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Need Advice.....car is loose at the track....

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Old 03-05-2007, 04:08 PM
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Default Need Advice.....car is loose at the track....

OK when im on my street tires(18") or MT DRs(16") the car seems fine and straight at the track.

But yesterday when i went i put my ET Streets (15") on w/ 16psi and the car seemed to be all over the place. when im WOT the car wants to pull to the left, then when i go to shift the car it comes back to center.

what do you think it is the stock rear sway bar?

ive noticed this when i was SI but b4 the car pulled to the right. I thought it was the Stock T/A so i replaced it w/ a Adj Edlebrock T/A.

my suspension is the DMS kit, springs,SFC,LCA,relocation brackets,Adj.PHR,and i have the Edlebrock Adj TA.

thye car just "sways" back and forth on the street w/ the ET streets on...is the Compound too soft???

need help figuring it out.....

TIA
Brandon
Old 03-05-2007, 04:17 PM
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Sidewall is alot softer so it will feel like its swaying.

DR's are much better IMO for racing and driving
Old 03-05-2007, 04:26 PM
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Welcome to the wonderful world of bias ply! That's what slicks/ET streets do. However, the swaying feeling is intensified when you are running full size radials upfront. Once you go to a skinny it tends to go away. -Mark
Old 03-05-2007, 04:36 PM
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im on skinnies too. it doent "feel" like it, it is doing it, my car pulls to the left from it.

when i was on the stock TA i had to have different tire pressure to keep it straight it was 12psi on the left and 14psi on the right

-brandon
Old 03-05-2007, 04:43 PM
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My thirdgen drag car felt the same way on the street with 28x11.5 bias ply et streets. inflate them to at least 25 psi on the streets and it helps a lot. But, like it's been said, its due to the ultra thin sidewall m/t puts in these tires. It just takes some getting used to.
Old 03-05-2007, 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Rogue86
My thirdgen drag car felt the same way on the street with 28x11.5 bias ply et streets. inflate them to at least 25 psi on the streets and it helps a lot. But, like it's been said, its due to the ultra thin sidewall m/t puts in these tires. It just takes some getting used to.

i guess, its not fun when im trying to keep the car straight at 100+ on the track.

yeah they are at 26psi now for the street and still sways.....

theres gotta be something else thats making it do it, i can see a little bit of swaying, but what im seeing is way worse,im missing shifts due to fighting the wheel to keep it straight.
Old 03-05-2007, 06:09 PM
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hmm that does sound strange. I was trapping at 119mph in the third gen and it felt straight and smooth with as little as 10psi in the tires. I was running radial skinnies up front.

When the track started to get greasy on the top end, late at night with dew coming in, you could really tell it. But with normal conditions everything felt fine.
Old 03-05-2007, 06:33 PM
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I think you gotta check you settings all out. Make sure everything is centered left to right and side to side. It shouldnt be driving left under power then straighten back out once you get outta it to shift. And Definately check everything to make sure its still straight

Last edited by Carbed4thGen; 03-05-2007 at 06:49 PM.
Old 03-05-2007, 06:46 PM
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A quick way to tell if it's just the tires other than swapping them out for radials is to put 20-25 PSI in them and try it again. I know they won't hook off the line nearly as well but you can roll into the throttle off the line so as not to break them loose and make a pass like that. If they don't sway or if the sway goes away significantly you know it's the tires. I've had to do that a couple of times with my car once I installed slicks. The added air pressure took the sway/pull/whatever you call it out of my car. I found the best compromise with my slicks to be 16 PSI so that it'll still hook and go down the track without wandering all over the place. Just something to try. Good luck.
Old 03-05-2007, 06:58 PM
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Another thing I just thought of was the age of the tires?

Did you buy a used set? If the sidewalls have been beat on a lot already they may be toast, even if the tread looks ok. Just another thought...
Old 03-05-2007, 07:58 PM
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bought them used, they had 3 passes on them, ive used them for about 10 passes at most and they 2 or 3 yrs old w/ lots of tread left, ive hought about buring them up and just getting the MT DRs mounted on the 15"s.
Old 03-05-2007, 08:12 PM
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2 or 3 yrs old for slicks is getting old. Especially if you dont know the storage history of them. One winter in NJ and they're done
Old 03-05-2007, 08:22 PM
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Yep, 2-3 years, they're most likely no good.
Old 03-05-2007, 09:06 PM
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I'd check the rear end first. Sounds like its not straight. -Mark
Old 03-05-2007, 09:55 PM
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You sure your not turning the wheel when you launch/shift? where do you hold the wheel? Try holding the wheel down in the 8 0'clock position and locking your elbow against yourself. A lot of people dont realize the're turning the wheel. I did it a little bit when I started. Once you start having to steer it a little the problem will only get worse under acceleration.
Old 03-06-2007, 04:14 AM
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your rear probbaly isn't square, you need to take care of that with some adjustable lca's first. As for the tire sway, get used to it. That's what biasply tires do... and the more power you have the more it will do it. Look @ a video of any drag car leaving, see the tire all balled up in front of the rim? That's why the car moves around, the tires are like a marshmellow, hook up great, but shift around alot. Boas ply on the street will squirm around too, regardless of the air pressure.
Old 03-06-2007, 07:57 AM
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Originally Posted by promod1955
You sure your not turning the wheel when you launch/shift? where do you hold the wheel? Try holding the wheel down in the 8 0'clock position and locking your elbow against yourself. A lot of people dont realize the're turning the wheel. I did it a little bit when I started. Once you start having to steer it a little the problem will only get worse under acceleration.
You know its funny you say that. I have a buddy with a mid 11 sec cobra and on the street he took me for a ride and every gear shifted into he would yank the wheel to the left. I said why the hell are you doing that? He says its not him its the car breaking loose. But I can cleary see his arm jerk to one side before his foot is even off the clutch pedal. lol.

-Mark

Last edited by Bitemark46; 03-06-2007 at 10:46 AM.
Old 03-06-2007, 08:07 AM
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Brandon,

Check the roll out on the tires. When I ordered my new 28x10.5 15's from M/T they sent me slicks that had a roll out that was 1.5" off and they were from the same mold. Your tires should be no more then 0.5" different in roll out. M/T is notorious for having tires that don't match.

I will say that with a posi this should not pull you to the left or the right, it should only overheat the posi and eventually brake it, but never the less I would check that first. The see if your car is 'square' like the other guys have said.
Old 03-06-2007, 08:08 AM
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The sway is worse with radials up front. I switched to bias plys up front and it feels MUCH better. Also if you launch nice and straight you may feel very little sway but if you have to correct it even a little bit the car will dance around all through your run. If you car is pulling I would agree with JL that your rear may not be square but I would suggest some 8 plys up front to start with.
Old 03-06-2007, 09:20 AM
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Hehe. Nothing like playing strong arm with two hands and one Knee and it still 'squirming' all over the track

That part sounds pretty normal to me!



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