Something has happened

[richyboy123]

Could possibly be a really dumb question. Is damper performance dependent on weather? Over the last couple of days it appears to have got warmer and my car seems to be noticeably more supple over the bumps. In contrast a week ago it was around 0c and it felt a lot harder and less compliant over bumps. Stupid as it may sound, Saturday was the first time I successfully floored the throttle, before it would just wheel spin due to the cold weather even with moderate throttle application.

 

[jezza l]

colder tyres and colder tarmac means less grip so it'll spin like crazy.

 

[Steve]

Colder tyres and colder denser air, so less grip and more power - winter is a bit of a weird one in this respect. Mix in completely grip-less worn front tyres and shot brakes and you have to suddenly learn about throttle modulation, realistic corner entry speeds and normal stopping distances, I'm making the most of it as healthy tuition.

P.S. Can't really comment on damper function at different temeratures, I would have thought it only makes a difference when starting off as they probably reach a pretty standard operating temperature when on the road for a while. I did have a bit of a noisy front offside damper in the really cold weather last week, but it went after a few minutes never to return.

 

[George K]

Sometimes the damper fluid viscosity may change and as the Trophy dampers are already quite stiff they could be sensitive to temperature. In the 'old' days it was also belewived that the seals could get stiffer - unlikely now.

Tyres are very sensitive to temperature and in the USA they make a big thing that some summer tyres (what we call normal tyres) are not safe below about 5 C.

 

[Steve]

I noticed in Prague that even the new expensive cars like Audi A8's were wearing 14" black steel wheels with nobbly tyres, I only saw a couple of cars with alloys bigger than 16" the whole time I was there, seems that it's only in this country that we're too much of a bunch of posers to fit winter wheels. :lol:

 

[theo]

Probably explains a lot about why we grind to a complete halt whenever it snows then ! lol!

 

[Max]

I agree Richy, car definately jars more when cold/start of a journey. Interior rattles less when the heater has been on for a while too. I tend to let it sit and warm for as long as poss where I think it's safe enough. I'll probably regret warming it when it gets nicked one day.

 

[__CA__]

I've also noticed the ride is harsher when the ambient temperature is close to zero, particuarly first thing in the morning.

I wonder if they did all their damper development work in warm temperatures? It wouldn't surprise me if this was the case and all the development work was done in France, since the Trophy was just a quick end-of-line special rather than a full on production model, which are tested in all climates.

I can't wait for warmer temperatures to see how sticky the tyres feel when hooning. :twisted:

 

[Steve]

I've also noticed the ride is harsher when the ambient temperature is close to zero, particuarly first thing in the morning.

I wonder if they did all their damper development work in warm temperatures? It wouldn't surprise me if this was the case and all the development work was done in France, since the Trophy was just a quick end-of-line special rather than a full on production model, which are tested in all climates.

I can't wait for warmer temperatures to see how sticky the tyres feel when hooning. :twisted:

The Trophy was road tested around Brittany I believe, because the roads were similar in condition and climate similar to Britain (not at all because it was close to the factory!). But the Sachs dampers have been 'trialed' on all the Clio Cup race cars all over the place, admittedly, they probably don't get left out in the open to freeze before a race though!

 

[Cue]

it's law in most euro counties that have minus temps over winter that winter tyres be fitted or snow chains. As they euro's don't grit the roads (why don't we do this?)

hense why their cars all look poo during winter.

Not sure on the damper subject, I've noticed a massive drop off in grip this year compared to last but i've put that down to needing new tyres, which are on there way soon...