steering wanders
steering wanders My car seems to follow every groove in the road moving the steering wheel slightly where you have to drive with both hands. I took it to a shop. They couldn't find anything wrong. It seems to wander when you hit a groove or small hole. Do all the f body cars do this because of the responsive steering and wide tires?
No play in the steering at all. It is tight. It follows ruts and when you go over dips it tends to move the steering wheel where you can feel it. I thought something was wrong. I have these grooves on the edge of my tires on the front that no one knows why they are there. Everybody said the tires are old so that is where they are molded together so they are just coming apart some because of the tires being so worn. I am getting new tires soon but I just wanted an opinion on this steering thing. It is a 99 Z28 and I have only had it since June.
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From: Anheuser Busch, Houston Texas
Replace the tires, see what you think. Every tire is going to handle differently on grooves, and wear makes it different still. I have a feeling it is tires, and the general nature of the Fbody front suspension.
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ive owned f-bodies for years and they all do the same thing you describe, its just there nature. you can help alleviate the problem by running a slightly smaller tire up front or by maybe a different kind/brand of tire.
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also, you will want to make sure that you always keep the right amount of air pressure in the tires....if they are low, it will tend to "bite" the edge of ruts more, causing it to pull to one side or the other.
and some tires have a softer sidewall than others, which can add to the problem. softer sidewalls will dampen the bumps in the road a bit more, giving a bit softer & more comfortable ride, but may wander a bit more. on the flipside, tires with stiffer sidewalls will usually not wander as much, but the ride will be a little harsher....there's usually always a trade-off.
and some tires have a softer sidewall than others, which can add to the problem. softer sidewalls will dampen the bumps in the road a bit more, giving a bit softer & more comfortable ride, but may wander a bit more. on the flipside, tires with stiffer sidewalls will usually not wander as much, but the ride will be a little harsher....there's usually always a trade-off.
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: TX
never under estimate shocks. if your alignment is good and your tires aren't wider than they used to be but it feels like it wanders a lot, its most definitely shocks. if you still have stock shocks, i'd garantee it.
It has done it since I got the car which is in June 06. Nothing has been changed on the car. I had the alignment guy look at them during the inspection also. He said they were fine. He drove the car too. He was mainly trying to figure out why the sidewall had grooves in it like something was hitting but it isn't. It is stiff when you try to push it up and down. I don't want to mess up my new tires I just got that I plan on putting on in a few months. I am going to take it to get it inspected again and get the alignment set before I set the tires on there. Hopefully everything will be fine with that.
I am working on getting a digital camera but 2 tire guys said they look old and it is where the rubber is made together at that point at the bottom of the tread on the sidewall and they are probably just worn. If I had some pics I would post them. If I can borrow a camera I will post them so you can see.
What tires are you running. I follow ruts with 555rII nittos up front, but ok with normal 555's. Also get your car aligned. I think stock sets your toe in and a little bit of negative camber, and your car won't be as sensetive to steering input.
Thanks guys for letting me know if is the way the car handles. If I get a chance I will put some pics up of the grooves in the sidewall of the tires and ya'll can say what you think.