1994 GT BUMPSTEER!!!

Tadrous89 · May 11, 2015

Hey guys I'm still pretty new to forums and such so if I miss placed this I apologize in advance! Now that that's out of the way, I have a 1994 GT that I just started working on after many years of sitting! I replaced ball joints, tie rod ends, and sway bar end links..... I also got a set of sportline springs and installed them, and now I have HORRENDOUS bumpsteer!!!! So is there a way I can correct this??? Thanks!
:driver:

Firefighter181 · May 11, 2015

How far was the car lowered?

I lowered mine about 2" and used the Steeda Bump Steer Kit for correction. It made a huge difference on the drive ability of the car. They can be picked up at a number of places like Late Model Resto and American Muscle.

5PointSnow · May 11, 2015

The bumpsteer Kit by steeda or any other reputable brand does make a great effort to reduce bumpsteer but it does not completely get rid of it without being professionally adjusted which is A TON of work and you'll be hard pressed to find a shop that knows how to. Ask me how I know. I'm running the same springs as you with the steeda kit eyeball adjusted and it is tolerable enough to daily drive but definitely not perfect.

Tadrous89 · May 11, 2015

That sucks...... Guess i gotta get rid of my new tie rod ends..... Oh well! Ya it's really bad as it stands now almost to the point of dangerous!! I also heard a bunch of crazy things like, get caster camber plates, and use 1996-2004 spindles, do you know if that has any truth behind it???

Firefighter181 · May 11, 2015

Possibly silly question however was it aligned?

Tadrous89 · May 11, 2015

it was my fire fighting friend!

5PointSnow · May 12, 2015

Cc plates shouldn't do anything for bumpsteer all they will do is allow you to undo the negative camber caused by the drop and dial in caster which isn't nessacary on a street car imho. As far as 96-04 spindles I've never heard of a reason to switch them and I couldn't really see how that would correct bumpsteer but I can't be certain.
In the end a good bumpsteer kit is what you really need.

Tadrous89 · May 12, 2015

Thank you I'll get right on that!

JKady · May 12, 2015

Also, when installing that bumpsteer kit, there is a real common misconception that you want the tierods level with the ground. You want them parallel with the lower control arm, the bump steer comes from the difference between the two.

DavidBoren · May 12, 2015

Ok. The K-member was modified to allow the mod motor to sit under the same hood as the five-oh. This change lowered the steering rack, so the steering linkage location on the '96+ spindles were changed to match.

Using '96+ spindles alone with your lowering springs would help some, but nothing noticeable. Using '96+ spindles with your lowering springs and offset rack bushings would get you close to stock, in comparison.

The only way to fix it entirely is to use a bumpsteer kit... Or reposition your steering rack and lower A-arms to be in the proper geometry with your new lowered stance.

RichV · May 12, 2015

You really need to be compressing the suspension to feel bumpsteer. How much did you lower it? Does it have the right front spindles?

I would get an alignment as well, maybe have it re checked. I've lowered several cars and never had a bumpsteer as a necessary piece.

rz5.0 · May 13, 2015

My 03 is pretty low. On the stock suspension. . And don't really notice any bumpsteer.. have you had the car properly aligned

DavidBoren · May 13, 2015

The '03/'04 cobra has taller balljoints than the rest of the SN's. As well as stiffer poly bushings in the A-arms, not that it has anything to do with bumpsteer. The A-arms are also clearanced for turn radius and wider tires to compliment the terminator tight ratio steering rack... noteworthy, yet not relevant to this discussion.

But the reason you wouldn't notice bumpsteer on an '03 cobra, even with the same amount of drop as a GT SN, is because the terminator has taller balljoints standard.

PS. There's a reason people use terminator A-arms and '96+ spindles as upgrades.

rz5.0 · May 13, 2015

My 98 doesn't have a bumpsteer kit either. . Lowered on sport lines.. only the 95 has it. . I did do shorter end links and cc plates on the 98..
the 03 still lower. .

Tadrous89 · May 14, 2015

Ya the car was properly aligned (just kinda gave it to an alignment shop and said align it!).... I still have all the factory spindles on the car I bought it from an elderly lady with poodles (how she could drive it with that heavy ass clutch is beyond me) with 40k on it and everything i replaced including the spark plugs were from 1994 (so everything is factory). The reason I ask about the 1996+ spindles is because a buddy used my old 1995 cobra spindles and rear end to do a 5 lug swap on his fox body, and he had really bad bumpsteer (worse then mine). Then after awhile i got to drive his car again and it noticeably had less bumpsteer (less then mine). He said he just got spindles from the junkyard off of a wreaked 1998 gt and that's all, no bumpsteer kit! Kinda didn't believe him at first but from what I'm hearing it seems to be true! Thanks for all the advice guys I really appreciate it! This is a really great forum!

rz5.0 · May 14, 2015

Every car is diffrent.. i would not swap spindles.. get the bumpsteer kit

DavidBoren · May 14, 2015

As stated above, get a bumpsteer kit.

Think about it... Your problem is bumpsteer. There are kits available designed specifically to solve this exact problem.

The '96+ spindles are designed to work with the lowered steering rack position on the mod motor K-member. For them to provide any real benefit when used on a windsor engine cross member, you would need to use offset rack bushings and taller lower balljoints.

The '96+ spindles alone are not an upgrade for the '79-'95 cars. The terminator A-arms are an upgrade. And to use the cobra A-arms, it's best to use '96+ spindles. But the poly bushings, tire clearance, and balljoints in the A-arms are the upgrades over stock, and that's all in the arms, not the spindles.

alwill923 · May 14, 2015

go to maximum motorsports website and get the instructions for their bumpsteer kit and you will see how to do it. I have done it. It takes time but is not hard.

This is the only way to solve the problem.

Tadrous89 · May 14, 2015

Arighty then it's decided! I'm getting the bump kit! Thanks everyone for the advice!

MikeBo · May 20, 2015

I have a 95 with the springs and struts, it's a 2 Inch drop. The struts made a huge difference, mine were completely wore out and the car only had 45k. I do not have a bump steer problem, just slight upon large bumps. Nothing like you describe, you probably have excessive movement not dampened by strong struts...just my thoughts