Why does our Chevy Prism spin out so easily? FIXED!

[fuzzybabybunny]

We've got a Toyota Echo and a 2000 Chevy Prism. The Toyota Echo is almost spin-proof. You go at any speed and crank the steering wheel in some direction and it'll just understeer.

The Prism has perfect suspension and tires, but it goes into a death spin extremely easily. In the parking lot if it takes a semi-hard turn it'll just start spinning and spinning. My dad spun it out in light snow before on a semicircle highway off ramp and he drives slow. My mom has spun it out before in light snow in a gentle turn and she drives slow too. I got myself facing perpendicular to traffic on the highway before in light snow while braking and slowly shifting lanes. None of these were done at high speed either and we always have the right tires for the season.

I'm confused on why this happens. The only thing I can think of is weight distribution is too far towards the back (front goes into a turn but the rear continues on its original vector) but the Prism's a FWD car... I consider myself a pretty good driver too and have always driven the Echo aggressively with no problems. I drive the Prism non-aggressively but still encounter problems.

 

[Vette73]

Echo is smaller so the weight is maybe more even? The prism is a bigger car.

Also different brand tires?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Alignment, tire pressure, and tire wear would be the first three things I would look at. Next up would be shocks and struts. If you are really spinning super easily like that, something sounds very off. If the rear tires are very overinflated (ie: to the sidewall) it would cause them to have a much smaller contact patch. I doubt the Corolla and Echos suspension setups are vastly different.

If it only spins while on the brakes, the rear brakes may be adjusted wrong and causing it to put too much pressure on the rears too early. (I did this with my first car, was kinda fun...)

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

The spinning issues have been there ever since we bought the car brand new back in 2000, so I think it has something to do with the design of the car itself rather than variables that change over the years like tire pressure, tire wear, shocks, struts, brakes, etc.

If I get the Echo to slip in a turn it understeers.

If I get the Prizm to slip in a turn, for the first split second it slips in a straight line, and then it just starts spiraling. The Prizm's not that big of a car.

It even happens when there's no braking. It just needs to start slipping a little bit in a turn, which is easily done in light snow ragardless of tires.

This car's actually the only car I've ever been worried about driving because the spin happens so suddenly. If it's slippery out and I'm in a turn with some speed behind me, I drive extremely gingerly because as soon as I start slipping and the car begins to turn just a little bit perpendicular to the road I've already reached the point of no return and am headed for a spiral with no time to counteract because it just tends to launch into the spin.

 

[KIAman]

That does sound strange. Typically a front-wheel will massively understeer long before a spin out. A spin out requires lots of initial turn acceleration which will carry the car through the entire spin when all tires lose grip.

What it sounds like is happening is that initially your front tires lose grip while your rear tires are still planted enough to give you that initial understeer. Then, through braking or other means, your front tires suddenly grabs while the rears lose their traction enough to rotate your car around your front tires. As to why this is happening, I haven't a clue. My best guess is that the suspension design and weight distribution of the car does not efficiently plant all 4 tires to the ground equally.

 

[exar333]

Inflate to sidewall and call it a day.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

When was the last time you got an alignment?

...The Prism/Corollas have never been a car that anyone would call prone to oversteer. If anything reviewers complained about so much understeer that it's boring.

 

[herm0016]

we have an 01 prisim and do not have this problem at all, infact we just drove it 1300 miles from wyoming to michigan. It has been a great little car for us.
I would suspect the tires first, then maybe you need to replace the tie rods or some steering components? sounds like somehting is wrong.

 

[vi edit]

Did Toyota ever put some stability control system on the Echo?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Inflate to sidewall and call it a day.

Actually, that would probably cause the condition the OP is experiencing...despite what some 15 year old "expert" might proclaim.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Did Toyota ever put some stability control system on the Echo?

Lol, I highly highly doubt it. It's available on the Honda Fit though I believe.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

we have an 01 prisim and do not have this problem at all, infact we just drove it 1300 miles from wyoming to michigan. It has been a great little car for us.
I would suspect the tires first, then maybe you need to replace the tie rods or some steering components? sounds like somehting is wrong.

Man, I dunno what's wrong then. It can even spin out on dry pavement given a bit more speed or a sharper turn. The car's a year 2000 and I wanted to go on a roadtrip across the country when I graduated high school in 2003. My dad wanted us to take the Prizm over the Echo because he figured the added bulk would make it safer, despite the fact that I told him I had a TON more experience driving the Echo over the Prizm and I knew the former's handling was rock solid under my hands. I took it to the parking lot to test its emergency handling in dry weather and all I got was spin spin spin every time I had to make a hard turn. I mean, it spins and you might as well just sit there and do nothing. Just gotta sit there from then on and hope friction stops you in time before hitting something.

I mean, it's to the point where it happens and I'm just sitting in the car in the middle of the spin saying to myself "Uh.... really? Seriously? Already?" It has literally become something this is more or less a fact of life. It starts spinning. Great. Again. Just sit back now and wait for it to stop.

 

[KIAman]

Maybe you should uninstall that giant center bearing in the center of your undercarraige

 

[BenSkywalker]

I took it to the parking lot to test its emergency handling in dry weather and all I got was spin spin spin every time I had to make a hard turn.

Are you lifting while experiencing this? In a FWD car the best way to reduce oversteer is to hit the accelerator more(well, snow is a different situation, there I'd reccomend you get yourself some sandbags in the rear of the trunk to help you out).

I mean, it spins and you might as well just sit there and do nothing.

Hit the gas, countersteer and drive out of it.

 

[IcePickFreak]

Could be that the Prism is just weight biased much more towards the front end than the Echo. The front end digs in more and keeps traction while the back end slides out much easier.

 

[AMCRambler]

Lol death spin. It's gotta be weight distribution. What's the weight distro on the two cars?

 

[fleabag]

Maybe you should inflate the front tires to sidewall and lower the tire psi in the rear tires.

 

[LTC8K6]

Prism is the same as a Corolla of the period. You'd think such wanton behavior would have been noticed.

 

[fleabag]

Prism is the same as a Corolla of the period. You'd think such wanton behavior would have been noticed.

Yeah and I've never heard of such a thing on these model year corollas so it sounds like there is something wrong with the car. Maybe the alignment is messed up or something.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Maybe you should inflate the front tires to sidewall and lower the tire psi in the rear tires.

This is fucking stupid advice.

 

[fleabag]

This is fucking stupid advice.

Well if the car is performing exactly how it's suppose to (though it seems doubtful), one way people tune their handling characteristics is with tire pressure. Everybody but you knows this. You and many others on this forum have failed to prove beside with generic disclaimers why you can't inflate tires to the number listed on their sidewall assuming there aren't any adverse affects to it.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Well if the car is performing exactly how it's suppose to (though it seems doubtful), one way people tune their handling characteristics is with tire pressure. Everybody but you knows this. You and many others on this forum have failed to prove beside with generic disclaimers why you can't inflate tires to the number listed on their sidewall assuming there aren't any adverse affects to it.

Because that's like saying that stabbing yourself in the chest is a good idea assuming there aren't any adverse affects to it.

...there ARE adverse effects to it. Now go away, grownups are talking.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Well if the car is performing exactly how it's suppose to (though it seems doubtful), one way people tune their handling characteristics is with tire pressure. Everybody but you knows this. You and many others on this forum have failed to prove beside with generic disclaimers why you can't inflate tires to the number listed on their sidewall assuming there aren't any adverse affects to it.

Lawn chair, popcorn

 

[fleabag]

Because that's like saying that stabbing yourself in the chest is a good idea assuming there aren't any adverse affects to it.

...there ARE adverse effects to it. Now go away, grownups are talking.

More like, "that's like saying stabbing yourself in the chest isn't a BAD idea, assuming there aren't any adverse affects to it." If there weren't any adverse affects to stabbing yourself in the chest, it wouldn't be a BAD idea to do it, but it wouldn't necessarily be a good idea either unless you're into that sort of thing..

 

[Viperoni]

Although altering the tire pressures isn't a bad way to change the handling characteristics of a car, inflating to sidewall is just plain retarded lol.

OP, maybe try going a couple pounds over rating on the fronts and a pound or two under on the rear tires?

Also, has the car ever had a proper alignment? Maybe you can get one done to your specs for better rear traction (IE: a pinch of toe in, bit of negative camber, etc)?

In the end, I do agree that it's odd to hear of a FWD corolla with oversteering problems lol.