Hey, I have an '03 cobra that came with steeda sport springs, steeda caster camber plates, steeda x2 ball joint kit, Baer bump steer kit and the bump steer is just horrible. Driving on the highway in NY I have to fight with the car like crazy just to keep it straight. What do I need to do to reduce the bump steer? Thx.
help me get rid of the bump steer
- Thread starter M4_ELITE
- Start date
Take your car to a suspension specialist and have them install a bumpsteer kit and have the suspension bumpsteered.
:thumbsup::coolman::beer:
whenever i'm driving and i go over an uneven surface or a bump the car just moves to the left or right. i've gotten it aligned and the mechanic said there wasnt much i could do for the bumpsteer because it was dropped 1" 1/4- 1" 1/2. but my friend who has a GT which is slammed 2", who says he doesn't even have a bumpsteer kit has no bumpsteer issues for some reason. so i just wanted to find out what to do about this, its really unbearable, especially at high speeds..
As long as your alignment is within spec it is most likely bump steer. You will need to have someone with a bump steer gauge adjust your bump steer kit to be as neutral as possible at your current ride height. Bruce ( ac427cobra ) has a great video of how to do it. After seeing his video I purchased a bump steer gauge and did mine in my garage. Took me about 4 hours and then I had the car aligned with a little extra negative camber. It made a huge difference.
+1 on the gauge. Also, be sure it's bumpsteer you're experiencing and not tramlining.
Tramlining - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What tires are you running up front?
Tramlining - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What tires are you running up front?
I had a big tramlining problem in my '94 Cobra with lowering springs and a 275 tire upfront. I installed the Steeda bump-steer kit with a friend and then had it aligned by a reputable shop and I never had that problem again.
In the beginning it was unbearable just like you described. Especially on the roads around my house...
In the beginning it was unbearable just like you described. Especially on the roads around my house...
so i took my car to a shop and they moved the shims around. i didn't get a chance to get the car aligned after that, the bump steer is definetly less, but there is still quite a bit. do you guys think i should get an alignment first, and bring it back to tweak the shims again? thx
Alignment won't affect bumpsteer. If the car was properly bumpsteered, you shouldn't need to have it done again after an alignment.
"Moving the shims around" does not constitute bumpsteering the suspension. That's like guessing at what you 'think' it might need. Trying to determine an optimal bumpsteering curve with a seat of the pants feel, sounds kinda crazy to me! :dw:
Any time you relocate the toe link by moving bumpsteer spacers, that will change the toe setting on the car.
FWIW
:thumbsup::coolman::beer:
i was thinking the same, after he moved the shims he said it "looks better," lol. i have a feelings it's going to be hard to find someone to get this fixed for me. i'm gonna give a few other shops a call on monday, try my luck finding 1 w/a bump steer guage.
thanks again everyone.
The tires could also be part of your problem. Poorly build/cheap tires can drive and ride like crap. I've never even heard of those tires
yea they came with the car unfortunately. surprisingly, they hook pretty good for a $90 tire (decent reviews too). in the back i recently put goodyear f1 gs-d3s -im not really crazy about them either. im thinking about some michelin ps2s after i fix all the issues with the car.
Didn't the shop use a bumpsteer gauge when relocating the shims? When you said they moved the shims around, I presumed they'd moved them according to what the gauge was indicating.
If they didn't use a gauge, how did they determine what "looked" good? And if they didn't, you wasted your money.
Do you have to have a bumpsteer kit to adjust it? I just installed the MOOG outer tie rods and would hate to replace them already but need it adjusted for sure.
I put my bumpsteer kit in and spaced it so the tie rod and the control arms were parallel. Then I actually made a bumpsteer gauge for about $15 and spent hours swapping spacers. You wouldn't believe how much change a 1/16" spacer made in bumpsteer. By the time I was done I got it to dead 0 from 2" high to 2" low. By the way the tie rod and the control arm are not even close to parallel? So guessing or just eyeballing it won't work.
actually they are parrallel, the mechanic said that they werent parallel before and that they should be (guess thats what they were starrin at).
I think your mechanic is mistaken. When I adjusted mine using the MM gauge, most of my spacers ended up under the Heim joint, not above it.
As I imagine you know, the objective is to minimize the toe change as the spindle travels through its vertical range of motion. Mine's not dead nuts, like James Hell's above, but it's really close, and much closer than it ever was with the factory rod ends.
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