bumpsteer?

[sucker4stalefish]

I drive mountain passes everyday where dips and bumps are pretty commonplace (roads are fine for the most part but there are lots of unavoidable spots strewn about). Currently I've got AGXs waiting and splparts TC rods on the way. I heard somewhere that suspension too stiff will make your bumpsteer out of whack...This makes me wonder what springs I should go with and if I should get pillow mounts or just some kyb mounts to help absorb some impact. First I was thinking the s.techs but people say the drop is a lot lower than what is advertised. How do the prokits or ST springs sound for my particular application. Wheel gap doesnt bother me and I drive the back roads hard.

[DeltaSteve]

bumpsteer is a bad thing, and less travel in your suspension would make there be less of it, therefore stiffer springs are not a problem. when you design a suspension, bumpsteer is something you are trying to minimize. all it is, is when your suspension goes into bound (or rebound) and your tie rods have a different instant center than the rest of your suspension, they cause your wheels to steer more or less than you wanted them to.

[C-Kwik]

Lowered suspensions are more susceptible to bump steer since the suspension geometry was not designed around the lower ride height. Bump steer occurs when a movement in suspension travel results in toe changes. Stiffer suspensions can help to reduse it, but over rough surfaces, you may lose traction from having too stiff of a suspension. And over smooth surfaces, bump steer is less of a problem. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[sucker4stalefish]

so some adjustable tie rods are a good investment. tie rods are not the same thing as tension control rods correct?

[C-Kwik]

Tie-rods come adjustable from the factory. And they have nothing to do with bumpsteer. Ideally, as the supension moves up and down, you do not want any toe changes. Unfortunately, this is not always easy to acheive. A small amount of change is acceptable over a long movement range, but 0 is best.

[sucker4stalefish]

alright heres my suspension plan so far. let me know if i have it down right or if anybody has any suggestions.

kyb agx - affordable adjustablility

ST springs - stiff and linear with minimal drop for the mountain roads

spl parts t/c rods - affordable bushing replacement. increase road feel and remove front end slop - will increase bumpsteer...? or would the beefier rods with lack of a bushing help reduce toe change in rough conditions?

front eccentric bolts and and rear camber bushings if needed

kyb oem strut mount replacement - as opposed to tein pillow mounts as to deflect a bit of the impact from rough conditions. or should i just go for the pillow mounts?

whiteline f/r sways and bushings

probably some cheapo ebay f/r strut bars as well.

i like a neutral feel with mild oversteer

[C-Kwik]

To eliminate the bumpsteer, you have to key in on why the toe is changing during suspension travel then remedy that. It is possible the things you mention could eliminate it, but unless it remedies the cause, it won't fix it. The best way to check is to remove the spring, and install the shock with no spring. With the car in the air, you move the suspension up and down with a jack, 3 inches of bump and 3 inches of rebound from normal ride height. Check the toe changes at each 1 inch interval. Try to figure out what is causing the toe to change excessively.

[sucker4stalefish]

will do

[positron1]

Researching bumpsteer so I had to dust off this old archived thread... it's the only one. Can somebody please exlpain what it is and how it affects driving again?