road walk

[blackpony]

Ok guys, im having a bit of road walk in my car... anytime there is an imperfection in the road, my car will make sudden jolts to either side of the road... will bump steers help this problem??? I had the car aligned about a month ago, and it has been doing it since i left the shop, it was doing it before i took it there also... pretty much ever since i lowered my car, this problem has existed... i have replaced tires, had alignments done, replaced just about every component in the front end, the only thing that is stock it the tie rod ends, and the cc plates... any ideas to fix this???

 

[det_riot]

The first thing I would try doing is putting in the Bumpsteer kit, if your car has been properly aligned, there is no reason to get c/c plates.

 

[CC'S95GT]

Did the alignment shop get everything into spec?
Usually lowered 1 1/2" is about all you can get away with without cc plates.
Worn tie rod ends, worn rack, worn ball joints could all cause the wandering as well.
I don't feel bumpsteer kits are needed for the street. unless your car is slamed,

 

[ReplicaR]

Try giving it some toe in on the alignment. That should give you more straight line stability.

 

[OnyxCobra]

did it do it with your old tires too? I've heard some tires are more prone to do that than others. What you're describing to me though doesn't really sound like bumpsteer. And depending on the setup I'd say a bumpsteer kit could very well be needed, I know mine needs one bad.

 

[Marvin97]

what size wheel/tire are you running? I had a similar problem when I ran 17x10.5's in the rear with a 315. It felt kinda like there were tracks in the road that the car wanted to follow and would jerk the car a little sometimes. I have gone to 17x9's and don't notice it anymore. I chalked it up to being more tire on the road giving more of a feeling of what the actual road was like, exposing more of the imperfections of the pavement.

 

[blackpony]

Sorry guys ive been busy and havent been online much..

to answer some of your questions

i have 17x9 wheels running 275/40 at all corners

when aligned, the camber wasnt able to be pulled all the way out with the stock plates, so i added the camber bolts, and even with them, it is cambered in.

i only replaced the rear tires, because i dont want to ruin a new set of tires.

i have new oem ford ball joints, new control arm bushings, the tie rods are tight so i havent replaced them, the rack is nice and tight. everything feels fine steering wise, except it like to go where it wants.. lol

i crawled under it the other day while it was on the ground, and noticed the tie rods have to go up to the knuckle from the rack a pretty good distance... correct me if im wrong, but aren't the tie rods suppose to be parallel to the ground at ride height to provide the best steering performance???

i think i am going to order the cc plates first, so that i can at least get my alignment correct, then decide from there whether i want bumpsteer ends...

 

[badass98svt]

How wide are your front tires? The wider the tire the more likely you will get the tramlining. Bumpsteer kit probably won't do much at all.

 

[Marvin97]

running a 275/40 up front is probably alot of what you're feeling honestly. Do you have a set of stock wheels with like a 245 on them? I would try and find a narrower wheel and tire for the front, switch them and drive it around a bit just to rule it out.

 

[OnyxCobra]

well if you haven't switched the front tires then replacing tires like you mentioned in the first post is irrelevant. If your camber is not the same on both sides of the car then that could most definitely cause your car to pull one way or another, definitely fix that first.

And the tie rods are supposed to be parallel with the control arm, not the ground. It might be different depending on your application.

 

[blackpony]

If I am on a flat road and let go of the wheel the car will go straight, it's just if there is an imperfection in the road it will track to the side of the car that hits that imperfection...

 

[wytstang]

I was also say it's the 275's up front, I get it even with 265's I have on mine. I don't remember having tracking issue's with my old 245's. I've also heard directional tires seem to track more then non directional tires.

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Your tie rod ends being angled upward is whats throwing your suspension geometry off and the improper alignment will also contribute. The bumpsteer kit allows you to adjust the height of the outter tie rod realative to the spindle and the tie rod needs to be parallel to the control arm, not the ground. I was in your situation for years with 2 different mustangs, I just installed cc plates and a bumpsteer kit and I wouldnt say that It FIXED it but improved it 10 x's

 

[blackpony]

i cant go with a narrower tire as my rim is 9'' wide. they are the factory 10th anniversary wheels from a 03 cobra... the 275's i have now, fit perfectly flush and i dont want a stretch tire.... i have a buddy with the same size tire and his does not do this... his car is all stock, and mine is lowered....

 

[badass98svt]

Well, everyone gave you pretty much the same answer.

Put a 255 up there. it will fit on the 9" wheel.

Or, continue to have your car tramlining all over the road.

 

[JDwhite98gt]

No the answer between you and your buddy is that you have an altered suspension geometry and he doesnt, so you need to buy the right parts to correct it....or go buy a skinnier tire for the front.

 

[Marvin97]

I have 245's up front on a 9inch wheels. No problems what so ever.

 

[blackpony]

I have 245's up front on a 9inch wheels. No problems what so ever.

if i put 245 on my wheels, they will be stretched very badly... right now i have 275's on there and they are flush with the edge of the wheel...

 

[badass98svt]

Everyone is giving you advice, and you are not taking any of it. 97whitevert just told you he has a 245 on a 9" wheel. It's not streched that bad. 275 is overkill for the front anyway.

 

[blackpony]

im listening, but also giving feedback....