Fishtailing

[itchyfishnv]

Question... Why is it my new 03 LTZ TB fishtails when the tires spin? My 02 LTZ did not fishtail one bit, just went in a straight line... How can I get my 03 locked like my 02 was? And if my 03 has limited slip, isnt the other wheel suppose to kick in when the other wheel breaks loose?

[St_Anger]

Ummm. It's because you have both wheels spinning now... :rolleyes:

[firebird_1252]

chances are you got posi my friend.. i sugest taking it out in a parking lot and getting used to it.. and check the glove box for G80

[itchyfishnv]

Do they sell lockers for the TB's?

[ylab]

Our trucks don't have LSD or POSI, what is an option is the Auto-Locker (code G80 as mentioned by firebird). Unless you're on a really slick surface, its unlikely both wheels will continue to spin once the locker engages.....note, I seem to recall hearing the locker only activates below 20-25 mph. (Above that and there is no "auto-locking" and it functions as a normal differential).

My guess would be the tires are different between the two trucks.....they can make a HUGE difference. Some tires excell in a strait line, but have horrible latteral grip and are more prone to breaking away. I'd come out of a car was with the stock Cross-Terrains on my Envoy, spin a tire a bit pulling out and the back end would get loose on dry pavement. (No G80 Locker). With the 20" Goodyears, a little snow, cold & wet or just get on the throttle to heavy in the wet and the a$$ end was all over the place.....a handfull to keep close to strait. Changed to the Hankooks I now have and if a tire spins the truck stays pretty well planted and looses grip very gracefully & slowly.....much easier to drive in bad weather. (And get this the Hankooks are 20s!)

[tblazed]

A couple of weeks ago I got to test my G80 locking dif on some ice. I stopped on a patch of ice on a neighborhood street and goosed it. Both rear wheels spun equally. In a split second, It locked the two together as the Rt rear began to spin, just like it's supposed to do. Very smooth locking action. I opened the driver's door, leaned out, watched it as the dif locked and the L-rear began spinning with the R-rear. If you are unaware of this it can cause the rear to slide sideways especially on a crested road. It's designed to not engage above about 20 MPH in case you are driving at some speed and giving it gas, you hit a slick spot, the rear wheels will not lock and cause it to slide sideways and you loose control.

[itchyfishnv]

Yeah I just checked my glove and I have the G80 RPO code. So WITH the G80 code it will cause your truck to fishtail? I just hate it because my last truck just stayed straight when the wheels broke.

[tblazed]

So WITH the G80 code it will cause your truck to fishtail? I just hate it because my last truck just stayed straight when the wheels broke.

Because on your old TB, only one wheel was actually breaking loose - the Rt rear. Just don't spin the tires. The benefit having it outweighs the negatives.

[itchyfishnv]

Oh i was under the impression if both wheels spun you would go straight, and not fishtail.

[tblazed]

If both rear tires have no traction because they are spinning, there is little to keep it from moving sideways. Just release your foot from the gas pedal when it starts doing that. Might want to find a slick empty parking lot to practice and get the feel of it if you aren't familiar with how locking dif's react on slippery streets.

[itchyfishnv]

Yeah I guess ill have to get used to it, b/c i know people will full lockers in their rigs and they just seem to go straight in all terrains when they get on it.

[ylab]

Hey itchyfishnv, was the road ice or snow covered at the time? I understand if both rear wheels are spinning you have now grip, but our trucks don't have that kind of power under normal circumstances......well, except the lucky SS owners. - Just if it was that slippery, I'd have my truck set to either 4HI or A4WD and let the front wheels help keep the truck going strait.

(Figuring your not a 2WD vehicle, since they have traction control as standard).

[tblazed]

Yeah I guess ill have to get used to it, b/c i know people will full lockers in their rigs and they just seem to go straight in all terrains when they get on it.

They'll be adjusting throttle and keeping it steered into the slide so they don't swap ends or loose control of the fronts, to take advantage of it. You have double the traction before it breaks loose, and if you continue to spin the tires it will pull whichever direction has more traction as it hits different spots on the road probably a little torque steer too. My situation where my G80 gets put to use is pulling out of a side street I drive on several times a week, that's at a pretty good uphill incline, across a 6 lane blvd. Without limited or locking dif I'll sit there and easlily spin the right-rear and go nowhere. (Been almost hit broadside from oncoming cars in that exact intersection as I sat there spinning on a wet street and not moving, but that was years ago different truck, open dif, no G80) With both wheels driven I can feather the throttle and keep it just under the slip point and move out with no problem. Just have to learn from driving with it and now you have a better idea what to expect.

[itchyfishnv]

Ylab, it was raining, so the roads were just wet. I took a right at a red light and startin fishtailing i was like wtf is this.

[ieatglue]

My 03 LT EXT fishtails a bit when the road's wet,. I think it's just normal. Don't punch the gas too hard and you'll be fine, unless you're trying to show off your new TB :D w

[ScarabEpic22]

Ylab, it was raining, so the roads were just wet. I took a right at a red light and startin fishtailing i was like wtf is this.
My 02 LT with G80 does this if I really get on it, it will break to the right a little, and then both wheels will lock and I will go straight. Sometimes though, I have to get off the gas.

[firebird_1252]

you can go straight with a G80. just takes ALOT of getting used to. the key is SMALL corrections. if you over drive it thats when you lose it. i dont know if its because i've been driving posi for a while with my gn but i can almost predict whats going to happen and try to drive out of the situation. it comes with time.

[prerogative]

you can go straight with a G80. just takes ALOT of getting used to. the key is SMALL corrections. if you over drive it thats when you lose it. i dont know if its because i've been driving posi for a while with my gn but i can almost predict whats going to happen and try to drive out of the situation. it comes with time.

Exactly - anyone with a Camaro, Firebird, or GN is familiar with breaking the rear end loose. I had more fun foing this with my Z28 than doing 157mph. It didn't have the rear posi as I recall, it had a live rear axle. I ordered the locking something-or-other for my Envoy, and it reacts very much the same. The right wheel is preferenced a bit, where left turn breakfree is easier than right turn, which tends to spin just right tire unles you stomp it and then steer with the gas.

It took me a while to get use to it in the Envoy. The biggest diff was extra weight, then auto trans. It's a bit more abrupt, and not nearly as controllable (for me), but still fun in the wet weather.

[Stan]

I opened the driver's door, leaned out, watched it as the dif locked and the L-rear began spinning with the R-rear. .

Reminds me of this story.....
(March 1995, Michigan) James Burns, 34, of Alamo, Michigan, was killed in March as he was trying to repair what police described as a "farm-type truck." Burns got a friend to drive the truck on a highway while Burns hung underneath so that he could ascertain the source of a troubling noise. Burns' clothes caught on something, however, and the other man found Burns "wrapped in the drive shaft." :duh:

[tblazed]

Reminds me of this story.....
(March 1995, Michigan) James Burns, 34, of Alamo, Michigan, was killed in March as he was trying to repair what police described as a "farm-type truck." Burns got a friend to drive the truck on a highway while Burns hung underneath so that he could ascertain the source of a troubling noise. Burns' clothes caught on something, however, and the other man found Burns "wrapped in the drive shaft." :duh:

Perhaps you didn't understand what you quoted from my previous post.. I was leaning out the door with the vehicle stopped on an ice patch on a residential street, watching the L-rear wheel spin, I will add there was not another moving car in sight and had my seat belt on at the same time, certainly not hanging underneath as a friend drove it on a highway! Not enough clearance to do that!:rolleyes: