All these scary Cobra Stories....

[Barnsnake]

Your brain and your right foot are key to avoiding wheelspin, but some other factors come into play at times.
Some pavement may have less grip than the last road you were on when you had good bite. Some tires become very hard and slick at lower temperatures. Sometimes there is an imperceptible layer of dust or oil on the pavement.
A set of M/T drag radials eliminated the "surprise" events with my car, which has substantially less power than yours.

Until you get a lot of seat time in the car, make sure the road and the front wheels are both straight before applying significant amounts of throttle, and always be prepared for wheelspin when you do.

Have fun!

[mdross1]

It's all about practice,practice,practice.You want to drive the car to your limits then you have to keep at it.As your confidence builds you can test the limits of traction,your cars handling and above all the brakes.
One thing you should do especially with a coilover suspension is have it scaled.The car will become a lot more predictable in all driving situations.My 460 powered car regularly get pushed to the limit and beyond, the very reason why I have always wanted a car like this.Good Luck and have fun learning your cars ability and above all your own.

[Silverback51]

The one thing you don't mention is what tires you are running.

If they are BFG's or Goodyear GTII's, you might as well expect to have traction issues unless you are running a V6 for power.

One thing to be careful of us pulling out to pass someone. If you mash the throttle and whip the wheel, depending on your car and the conditions you may find the tires breaking loose even at speed.

[charles roybal]

Have tried pushing the GO pedal full in first-secnd-third-forth??? Bet you find wheel spin. I get wheel spin at 60mph in 4th pushing the Go pedal 3/4 's & that's with 315's and 3.27 gears.

[DonC]

There's no replacement for seat time. Get as much as you can under as many different conditions as you can.
Can't recommend track days highly enough. The nice thing about track days is that you can gradually bring speeds up to figure out what the car is going to do at different speeds.
Autocross the car to refine your go pedal modulation. Really helps in low speed high power applications and finding out what the car feels like when it breaks loose.
Both of the above allow you to make mistakes without damaging anyone else, the car or yourself.
Be aware of changes in the weather. The difference is like night and day between cold and hot pavement. Ditto cold and hot tires. There's a reason for "warm up" laps and it's not just for the engine.
Back to the original - seat time. What your backside tells you can be really informative if you learn to listen to it.
Above all enjoy the car. You want to develop a working relationship with it based on respect but not fear.
Can you break the tires loose at various speeds? Most folks can. The trick is to find out where and when this will happen and when you are near that limit proceed respectfully. You and the car can build a beautiful friendship if you're willing to take a little time to develop it.
Above all, have fun. Enjoy the ride as there's very little like it around today. Get some fun cruising time where you just drive for the enjoyment. You don't have to operate at the upper limit all the time. Take it easy and just cruise.
DonC

[D-CEL]

sspano01,

I will second the points made earlier.

#1 Scrap your Coopers today. Get a set of Drag radials, I like the M/T’s but they all work.. The bigger the better.

#2 Try to avoid “stabbing” the throttle. I’m guessing your motor makes sufficient toque. Plenty to convince your butt cheeks bite a hole in the seat if you over commit with the loud pedal.
One more thing, if it does start to spin the tires, ease out of it, don’t try to drive it out or snap the throttle shut. Think gentle inputs.
Again, Drag radials will remove most of the scary tendencies.

Jason

[Bernica]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

The one thing you don't mention is what tires you are running.

If they are BFG's or Goodyear GTII's, you might as well expect to have traction issues unless you are running a V6 for power.

One thing to be careful of us pulling out to pass someone. If you mash the throttle and whip the wheel, depending on your car and the conditions you may find the tires breaking loose even at speed.

Silverback is on point, as is everyone else here. After trying to pass a truck at 70+ MPH with BFG's, I was on an ice rink! Then, these little cars take on a mind of their own! The kind of thing that makes you limp it home, hug the wife and kids and look for your Bible!!
I have since dumped the BFG's and gone with Billboards....
Believe the stories here!!!