Rollmodel

Ive had my car for almost a year now, a 2001 ws6, it has always followed ruts in the road pretty bad, i feel like i am constantly using a lot more force than i should have to to hold the steering wheel straight, ive had a front end alignment and am getting pretty annoyed with it to the point where i barely drive it anymore, is this a normal thing for these cars because of the tire size, of could it just be the tires on the car? please help.

thetastelingers

iTrader: (2)

mine did this as the front tires were wearing out.
I got new tires, and it solved the problem.
hope this helps.

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Air pressure has alot to do with it.

Alignment may be off.

Cop Car

iTrader: (14)

my car has been recently aligned and it just likes to follow ruts, i think its because of 275 tires, didnt seem to do it hardly as much when it has 245s on it.

silver02ss

my car has followed the grooves in the road since day one. i thought something was wrong with the car. hasn't changed much with tire swaps. our tires are wider than most tires and sidewalls of course are stiff, so we're essentially riding on the edges of our tires in the smaller ruts and the stiff side wall keeps them from conforming to the groove well....sooo it pulls side to side as the edge of the tire rides one side or the other of the groove.

that's my non-expert analysis of the situation anyway

ryan-63nova

the condition is called "bump steer", subframe connectors will TOTALLY eliminate this.

ArcticZ28

iTrader: (14)

The wider the tire, the more it will do this.

Deep Blue

Rollmodel

how does that work, the subframe connectors, r u positive that would do it?

ArcticZ28

iTrader: (14)

uhhh never heard of that one.

RAIDER

iTrader: (4)

I had that problem really bad, I would let go of the steering wheel and it would just jerk to one side. That was with the 275's , now with the 245 's and an allignment the problem is about 15 % still there compared to 100%with 275's. I can let go of the steering wheel and it will barely grab the ruts .or go straight depending on how deep they are.

BAD ASS TA WS6

iTrader: (5)

I assume, you are running the stock Goodyear Eagles. They suck! They ride hard, and are very loud going down the road. Also, they are 275s, which is a wide tire. The wider the tire, the more apt they are to follow ruts in the road.

How much tread is left?

Here are a few basic things you can do, I'll list easiest and cheapest first.

Set all 4 Tires to approx. 34 PSI. This is where I like to run my street tires, and will be fine for you and those Goodyears.

Get an alignment; from another shop! Alignments can be a pain in the *** sometimes. Your car is an '01, things shouldn't be that hard to adjust... My point is, sometimes the tech half asses the alginment. We call this a "Toe and Go." Just go to a shop with some good feedback from others in your area. Ask them to print out the before and after specs of your car on the rack. If you want, I can help you out with specs later.

Now, if all else fails, it's probably the tires. If they are on their way out, just replace them. Why don't you let me know what your budget is, and I can recommend some tires for you?

Rob

Rollmodel

the tires are on their way out, theyre not really really bad but it definitely needs new ones, i rotated the tires recently and the problem got worse, the tires on there now arent the goodyear eagles, they are sumitomo tires. About the 245s will they fit on the stock rims? and if so would it solve the problem to get 245s for the front and keep the 275s in the rear?

LTSpeed

Just 1 rear tire 2-3psi lower than the rest can cause this. I had one down 10psi (new leak) and I thought my steering was going out...

LS1 Terror

i had sumitomo tires on my 02 Z and threw those things to the curb they really suck i got some BFs Gforce

Rollmodel

the tires are on their way out, theyre not really really bad but it definitely needs new ones, i rotated the tires recently and the problem got worse, the tires on there now arent the goodyear eagles, they are sumitomo tires. About the 245s will they fit on the stock rims? and if so would it solve the problem to get 245s for the front and keep the 275s in the rear?

ryan-63nova

Definition

Bump Steer is when your wheels steer themselves without input from the steering wheel. The undesirable steering is caused by bumps in the road interacting with improper length or angle of your suspension and steering linkages.


f-bodys are prone to this not due to a weak suspension design, but rather god awfull chassis flex, when you hit a bump or rut torrsion is applied to the chassis. this energy has to have someway to unload...case and point bump steer!
get subframe connectors

ArcticZ28

iTrader: (14)

SFC's may help, but they will definitely not "totally" eliminate the problem. Bump steer has a lot more to do with width of the tires, suspension setup, and caster of the alignment.

slow3hoe2

iTrader: (3)

i have noticed this on my car also. when i have the stock 17" ss wheels on there, the car does this. ive had 2 different sets of tires on the front and still did it. its not bad...its just totally noticable when im used to riding on my drag wheels and i switch back to the stockers. my car has a fresh alignment and subframes.

lrk322

iTrader: (11)

I had subframes on my car when I had the 245/16 stockers and I experienced some, but not too bad amount of bump steer. When I added 275/40/17s on all fours my car started doing the bump steer thing alot worse. An alignment helped but its just the wide tires it seems. Its more of a pain at higher speeds, like 50 plus. Around town its not so bad. I have Eagle GSD3s so I don't think its a tire issue. I had a little toe in added added and my camber set to about -0.3 ( a little less extreme than before) that seemed to help me track straighter. In conclusion I agree with what was said before: low profile, wide tire in front, causes more bump steer and a 245 would tone it down -but is it a good idea to put a 245 on a 17 x 9 guys?