Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: tunnie on 02 July 2007, 19:18:29
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Took the Senator for a blast, first long run since the new exhaust and water pump went on. It gulped a load of water about 5 miles or so, after that stayed the same :)
More good news is the new zorst is working well, much less engine noise when cold. Picks up better 45 ish to 80 too :D
It had been raining, so the road was wet, pulling away on a dual carriageway already doing 40mph or so, decided to hit the Sport button and leave that pesky van behind, that was up my ass.
The back end started to wriggle and had some serious loss of traction, I was not accelerating! ;D - Backed off the gas, it stopped wriggling side to side, and then managed to pull away. The road was only slightly damp, i must put the Dunlops on the rear, and put the 'Regal Sport's on the front!
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Hell Yeah !! Even better put decent rubber on every corner :y
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Hell Yeah !! Even better put decent rubber on every corner :y
that would be the smart thing to do, but even the budget dunlops were half the value of the car, the 'Regal' tyres are brand new, and plenty of tread left.
Money is too tight for that as well.
Ahhh well makes for entertaining handling :D
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Lucky it hasn't got an LSD ;) (Mine has.................so much fun ;) ;))
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Depends if you prefer oversteer or understeer I guess?
How does it handle when cornering if balanced on the power and not being provoked?
If the back end tends to break away I'd be inclined to swap them. If it corners fairly neutral I'd leave it.
Kevin
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Lucky it hasn't got an LSD ;) (Mine has.................so much fun ;) ;))
It does have an LSD, all 24v Senators did.
Kev - Not had a chance to push it through the twisties, last time i did, the front went very light.
I think with a big powerful RWD car, best rubber is due on the back.
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:-[ :-[ Oooooooppppppppssssssssss
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:-[ :-[ Oooooooppppppppssssssssss
One of the ways the Omega was a step back, LSD only on some police spec. Also no dip stick for the gearbox fluid!
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Depends if you prefer oversteer or understeer I guess?
How does it handle when cornering if balanced on the power and not being provoked?
If the back end tends to break away I'd be inclined to swap them. If it corners fairly neutral I'd leave it.
Kevin
Even on sweeping bends, Tunnies has a tendency to want to break away from the rear. Apparently ::). So best on rear I reckon...
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Got Dunlop SP9000 all 4 corners on my MV6 handles great in most weather ;D back starts to step out only when very light rain on previous dry road. Unless pushed hard in the wet. Dry traction great :y
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Got Dunlop SP9000 all 4 corners on my MV6 handles great in most weather ;D back starts to step out only when very light rain on previous dry road. Unless pushed hard in the wet. Dry traction great :y
Yup, use SP9000 on my MV6...
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Standard tyre manufacturers recommendations are, surprisingly, best tyres on the front, irrespective of FWD or RWD.
However on the Senny, it was reversed as it has a tendancy to bite and bite very quickly if and when the rear end breaks away.......
Take care, young man. Side impact protection levels are not the best on this, a design virtually the same age as the yoof driving it.....
:y
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Standard tyre manufacturers recommendations are, surprisingly, best tyres on the front, irrespective of FWD or RWD.
However on the Senny, it was reversed as it has a tendancy to bite and bite very quickly if and when the rear end breaks away.......
Take care, young man. Side impact protection levels are not the best on this, a design virtually the same age as the yoof driving it.....
:y
Will do, I have already spun it in the wet. That was at 1am and I was being too cocky, glad I did spin it. Made be take it easy in the wet, however I was again surprised to find such a large wiggle when going in straight line!
I was in a perfect straight line, press the sport button and whey hey that back end was all over the place. Bit like looney at the footie! ;) ;D
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LSD probably doesn't help under power either. It will cause the rear end to break away if pushed too hard rather than a relatively benign inner wheel spin. Probably why VX dropped it as standard fitment once traction control was standard.
Fitted one to the kit car about 18 months ago and it now demands a lot more respect when negotiating roundabouts in the wet. Much improved traction in the dry though. With the levels of side impact protection a Westfield offers it pays to experiment with these things off the public roads with plenty of runoff area :o :y
Kevin
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It does have an LSD, all 24v Senators did.
Oh no they didn't!! Who told you that? Whoever it was, shoot them!! ;)
An LSD was only slightly less rare on a civvy spec' Senny than it was on an equivelant/similarly spec'd Omega.
