Hey all, Merry (insert politically correct substitute for specific religious holiday here).

I graced the Formula with new tires yesterday, and found an old problem had become worse. In the past, if I accelerated in gear (700R4) from a steady state, the car would pull to the right slightly. This is any gear above first (I am not counting launching the car, as traction comes into play). Imagine a car with REAL power pulling the front skins up until they are just skipping along, with the car steering very lightly and pulling noticeably to the right, and there you are. I am sure that the new larger rubber (back up to 245/50/16 from 225/55/16 on the stock WS6 wheels) is merely amplifying the issue. Tire pressures are the same across the car. I punch it in a higher gear and need to give about five to ten degrees of input to the left to keep the car straight. This happens regardless of where I am in town (road conditions, road crown, etc).

The balance of the suspension is as follows:

stock springs/new KYBs all around,
urethane control arm/PHB bushings with no visible damage,
recent front brakes,
TDS Steering Brace (Lon, you rule!),
new steering linkage (seems level with the car sitting on its tires)
factory 117K balljoints/control arm bushings (seem fine with wiggle check and visual on bushings),
dying limited-slip (should not matter with my HP and once moving, correct?),
balance of car factory original with no visible damage to subframes/floorpans.

The car does not pull under steady state cruising with my hands on or off of the steering wheel. Under braking there is very little wander at all (varies with road conditions). I wonder if the original arm bushings and balljoints could contribute to/cause the issue, as they are 117K old. I will install new urethane bushings and HD balljoints when time permits but wanted the valuable input of this board in case there is something else I have overlooked. I cannot think of anything else, and unless the Flowmaster sticker I added to one of my toolboxes really did add 200HP to the 'Bird, I am ruling out hardcore power application as the culprit

Sorry for the novel. I wanted to be sure to provide enough info rather than too little...

TIA, peace

K

 

probabl cause of the torque. when it pulls under the power and the front comes up some the left goes higher than the right because of the torque. just a guess.and do you have posi?

 

You stated above that you have urethane control arm bushings, are you refering to the front A-arms or the rear lower control arms?

If your rear bushings are stock rubber bushing, then you can be having thrust steer from the axle.

Oh yes, to your politically correct comment about Merry (....). Excuse me for being so direct but it is an always will be Merry Christmas and to @#$% with those who dont like it. It is a holiday mainly to bring joy to families and especially children and has nothing to do with any specific religion. Most people that have a problem with it are just cheap bastards that look for an excuse not to spend money on gifts to others. thank you and MERRY CHRISTMAS.

 

No excuse necessary, although I always saw the holiday as a celebration of the birth of Christ. The line in parentheses was more a stab at those who deny what I always felt is the true meaning of the holiday (since the overmarketing of the season has led many away from the events that begat the holiday itself).

New Year's Eve, however, is another story in a new direction altogether. heh

Sorry for the confusion on the suspension. The rear LCAs have urethane, and the fronts have stock original rubber. Good point on the steering issue. That is the feeling one gets when hitting the gas as it stands now.

 

I have a limited slip that is less than optimal. However, the issue is apparent only once well underway. I wish it was as simple as a posi issue, as the Torsen is sitting in the garage waiting for me to free the car up for a while (Spohn driveshaft, the aforementioned front end parts, full rear axle rebuild kit, etc.)

Thanks, will advise once I have this figured out. Maybe others will think of something...

K