I was finally able to get my new wheels, tires and brakes installed this weekend.

 

Looking good!

How does it feel handling-wise with the new shoes?

 

Looks good ... Nice to see a another clean thirdgen

 

Paul - I'm not sure about the handling yet. First of all, I only drove it a short distance from my brother's shop to my house so I wasn't able to get a real feel for it.

I did notice, however, at higher speeds (40 -50 mph) that the car seemed to "wander" a bit. Not sure how else to describe it. But as I was driving, it was like all of a sudden it would want to go to the right a bit. I would correct it, then it would want to go to the left.

I replaced every piece of steering linkage back in October and had the car lined up then. However, when I got home I parked in my driveway with the steering wheel straight and got out and looked - it certainly appears that when the passenger tire is pointed dead ahead, the driver tire is pointed to the right by maybe 5-10 degrees. I know you can't tell alignment just by looking, but I think I'm going to take it back to the shop and have them check it, just to be sure.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...alignment.html
good thread on alignment and why not to use stock gm specs or even trust the alignment guys word as ive had my share of "your good to go your alignment is fine" and the crazy look like i didnt know nothing

also with wider wheels and tires they tend to track on uneven roads and grooves a bit more than the stock wheels

i would say its all in the alignment and the gm specs they work with
get some adjustable strut mount to make it easier for them and have more ajustments

 

My GTA does the same thing - even did it with the stock 245-50-16 tires, just not as bad...

There seems to be a lot of slack/play in the steering linkage - something the alignment people may not pick up when the wheels are straight, but when turned, it is obvious. Since you changed everything, it's probably an install issue where the linkage was installed with a lot of play and never rectified. This is somehting I am wondering about for my car too as the front end stuff is getting swapped in the next few weeks.

 

yea even if its a install issue the only parts that are adjustable are alignment stuff and front-end install is a pretty straight forward thing besides the alignment IIRC when doing mines awhile back i could be wrong tho

also the rag joint depending on conditon produces alot of play in the steering as the rubber deteriorates

ill would have alignment shop re-check

i had same issue not with stock wheels but with wider wheel combo but once i set the alignment correct it went straght as a arrow

Factory specs
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...221-post2.html

Better Specs
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...96-post16.html

 

That link above describes my car to a T. No doubt I need to get it realigned.

The shop around here I had to it is family-owned, but it's just one older guy - pretty sure he'll set the specs whatever I ask him do. If not, I'll try and find another shop that will.

Thanks for the replies.

 

No worry

 

Well, I tried to get my alignment done with weekend, going with a the specs listed at the link above. Unfortunately, we couldn't get very close as the adjustments on my car were maxed out.

The question(s) now are:

1) Do I get adjustable strut mounts so we can dial it in better or just leave it "closer"?
2) If so, which mounts are the best?
3) Should I just swap out the struts at the same time? They are literally the only suspension piece I haven't replaced, so part of of me thinks it'd be better to do it now than have to do it in 6-12 months and get another alignment then.

 

I got mines from founders strut can post pics of them .. i think there worth it and is a good buy ..why settle for close when you can have perfect

stock strut mounts dont have much adjustment

there no best there all the same founders is the cheapest and high quality think it came up to $180ish shipped maybe less cant rememeber

yes swap out front strut unless its already a good strut.. not no monroe stuff .but your not lowered so autostore would be fine for now..i dont have much better struts/shocks.. i have KYB agx i got for a trade lol not koni or bilstein but will do for now lol

if you like how it feels for now you can wait ..by the way how does it feel with new alignment ?

 

Short answer: I don't know yet.

Long answer: From what the alignment guy told me, I am about halfway between what I asked for and what the factory specs were. However, I was looking at the print out he gave me and it really doesn't make any sense. I'll post it up later, if I'm reading it correctly he was going the wrong way. And it's possible because while the shop has been around for awhile, it was a new machine and they were having some issues programming my desired specs into it.

I also have a very bad/hard brake pull. About 98% of everything I've done has been new, the one exception is the calipers - I left the originals when I did the brakes and now I think the passenger front is locked up. Will try to tackle that tomorrow.

He did get the toe straightened out, the car doesn't seem to wander quite as much as it did.

 

Those little details are killer lol when you think you free and clear ..lol .. atleast you on the right track

 

I bought the UMI strut mounts last month - going on with everything else soon.

It is a good idea to change the struts if they need replacement and you are going to change the mounts anyway - no need to align 2x. I have Konis, but other good choices are Bilstein, KYB, and QA1 - there is a range in price obviously.

How are you enjoying the wheels?