Please don't flame me if this sounds stupid... but I have a completely stock 01 CL-S. I was on a 270 degree clover leaf type of on-ramp onto a freeway following a Ford Crown Victoria (the same style as the cop car type, but this is and was never a cop car) and I COULDN'T hang with him. I couldn't believe it! My tires were squealing and the Crown Vic kept pulling away.

I know people say the handling on our cars suck, but a Crown Victoria??? Someone enlighten me please. Thanks!

 

yep. it sucks stock.

drop it and it feels like a completely different car.

 

learn to drive?

 

how are your tires? better tires can make a big difference. you still on the stock rubber?

 

droppin it will make a world of difference

 

even with springs and sways i cant hang with thses rwd cars, my friends 530 was owning me in the twisties the other day

 

Yea, the funny thing is Consumer Guide says this car is noted for its handling but the handling is not good and the Michelin MXV4's do not handle well at all.

 

in a fwd car... you can take a turn fast but you have to do it the right way ... u brake in a straight line coming up to the turn, coast thru the turn... and accelerate out of it....

 

I usually don't have issues keeping up with RWD cars in corners, it is usally more of them having issues with me. I only have different tires, but have driving an awful lot in 2yrs, so I think that counts as well.

 

it comes down to the driver. i do admit that the cl-s is a boat when it comes to handling, but with good suspension and tires it can turn pretty well. if you wanted to you could probably do some sick power sliding with a modded cl-s as it has a lot of power... but i wouldn't recommend it hehe

 

#1 Lower your car.
#2 Koni Yellow Adjustable Shocks.
#3 Toyo T1-S Tires.
#4 Sways.
#5 Upper and Lower Strut Bars.


I can hang with the 350Z's on our twisty runs.
I have no problem keeping up with most RWD
cars.

 

i sometimes take off ramps doing around 60-65ish, it has some body roll but i dont hear my tires squeal and im on stock rubber.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

YES, I am on purely stock rubbers... the Michelins.

I admit that I'm not an experienced driver by any means, but that Crown Vic was accelerating in the turn and I thought I could do the same. I was just so shocked! My VSA light never kicked in, but my tires were chirping. I backed off after hearing the chirps... could I have pushed more?

I just can't describe that feeling getting left on the onramp by that Crown Victoria boat! I was saying $%*&! about my stinking car all day!

 

ok but rwd with suspension mods > fwd with suspension mods

 

Of course. But thats not the point is it?? Can our car handle?? YES!!!
With the proper mods, and some good driving skills, it can handle
quite nicely.

 

Just as an observer, recently saw sedan races on Speedchannel where a pair of Acura TSX's blew by the BMW's in the twisties, and won driving away.....I know the cars are lighter and race-prepped - but so were the Beemers......maybe RWD is not always the winner!? - has anyone ever raced a CL - in a road course.....other than in gymkhana?....what would the ultimate set-up be......

 

lower and add 19s... i can spin with the best of em... hee hee...

its like butta...

and yes the stock rubbers are weak... sloppy on the road...

 

get tein ss, sways, better tires, strut bars and you will be amazed at the difference

 

I don't know what kind of CrownVic (CV) you were trailing nor the condition of your car. Are you sure it was a stock CrownVic or was it modded or a police interceptor ? I've seen folks take CV's and fit them with the same package as the Mercury Marauder or even better. Not to say the Marauder had F-1 like handling, but it was a sure fire improvement over the stock rental-car grade CV. Or was it a retired squad car? The CV police interceptor package with the right aftermarket tires can handle surprisingly well ! As for your car, are you in a CL or CL type S ? The stock CL had some whimpy rubber. And, even though the Michelin MXM's on the Type S were an improvement, pretty much all Michelins on Honda products were chosen for all-season driveability and fuel economy - not for absolute road holding. My CL-S has all the stock suspension bits and it isn't lowered (don't think I ever will, makes the car look silly and they have some mongo speed bumps around here), but I upgraded to 18's with GoodYear Eagle F1's (thank you, Ebay). Even though TireRack didn't rate the F1's well, they most surely surpassed the stock rubber. I've hugged the rear ends of plenty of high end rides on cloverleafs and left a few in the dust. I've left a few Civic and Eclipse drivers shaking their fists... =) Yes, the CL is a porker of a car (3500 pounds) and no it's not meant to be a RSX for roadholding, but upgrade your tires (Toyo Proxies, Yokohama Parada S2, Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 are all good bets) and *maybe* your wheels and you should be able to kiss the plastic off the rear bumper on that CV the next time you two meet in public (just make sure it's not an unmarked squad car =) )

 

dude the cl will own a crown victoria, lol. All i have is springs and toyo tires, and i keep up pretty damn well with alot of cars. It kinda squelsa alot, but it still grips like a mutha. I suggest what everyone else said, invest in suspension mods. The first thing i would go with is tires and lowering, you will be blow away.

