Suspension advice

[jsharp]

I have put bushings in the rear cradle and differential as well as the trailing arms. I also upgraded my trailing arms and toe arms and front rear sway bars. I have noticed that the back of the car hooks well and has not home and stays in line however the front seems to be trying to get away from me. I have noticed it to be a little different since I went with a wider wheel up front with the 275 tire but I really think that is not what is causing it. Can anyone suggest front suspension mods that may make me stay inline better? Also my front sway is set on middle hole and my rear is on stiffest. I had read somewhere that would be fine but maybe I need to change the front to stiff as well?

[L99CAMA2011]

Originally Posted by jsharp

I have put bushings in the rear cradle and differential as well as the trailing arms. I also upgraded my trailing arms and toe arms and front rear sway bars. I have noticed that the back of the car hooks well and has not home and stays in line however the front seems to be trying to get away from me. I have noticed it to be a little different since I went with a wider wheel up front with the 275 tire but I really think that is not what is causing it. Can anyone suggest front suspension mods that may make me stay inline better? Also my front sway is set on middle hole and my rear is on stiffest. I had read somewhere that would be fine but maybe I need to change the front to stiff as well?

*Radius Rod bushing in the works also changing the little bushings behind the radius bushing helps with stability. They say these don't have to be changed but I used the Pfadt graphite filled black bushings along with radius rod bushings and no more slop or front wheels going in their own direction.

[TBone]

What kind of tires do you have?

T.

[jeremywes]

Sounds like your car is a little out of balance. Some test and tune time on the track will likely resolve that issue. What alignment specs are you running? I didn't see a pedders alignment kit in your list of mods.

If your alignment specs are good then I'd try a softer setting in the rear and leave your front sway in the middle for starters. Or find a local shop that has experience setting up fe3/fe4 chassis.

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by jsharp

I have noticed that the back of the car hooks well and has not home and stays in line however the front seems to be trying to get away from me.

I'm afraid that I can't figure out what you're trying to say with that.

Exactly when do you notice it happening? What are you doing and what are the pavement conditions?


Offhand, I'm thinking tramlining, static toe-out, or front wheels with significantly different offset from OE could be to blame. Any one of those or any combination. Road ruts/grooves you can't do a whole lot about.


Norm

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by jsharp

I have put bushings in the rear cradle and differential as well as the trailing arms. I also upgraded my trailing arms and toe arms and front rear sway bars. I have noticed that the back of the car hooks well and has not home and stays in line however the front seems to be trying to get away from me. I have noticed it to be a little different since I went with a wider wheel up front with the 275 tire but I really think that is not what is causing it. Can anyone suggest front suspension mods that may make me stay inline better? Also my front sway is set on middle hole and my rear is on stiffest. I had read somewhere that would be fine but maybe I need to change the front to stiff as well?

Your front bar likely isn't contributing to the twitchy front end. Our first instinct is to check the alignment and see where you're really set at. If you find that the twitchyness gets worse with the 275's rather than the factory wheels it could just be a function of the wider tires following imperfections in the road that the narrower tires don't. Also be sure to check the silly things like tire pressure.

Take some notes about when the pull occurs, which direction, and how often it happens. A little more info will help you narrow down the root cause.

My money is on alignment.

[jsharp]

Allignment was per pedders street specs and was successfull. The tires are 305 555r rear and 275 pirellis on front. I dont think it is alligment as it was great prior to changing wheels and tires but the wider rear and front wheels and tires could have got allign off? The only other thing i did was change whole on rear sway after allignment. I notice this mainly when i punch it and swith lanes. Feels as if i am catching grooves. The only other time i have noticed is from take off i feel like i dont have a lot of say of what front of car does just seems soft and loose. Hope this helps

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by PfadtRacing

Your front bar likely isn't contributing to the twitchy front end. Our first instinct is to check the alignment and see where you're really set at. If you find that the twitchyness gets worse with the 275's rather than the factory wheels it could just be a function of the wider tires following imperfections in the road that the narrower tires don't. Also be sure to check the silly things like tire pressure.

Take some notes about when the pull occurs, which direction, and how often it happens. A little more info will help you narrow down the root cause.

My money is on alignment.

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by jsharp

Allignment was per pedders street specs and was successfull. The tires are 305 555r rear and 275 pirellis on front.

That may be part of the problem - at the very least it isn't helping things. Different tires have different handling characteristics.

It appears that you've also stiffened the rear suspension up both with bushings and a stiffer rear sta-bar setting. That makes the rear end react quicker and more vigorously to the road as well as it does to your steering and throttle inputs. Expect it to feel different.

On edit - have you checked all of the fasteners that were loosened for proper torque since?

I'll suggest dropping the rear bar setting back to mid as an easy mechanical-adjustment step and not hammering the throttle when you're switching lanes as a driver-improvement mod. The closer you get to neutral handling, the smoother your control inputs have to become, and the more your driving has to shift toward being a road course driver instead of drag racer. This doesn't have to mean "slow inputs", just that you can't get away with them being as spastic any more (no personal flame intended). Maybe think in terms of squeezing (like with pliers) rather than pounding like with a hammer, if that helps any

Out of curiosity, what are the widths and offsets of those wheels?


And I still don't have a clue as to what this

the back of the car hooks well and has not home and stays in line

means.


Norm

[Norm Peterson]

FWIW, from a currently running thread on a different forum.

The 555 DR is squirmy though, you feel her butt jiggling all over the place in a turn.

Norm