Nismo Sport+ mode had me going sideways unintentionally

[thehunter699]

So this was an experience that made me wish I was wearing my brown pants.

Currently in my town it's around -2 to 5 degrees Celsius. I was driving home from work, probably about 35 minutes of driving.
Temps were showing everything was nice and warm. I was going through a few residential suburbs so I figured the tyres were relatively warm.

Anyway, I pulled off a roundabout and straitened out into a form one lane. No cars were around so I figured I'd give it a little squirt.
Sport+ already going about 50km/h put my foot to about 80% and the whole car went completely sideways. 10/10 did not expect.

It's nice that they reduced traction control to be more playful in sport/sport+ but god damn. I think when the tyres are done I'll be going to potenza sports.

 

[up4speed]

At those temperatures the tires are very slick because they are "Summer" tires. You shouldn't go more than ~1/2 throttle on a straightaway at those temps!!! (in turns, a quick 1/4 throttle will put you in an oversteer condition) Unfortunately, I have to tell you that under those conditions and circumstances, you SHOULD have expected it!
Even though these cars are not "super car" speeds, they are still powerful, and can get you into trouble when not driven properly. (think Japanese equivalent to a Mustang)


In that cold, 35 minutes of driving won't warm up the tires properly (unless very aggressive), but that still doesn't change the temperature of the street. So, it is still not safe to drive aggressively on pure summer tires in the cold.
If you drive in the cold often but no snow, and you still want summer tires that can handle cold weather exceptionally well (for summer tires), I highly recommend that you get the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. It will be much safer. They work surprisingly well in 5 deg C weather.

All that said, as you get used to the car, you will see that even if it steps out on you, as long as you don't panic, and gently ease off the throttle while pointing the steering in the direction that you want to go, the car will recover nicely because the electronics will help out. As you get better, you will even be able to stay into the throttle a little while counter steering, and drive out the drift. However, I'm not condoning this type of driving unless on a track!

I forgot to add that, other than driving in cold weather on summer tires, I think that a probable reason that this happened to you, could be that this car does have a bad behavior that can catch you off guard.
The problem is that in Sport+ mode, it does very aggressive shifts. Aggressive shifts definitely make the car feel more exciting and sporty, but the problem is that if you are on a turn, and it shifts harshly, it can abruptly throw the car off balance. Probably may have happened to you, hence why it caught you off guard. It caught me off guard on the track even being under perfect conditions. I was at the limit on a turn, and the transmission decided to shift up as I was exiting the turn and accelerating. I was feeding in the throttle very gently to maintain maximum traction at the limit, and then bam, the shift threw the car off balance very abruptly, and I was sideways. Thankfully I'm experienced, so I didn't get nervous, I just drove it out, and was really impressed at how balanced the car was. However, I can totally see how that would shake most people. Especially those that aren't used to driving at the limit. Nissan should definitely program the transmission where if it is in a high G turn, it should either hold the shift until the car is straighter, or it should do a smooth seamless shift, to avoid upsetting the balance of the car.

 

[Crownleyian]

Well I went for a drive down Kiama between Canberra and Sydney this Sunday, temps where at 2-4C frost was visible so much roads looked icy, at some stage and I decided to floor it going straight in 3rd already doing 60km/h to see how much grip I had and yes the rear was not happy. I simply feathered the throttle down to regain traction and was fine.
These Tyers do not like cold temps at all and in the wet they are for now unpredictable, give them heat and dry conditions their amazing no doubts but when their done I'll be getting some AD09's have no doubts about that, my cousin had good traction compared to me in his M2 and I've driven his car in the rain with those AD09 they are impressive for a "semi-slick".

PS: It has been very cold and frosty in this part of the world, more than usual.

 

[up4speed]

Well I went for a drive down Kiama between Canberra and Sydney this Sunday, temps where at 2-4C frost was visible so much roads looked icy, at some stage and I decided to floor it going straight in 3rd already doing 60km/h to see how much grip I had and yes the rear was not happy. I simply feathered the throttle down to regain traction and was fine.
These Tyers do not like cold temps at all and in the wet they are for now unpredictable, give them heat and dry conditions their amazing no doubts but when their done I'll be getting some AD09's have no doubts about that, my cousin had good traction compared to me in his M2 and I've driven his car in the rain with those AD09 they are impressive for a "semi-slick".

PS: It has been very cold and frosty in this part of the world, more than usual.

That's good to know about the AD09. I would love to hear your opinion if you get them soon, because I'm also considering those as my next tire. However, I want to know how they are in dry warm weather compared to the stock ones, because I would use them on the track.

 

[Crownleyian]

This might interest you mate, I won’t be on AD09 any time soon unfortunately.

 

[up4speed]

This might interest you mate, I won’t be on AD09 any time soon unfortunately.

Thanks! They seem to be good based on the review. I wonder how they compare compared to the stock GT600's that the Nismo comes with. I have to guess that they are better, but of course It's better to know, than to assume/guess.