The problem with the 'slippys' on a Senny/Carlton (etc) is that they're not as easily identifiable as a 'normal' LSD. On a normal 'Positraction' diff', if you jack the rear of the car off the ground and turned one of the driven wheels with the transmission in neutral, the other should turn in the same direction of motion. The Senny diff', (for want of any explanation!), didn't.
Basically, to identify a Senny/Carlton(and I guess Omega), LSD, with the driven wheels off the ground, turn the propshaft. If the driven wheels turn the same degrees in the same direction, then it's an LSD. If it doesn't or turns the other way, then it isn't.
Alternatively, try to light the tail up on a bend. If you get smoke from one tyre then it's not an LSD! otherwise, try the tests detailed above. (It might be that the 'limited' bit has passed it's sell by date!! ;D )
I only ever owned one Sentor with an LSD, but never got the pleasure of driving it! ::) However, the NON-LSD Senny's I did drive, were much like Omegas in that they were very predictable and controllable in 'breaking' and could be pulled back into shape without too much trauma.
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oooops! :-[ - Can't remember where i heard it, but quite sure mine does.
Turning left out of a petrol station on the flat, i could hear/feel one wheel spinning much faster than the other.
I am sure i read someware that the 24v Senators mostly had LSD's, the rest, 12v 3.0, 2.5's and so on did not. But the 24v ones did?
99% sure mine has one :D
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Well, of the 4 24v Sennys I have had, 3 had lsd's fitted, and as far as I was aware, it was indeed an option on the 24v.
Tunnie, be very careful with the Senny, its handling characteristics are nowhere near as forgiving as the Omegas!
It has dual side impact bars (quite advanced for its time) but I would not want to test them!
I have to disagree with Rod. When the Senny breaks traction it is usually very sudden and in a big way (although I do wonder how much of that is due to usually very tired suspension). You need to be quick and experienced with the cars to catch it.
The Omega is much more progressive in its manner.
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You need to be quick and experienced with the cars to catch it
Thats me buggered then! ;D
At least the this major wiggle and the spin did not affect anyone else. Will take more care now on.
If the LSD was an option, my 24v was fully kitted out then! It has stainless steel autobox coolant pipes to the rad, and a rear blind which i also belive was an option! :)
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Turning left out of a petrol station on the flat, i could hear/feel one wheel spinning much faster than the other.
That would tell me that your car doesn't have an LSD.
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Yes, the Senator is tail light and nose heavy where as the Omega has a much better balance......but then I have showed you that before Tunnie....
The Senator takes a bit more balancing on the throttle to control it.....or the back end goes fast.
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.... be very careful with the Senny, its handling characteristics are nowhere near as forgiving as the Omegas! ...... When the Senny breaks traction it is usually very sudden and in a big way (although I do wonder how much of that is due to usually very tired suspension). You need to be quick and experienced with the cars to catch it. The Omega is much more progressive in its manner.
When driving these cars when they were front line response cars with the best of tyres, suspension, bushes etc they went really well. They did snap quite suddenly (probably aided by the amount of kit carried in the boot!) and needed the driver to be pin sharp in catching it and bringing everything back into line.
Two Trafpol, I think from Edinburgh died when it went pear shaped for them a number of years ago when the rear end went. These cars bite if you push them too hard and, as stated, the 'Meega is perhaps a little more tolerant of inexperience.....
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Well, of the 4 24v Sennys I have had, 3 had lsd's fitted, and as far as I was aware, it was indeed an option on the 24v.
T'was indeed an option. Of the three Sennys and three GSI's I've had only one of the Senators had an LSD. I think you've been very lucky LB, most Senators didn't have the 'box ticked'.
Police spec' Senators came with LSD's as standard.
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I should mention, 2 of the 3 were ex plod (manual box goodness! :)) and rather entertaining. ;)
Never did have a manual 24v CD. :(
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I should mention, 2 of the 3 were ex plod
Well, there you go!!
Funny enough, the Senator I had with LSD had actually been bent 'cos the driver wasn't quick enough to catch a tank slapper. Maybe it's just the LSD equiped ones that are twitchy. I always thought the breakaway on my non slippy Senny's was quite predictable and graceful.
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Maybe you had Sennys with semi responsive suspension? ;)