering.but if you can practice on a field it helps,come over to ours and give it a try .

View: https://youtu.be/EgEyt1uZk1s.

View: https://youtu.be/ek6TZNZ5aL4

 

[Mazza]

I may be missing something here, but what is the point of it??

Other than to wear out your clutch, tyres, steering and diff !

If it’s just down to ‘driver control’ of the car, then I do that everyday when I go out in the car, and don’t hit anything