I am sure this is probably a stupid question for those of you who know a lot about cars but I am a car newby and know very little.

I am looking for any possible realistic procedure that might improve my turning circle as it is very annoying.

No suggestions of buying a commodore either please :D

Any ideas or is it impossible with a front wheel drive vehicle?

Not sure but I'd be interested to know because my mothers TR wagon has the worst turning circle ever.

I am sure this is probably a stupid question for those of you who know a lot about cars but I am a car newby and know very little.

I am looking for any possible realistic procedure that might improve my turning circle as it is very annoying.

No suggestions of buying a commodore either please :D

Any ideas or is it impossible with a front wheel drive vehicle?

Hydraulic handbrake? lol

Not much you can do without re-fabricating certain items of the suspention, steering and bodywork.

I thought everyone just gets used to it, sure it's anoying but once you expect it, it isn't such a big problem.

You could fit 4 wheel steering at great expense... :D

They have a big turning circle due to torque magnas can put down. Putting torque through a straight CV joint is fine, but put it through a CV on an angle and it all smashed 1 or 2 bearings and a specific part of the housing. TX5's and MX6's are the same, instead of making decient cv's they simply reduced the turning circle.

They have a big turning circle due to torque magnas can put down. Putting torque through a straight CV joint is fine, but put it through a CV on an angle and it all smashed 1 or 2 bearings and a specific part of the housing. TX5's and MX6's are the same, instead of making decient cv's they simply reduced the turning circle.

Yeah thats why on charades you can turn the wheels more than some RWD cars :P

Yeah thats why on charades you can turn the wheels more than some RWD cars :P
:bowrofl: :bowrofl: :owned:

Actualy turbo model charades have 1/4 turn less lock becase of the same reason, but still have very tough CV's. Guys with 130kw atw still dont pop CVs when running 13's.

Its all about how you drive it. I have the right hand side because the boot was cracked, repacked it and its lasted a complete track series.

:bowrofl: :bowrofl: :owned:

No one's owned dude, I was for real. My mate has a g100(I think) Charade and that thing can turn it's wheels to a shocking angle, bloody awsoem for tight spots and u-turns in small side streets :shock:

I thought it was a long shot!

Oh well guess I will have to get used to it.
Its funny as all the other cars I have driven that were front wheel drive had much better turning circles.
Even my old 85 corona was pretty tight compared to this.

Other than the turning circle though I totaly love the car :D

As annoying as we all find the turning circle you sort of get to a point where you know what you can and cant do and find slight changes to methods of turning can help... for example.

- I usually only ever reverse park into a parking spot as you have more angle pivoting off the rear wheels into a spot.
- If i have to drive forward into a parking spot where I have little turn-in room, i deliberately turn late so it is impossible to get in without having to go full-lock the opposite direction when backing up so I get in most times on the second approach. (hard to explain but you focus more on straightening up in line than just trying to get in)
- With u-turns I keep left most of the lane I am approaching from (safely) and turn full lock asap before commencing the turn... (I know it is not good to turn the wheel when stationary but you can edge forward and do it.) If possible I drive further forward if it gives me a gap to use.
- If there is a chance doing a u-turn could lead to me blocking off oncoming traffic then I would rather drive to the next right hand road and do a 3 point turn and go back out again... for the stress of trying, it is sometimes not worth it. I don't fancy getting t-boned by someone who failed to notice me trying to do a 3-point turn where I should have done a u-turn.

- I usually only ever reverse park into a parking spot as you have more angle pivoting off the rear wheels into a spot.

ahh ive always hated going in nose first (hence the dent on my front due to lac of turning), but i just thought i had a natural flare for reverse parking... didnt know it was related to the turning circle.

:stoopid:

I've always preferred reverse parking rather then going front face forward. My mates think i'm weird since they prefer parking front face forward and hate reverse parking.

Then again, my first car was a Magna, so this turning circle theory could explain this phenominon :P


Edit: And yes I have managed to hit the front left bumper on a piller whilst parking in an undercover carpark whilst trying to park front face forward :D

omg, same lol. I was driving around this underground car-park near my uni and was snickering at all the people who have taken paint off a particular sign. So a few cars are around now, i get distracted , and take some paint of the sign with my car going about 1-2km/h bahaha, luckily it really did buff out haha

but seriously, you should go to an empty car-park or track or whatever, and practise some handbrake turns. When going slow they are actually quite easy to control, and with a little practise , 180 degree turns are over in a second (which cuts out the drama associated with trying to bust a tight u turn . )

Hope i helped !



later :cool:

omg, same lol. I was driving around this underground car-park near my uni and was snickering at all the people who have taken paint off a particular sign. So a few cars are around now, i get distracted , and take some paint of the sign with my car going about 1-2km/h bahaha, luckily it really did buff out haha

but seriously, you should go to an empty car-park or track or whatever, and practise some handbrake turns. When going slow they are actually quite easy to control, and with a little practise , 180 degree turns are over in a second (which cuts out the drama associated with trying to bust a tight u turn . )

Hope i helped !



later :cool:


You will destroy your handbrake in no time doing this frequently. The magnas have a seperate rear drum parking brake system which is a crap piece of shiat.

Edit: And yes I have managed to hit the front left bumper on a piller whilst parking in an undercover carpark whilst trying to park front face forward :D

lol. cracked the entire bumper underneath too. was told would need full replacment! :O but will look at getting it patched later.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4725/oops4ia.gif

damn those concrete pillars.. but mine was done in view of my workmates having a smoko... :( now i walk around the store with them now constantly making me aware of any surrounds so i dont bump into them :doubt:

lol. cracked the entire bumper underneath too. was told would need full replacment! but will look at getting it patched later.

<Insert image here>

damn those concrete pillars.. but mine was done in view of my workmates having a smoko... :( now i walk around the store with them now constantly making me aware of any surrounds so i dont bump into them :doubt:

lol thats nasty! mine wasn't too bad, had those grey coloured bars, hit right on the corner of the bar, and it nicely popped out, leaving some white *ooh my plastic has been bent* kinda marks, and at the same time the top lip of the bar on the left side remoulded itself.

Anyway my mates have some worse (funny) stories about my driving ....:doubt:



Getting OT'ed here, anyways, to put it simply, you can't change the turning circle of your Magna.

If you want a better turning circle, drive a fork lift lol, those are fun.

Get a different car. Pretty simple fix :D

You could fit 4 wheel steering at great expense... :D
i'm too poor to ever, so this is jus curiosity, but do you know what other ramifications would there be to this? how does a 4 wheel steerer handle? are there things they can't do? does it slow them at all?

ooo, and is it possible to get really expensive suspension you can make go up and down for diff driving conditions? jus curious again.

;D

Smaller diameter tyres :D

i got 2 words for ya mate.


HAND BRAKE

I done a hand brakey once and cracked my exuast manifold. Dont ask how it just did :nuts:

my only piece of advice on this one is go fast and love the handbrake or dont do what i did and 3 point turn with smoke in front of teh police, they dont like it for some reason. :D

also, remember that you can adjust your handbrake in 5 minutes, so don't be worried about it wearing out lol