Steering question

[PozQB14]

Originally Posted by Signman

Check your steering completely!
Had violent steering wheel shake out of the blue one weekend at Atco a few years ago.
After it left and picked the wheels up steering wheel started shaking and got worse until I stopped the car on the track. Went back to the pits checked what I could tried again same thing.
Tie rod ends and steering box were tight did the standard check on the ball joints for vertical movement but on further inspection there was ball joint movement front to rear.
Replaced the ball joints and added the damper from Pete Z for safety in the future. Pete mentioned tightening the large nut on the bottom of the idler arm if OEM will act like a damper.

Yikes, that can be scary. Once I landed the car ran smooth the rest of the run. I just want to eliminate that initial shimmy when it lands.

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by Ed Wright

Wonder what makes the 3rd gen cars shimmy at landing without one? My 4th gen never has. This is the first I've heard of this. Interesting.

Ed, I would say then, that the camber and toe in changes are more radical on the 3rd Gen. cars.
After all , they weren't designed to recover smoothly from a wheelstand.

Anyone ever try to fix that, or are you stuck with a band aid solution?

[Signman]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

Ed, I would say then, that the camber and toe in changes are more radical on the 3rd Gen. cars.
After all , they weren't designed to recover smoothly for a wheelstand.

Anyone ever try to fix that, or are you stuck with a band aid solution?

Mine never shook before and has not since replacing ball joints, put the damper on for safety.

[Eman]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

Ed, I would say then, that the camber and toe in changes are more radical on the 3rd Gen. cars.
After all , they weren't designed to recover smoothly for a wheelstand.

Anyone ever try to fix that, or are you stuck with a band aid solution?

I'd say the only true fixes would be to stop wheelstanding or replace the complete frt. chassis/suspension which wouldn't be feasible for a stocker. 4ht gens have a different geometry.
You have to experience it to really understand how violent it can be. I'm 240lbs and couldn't hold the wheel to get the car back under control when it happened. Spectators thought I broke something badly on the car. My car isn't a stocker and doesn't wheelstand very high.

[Ed Wright]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

Ed, I would say then, that the camber and toe in changes are more radical on the 3rd Gen. cars.
After all , they weren't designed to recover smoothly for a wheelstand.

Anyone ever try to fix that, or are you stuck with a band aid solution?

Mark, the 4th gen cars weren't designed for wheel stands either. Those changes can be corrected, or at least minimized. I always considered that part of building the car. May be more difficult to correct on a 3rd gen. I have always, since my Jr Stockers in the 1960s, spent a lot of time there. Toe change corrections can be worth some ET. All easier if you have some wheel alignment equipment and some fabrication skills.

[Rory McNeil]

[QUOTE=Eman;522057]I'd say the only true fixes would be to stop wheelstanding or replace the complete frt. chassis/suspension which wouldn't be feasible for a stocker. /QUOTE]

You never know, with enough complaints and lobbying, maybe NHRA will allow Stockers to replace the stock front suspension with a Chrome Moly, round tube clip, with lightweight Lamb struts and brakes. All in the interest of "Safety", of course!!

[Ed Wright]

[QUOTE=Rory McNeil;522077]

Originally Posted by Eman

I'd say the only true fixes would be to stop wheelstanding or replace the complete frt. chassis/suspension which wouldn't be feasible for a stocker. /QUOTE]

You never know, with enough complaints and lobbying, maybe NHRA will allow Stockers to replace the stock front suspension with a Chrome Moly, round tube clip, with lightweight Lamb struts and brakes. All in the interest of "Safety", of course!!

When mine was my daily driver/toy I put all that under mine. Lots of money for not much weight loss, (~ 10 lbs) almost no improvement in toe & camber change (that wasn't where the toe-in change was anyway) all I gained was screwed up scuff radius. Drove like crap.
Sold it all to a kid impressed with all the light (looking) tubing. Toe change is mostly the spindal-to-steering rack height difference.

[PozQB14]

I'm pondering getting my k member on my 86 camaro super stocker build done from Ed Quay. They relocate the lower control arm mounting holes as well as make room for a different pan, planning on using a Stefs pan. Anyone have any experience with how that effects the trajectory of the car?

[Mark Yacavone]

Eman, I haven't studied this enough to concede that nothing can be done.
If the 4th gen. cars have different geometry, then it seems to me that would be the place to start looking.
BTW, modifying A-arms for alignment purposes ,has been going on since at least the 70's.
Ask Jack Arnew about that.

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by PozQB14

They relocate the lower control arm mounting holes

;-)