Won't Turn Right?

[jmortensen]

Steering rack is not likely, I think a problem there would be really obvious. I'd be looking at a toe change or a caster change or something like that. The aluminum bushings have a reputation for rotating by themselves, that might throw toe off pretty significantly in the rear, which could explain your problem.

[coop]

I'm writing this from a hotel room on the road so I'll just wing it.

Well, I don't know how I missed it but the forward, e-bushing on the left rear a-arm had indeed rotated about 30 degrees. This made for 4 mm of toe in at the rear. :stupid: In addition to that, there is some right thrust of the rear suspension. I went to considerable lengths to correct this when I built the car so I don't know, perhaps the thing is just bent some. The slotting of the rear cross member needs to be increased even more to remove the thrust. The down brackets appear solid and square. Could all of this have caused the car to turn poorly to the right?

Time will tell as I left the car in pieces when I walked out the door today. I hope this is the smoking gun. We'll see.

[John Coffey]

Check tire stagger.

[jmortensen]

Time will tell as I left the car in pieces when I walked out the door today. I hope this is the smoking gun. We'll see.

I'm sure that is it. 4mm of toe in on one side is a lot. That's almost 3/16".

I'm interested in how you slotted your rear crossmember. Was it anything like this? http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=89111

If so you might be able to mod it a bit more with a turnbuckle and get rid of those eccentric bushings, or put a screw through them so that they can't rotate anymore.

[coop]

Nothing so fancy as that. All I did, is slightly slot the holes on the cross member and slide the entire cross member to the right. That at least gets the suspension back to where it should be. The e-bushings do the fine tuning, especially if I get them to stay where I want them. Sure, turnbuckles would work but they would also probably be determined to be illegal. I hate slotting stuff as I'd prefer to start with a straight car like my last one. The problem is, I was given this car by a friend and have tried to make it work. I will succeed but I will never again accept a dubious present such as this. Anyone out there reading.........don't start with a bent rust bucket. It will take years off your life.:sick:

[coop]

Jon, you are the winner! Yes indeed it was the left front e-bushing rotating under side load. The big bolt just wasn't tight enough even though the alignment marks were right on. I compared two pictures taken just seconds apart in the cork screw at Laguna Seca. Both showed my left hand in the same position on top of the steering wheel yet the left front wheel was pointed in different directions between the pics.

Here is what was happening: When the car was static or running in a straight line or under braking, the left front suspension arm would stay in the full negative camber position that I wanted. Upon entering a right hand corner with both front tires under load, the right front tire could turn the car in. As the car transitioned through the turn, the right front tire would unload and the left front tire would then provide all the turning force. This side load from the left would rotate the e-bushing inward causing a huge toe out change keeping the car from turning right.

First, I tightened the bolt but then I drilled and tapped a set hole through the cross member and into the e-bushing. Then I just bolted in a set bolt. Problem solved. That thing will never rotate again on me. How embarrassing!

Last weekend at Thunderhill, the car ran a 2:06 flat, less that .5 seconds off a lap record which had been set by an E36 BMW that can't even run in that configuration any more without being bumped a class. Not bad after a four year layoff and the car has even more in it.

Thanks everyone for all the help.

Coop