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Portland and road grooves, need help!

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Old 01-30-2008, 11:35 PM
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Default Portland and road grooves, need help!

How are all of you keeping your ls1 from following all the deep road grooves in Portland? I get on I5 or 205 and I'm all over the lane. Will a strut tower brace help?
Old 01-31-2008, 12:06 AM
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Same here, my **** makes me look like I am driving drunk. I am surprised I have yet to be pulled over for it. lol.
Old 01-31-2008, 01:51 AM
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Originally Posted by BTTM
How are all of you keeping your ls1 from following all the deep road grooves in Portland? I get on I5 or 205 and I'm all over the lane. Will a strut tower brace help?
I pretend I'm not from Wa/Or

I drive in the "Traveling Lane" (the one on the right)
it's used alot less by the retards here in Wa/Or with studded tires
Old 01-31-2008, 08:58 AM
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A strut tower brace won't help this situation. I found that when my car was a daily driver and I put on all season tires in the winter, the problem went away. What it was is that my winter tires were skinnier than my summer tires. The wider tires were fighting each other from side to side trying to stay in that "sweet" spot in the groove. Whereas with the skinny tires, they had more room to fall into the groove and were not fighting each other.
Old 01-31-2008, 09:23 AM
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Yep the wider tires dont help at all. I try and drive on the high sides.
Old 01-31-2008, 11:14 AM
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A good alignment setup and front tires can make a world of difference on Portland roads. I had a place in beaverton take care of it and it was a alot better with the 275's up front. Not perfect but much better.
I
BTw I think I saw you again at the tualatin sherwood road and I 5 overpass

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Old 01-31-2008, 02:00 PM
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I've found a good alignment, front tires & a strut tower brace all helped....
Old 01-31-2008, 03:23 PM
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i have stock tires and no problems
Old 01-31-2008, 03:25 PM
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Originally Posted by bestfromnw
i have stock tires and no problems
What does "stock" mean????
Old 01-31-2008, 06:33 PM
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I think the darting around is called "bump/roll steer". As already mentioned, the tires can make a big difference. Also, with more sidewall the tires can absorb the ruts better. Its weird how one car can go thru with no effect, and another car is tossed around. Even the best setup is going to have touble there, those grooves on I5 in Portland, they drive you like a slot car! WTF!!
Old 02-01-2008, 01:30 AM
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"touring" tires will help too
Old 02-01-2008, 09:50 AM
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The most dramatic difference I found was switching to narrower tires on smaller rims. For example going from 17X9's w/275 45 17s to 16x7's w/245 50 16s. Kinda counter productive though...

Ryan K.
Old 02-01-2008, 11:43 AM
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Yea I think it's my wide rear tires but the 275's dont help in front either.
Old 02-01-2008, 11:47 AM
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I have 275's up front, and 315's in back, and It fights me every step of the way. I mean it is even worse than my 95 Silverado that was lifted on 38's.
Old 02-01-2008, 01:23 PM
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^ Yeah, it's definitely the wide tires. Nothing you can do but downgrade to some stock rims/tires if you're going to be DD'ing a lot up and down the freeway. Something tells me you'd want to do this if you are putting a lot of miles on and are running 315's in the back Besides, its winter time. Crappy wheels w/ good weather tires for the winter, Good wheels w/ HiPo summers for the summer!
Old 02-01-2008, 11:15 PM
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Some of the lanes are not flat due to large truck traffic. There are a couple of areas around here that I won't even drive in the right hand lane because of the ruts. And if it's raining it's even worse. The tread pattern on the tires matters too. I had a set with the wide groove down the middle that wanted to steer the car for me and follow every flaw in the road. Couldn't wait to get rid of them. I've got Toyo Proxes 4 now and they seem to be the best for the roads I drive on, mostly crappy 2 lane curvy.



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