 

What this guy said. Plus you gotta know your limits and characteristics of your car. A good driver can handle his shit. What up Rol?!

 

:blaze:

 

i understand the speedbumps, but you really think lowering the CL makes it look silly?

 

The stock suspension on the CL is silly.....

 

Stock rubber is shit.

Get some better tires on there.

It'll definately help.

 

no matter what kind of mods you put on a cl-s it wont even come close to a stock 350z, u cant be serious

 

you took the words outta my mouth

 

I can personally attest to the poor comments about the stock tires. I went from the stock Michelins to 235 45 17 Sumitomo HTR+ on my '01 CLS, and now I am back to the stock Michelins on my '03 CLS!

One car I would like to test drive is an "05 RX-8. I have read that the RX-8's can handle with the best of them!!

2003 CLS six sspeed
Icebox

 

i have 03 cl with mich ps and stock suspension... and my car could do it ;-) def better then a crown vic

 

the stock suspension on the cls is not so terrible. mods improve the car, but it was by no means undriveable to begin with.

 

To maaloxmoment: I have a 2001 CL Type S in 100% stock form (Michelin tires included). It is in perfect stock condition... The Crown Vic looked like a normal rental car variety Crown Vic. I know what you mean about those Cop Car varieties... I can spot those a mile away and this wasn't one of them. That's why I was so shocked... I couldn't hang with an even BIGGER boat than my car!

Is it possible that I could have continued to push it even with my tires chirping, but I was just too chicken to do it. Like I said, I am a novice driver...

I don't want to lower my car either... Will changing the tires to some other brand of 215/50 17s on the stock rims help?

I still feel so pathetic to lose to a Crown Vic!

 

My stock tires squealed all the time. Yours are +3 years old and worn.


I switched to Sumitomo HTR Z II, 225/45/17. I have yet to make them squeal or understeer like the stock tires. They have more grip than I'm willing to test on public roads.

 

When we do our twisty runs, a 350Z leads, followed by Red Rider. I am behind Red. He can keep up just fine. I think it's a matter of the CL being pushed to the limit vs. the Z being pushed to about 60%

Like AztecRol said, those mods will definatley give the car a new attitude. I've rode in his car and that thing handles awesome!!!

 

I've driven an RX8. they do handle very well, too bad there isn't any torque to take you through the turn

if you want anything out of that car, you have to live your life above 7000 RPM.

but the Mazdaspeed Miata .. now that is a car .. TURBO, rwd, convertible .. handles VERY well, car is light, and that turbo gives you plenty of torque.

 

You don't have to lower it if you don't want to...

tires will help as bluto said 225's or you can put 235's on i believe, but you should upgrade from the 215's...

you can also add sway bars, which won't lower it but i think make a noticeable difference, i really don't like the ride in the cl lowered with koni's, i want to go back to the stock suspension,

the car can handle if you drive it well, but it will never match most rwd cars in the class, and unless you are going autoxing or doing some amazing road driving, you probably don't need it...

that being said, tires and sways is my

 

Modded I thinnk the CL suspension is very good. It's no BMW, but gets the job done. I had a 97 police CV & it didn't handle. I'd fly the back end out when trying to push it. While fun, going sideways around corners gets to be a pain.

 

Do all the suspension work you want to, but it all comes down to a 63/37 weight distribution and that's why it handle so bad.

350Z = 52/48
RX8 = 50/50 (perfect)
G35C = 53/47

Of course all those are RWD cars. Don't expect stellar handling from a FWD.

 

damn.. 63/37... thats crazy.

 

You cannot accelerate a FWD car very hard through a corner without it plowing (understeering) like a dump truck. Most inexperienced drivers enter a corner slow then try to accelerate hard through it which wont work. This is why you couldnt keep up. You have to carry some speed into the corner and weight the front tires by braking a little. Once the nose is 'set' you balance the car around the corner with gentle even throttle pressure just to maintain speed. If it starts runnign wide, you lift and the nose tucks, then you can feed in the power again, gently. My CL-S suspension is stock except for Kuhmo 235/45 ASx's and I can stay with Mustang GT's even with good drivers.

 

My favorite 270 onramp in Seattle is the 405N @ Exit 5. I pulled away from a WRX that was trying to keep up...of course most of my gains were on the straight parts.