I'm no boy racer and there not really high on my kudos list. It was raining a little yesterday, but I'm pretty sure fishtailing sideways off a roundabout gave the car behind a reason to judge me that way. Whats's your most recent " clenching " moment...

Last Saturday morning following a hot curry and a few pints of cask ale on Friday night......

I get more problems with the front end, particularly in the wet negotiating roundabouts. I have had the back end outa few times, most notably during some spirited driving on a country road when I came round a corner that went uphill then dropped off, it was when I went over the crest that the back went light and stepped out quite a bit, was a bit surprised but I guess you should be prepared for that

Quite a lot actually, never seem to have any issues with it stepping out. Only had it happen twice, once late at night and too fast into corner (got a awesome dash cam video ) the other was a little lift off oversteer, nothing major.

Toby

Yesterday....... I drove a Ferrari 360 on one of those driving experiences and nearly stuck it in the gravel trap cos I got the brakes all wrong going into a hair pin bend .......... Got a slap on the wrist from the instructor for that

I've noticed the backend of the Stilos can be a bit hairy... they don't seem very well planted in comparison to similar cars, especially for being FWD. I've also had a clenching moment on a wet roundabout when the backend decided to start going in its own direction :shakehead:

Very similar experience to me. I was suprised it handled worse than my old 1.4 ZR.

Crazy Horses said:

Very similar experience to me. I was suprised it handled worse than my old 1.4 ZR.

Click to expand...

Fit some decent springs and dampers and you'll be amazed at the difference. My Schumi (Eibachs and Bilsteins from the factory) handles like a dream.

Time for a 4 wheel tracking check me thinks! Most folk only get the front wheels checked because badly set up front suspension lunches the tired in minutes.... back tyres can be pretty out of alignment before you notice bad tyre wear... but go round a corner too quickly and ooooooh boy! You soon know when your back end is teetering on its inside edges!

never had any problems with my multi, but i did have a hunter 4 wheel allignment done last august 2 months after i got

The fluid leaked out of my rear bushes in January - I still haven't replaced them yet, as the press tools I bought off someone in May haven't arrived yet

I wonder how many other Stilos need new rear bushes - probably most of them? - which might explain why Stilo rear ends are getting wayward. The bushes are arranged on carefully-designed angles, so their elasticity is important for the wheel geometry to be correct. More so than on earlier designs - instead of being a simple trailing arm, the angled bushes are intended to create a self-steering effect. If wrong, that would explain why it feels strange compared to other FWD cars.

-Alex

i have found the stilo to be great on turns to be honest the hydraulic bushings are designed to give a toe in effect to keep the rear on check, the only problem is that because its an mono axle design in the back in the case of a bump on a turn it can be lost or need of caution. TO be honest i had changed the shocks of the stilo from 30,000 klm so i cant remember how it was on turns but it was acting like a boat hence why i change to eibach bilstein combo. i noticed i needed new rear bushings after 90,000 klm but dont forget the roads in greece are horrible.

This is from an old post showing the geometry of the rear axle
https://www.fiatforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=86617&d=1297071154

The rear end of the car seems to be ok, unless your pressing a bit too hard or pulling on the Wand of Ken Block.

For those that have different tyres all round - put the best ones on the back. That way when the back end goes light under heavy braking or such, the tyres at the back have the best grip and stop the back end of the car from overtaking the front!!

Stilatos said:

This is from an old post showing the geometry of the rear axle
https://www.fiatforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=86617&d=1297071154

Click to expand...

The diagram seems familiar from somewhere else... Ah yes! It says "188 torsion axle" - that's the Mk2 Punto (type 188!) I reckon they've stolen the design from there.

-Alex