Hey
I've had my Roadster a year; it's a 2005 and I find it horribly hard to handle. It's all over the road, all the time. I'm running Continental SportContact 2 tires; 224/40 R18 front and 255/35 R19 on the back. I'll admit, it's what was on the car when I bought it.

Any idea's?

 

#1: Factory alignments are many times crap. Find a shop with a good rack, load up the car like you normally drive it (ie; sit in it) and have them perform an alignment. A tad more toe in will increase straight line stability.

#2: The recirculating ball steering and low steering ratio really destroys sporty road feel. The car seems to perform your suggestions as opposed to actually being under your control. I haven't got around to searching for a solution (limiting power assist, raising steering ratio) to this yet.

#3: The tires are not summer performance tires. They are light on response and not much better in any other area. I can't wait to burn them off and replace them with a stiff & sticky summer performance tire.

Watch your pressures, don't let them go too low.

 

I have to say there has got to be something more than the tires wrong with your crossfire, doesn't sound like an easy fix to me

 

i have the same problem. my car is all over the road. when driving on highway it handles pretty good, but in the city its just horrible especially when coming to a stop light sudden. tomorrow im going to do an alignment and i hope that fixes the problem.

 

Stock Michelins are good.
Stock Conti's suck - they skitter about too easily when you gun it in a turn.

 

I find no problems with my 2005 roadster with the stock Contis (6700 miles). I did have a tire with an invisible screw letting air escape slowly, but once that tire was replaced everything functions just fine. My XFire tracks well, changes lanes with a touch of the steering wheel, and stays straight in braking situations. Perhaps the roads you travel on a regular basis are worn by heavy traffic and you keep getting caught in the groove giving you the "squirrely" feeling. Are there any roadways that have been recently repaved that you can try your car on to see if there is any difference?

Bob

 

I think xfirenorth is mostly correct.

Short wheelbase, wide tires, and a irregular driving surface make for some ill handling.

I've noticed that on deeply rutted roads (Older asphalt roads with grooves in the tire tracks) tend to make my car "hunt" a little to the left and right.

 

I hve contis and mine handles like a dream, you have something wrong, if you are floating all over the road........

 

Kumho Ecstas, here with nothing but the best to report
Also have Yokohamas on the red Limited Coupe
I liked the Continentals for all round.
Michelins were the best for ride and sound.
Mike

 

This is a 100% correct, and if there are anygrooves in the road at all the tire follows them. You will get the "feel" of it in time.