[Shotimes] Steering?

[Zach Leahy]

Oh yeah, i had forgotten about that.  George Fourchy did a write up (I
think) about using the fender washers there.  Agreed that that may be
the issue.

Eventually too, you will wear out the upper mount.  Enough pounding
and the spring makes a big detent in the rubber mount.  this can make
getting the car into alignment nearly impossible.  Also it can make
the steering feel a bit bindy in places.  I tried various methods to
circumnavigate this, but finally broke down and bought a new pair of
mounts and put them in.  If you go in to have it aligned and they say
that they cannot get enough negative camber, then your mounts are
getting bad.  I slotted my towers to allow for extra movement in the
negative direction.

I did this more for the track so I can add in extra negative camber in
the front.  It gives a flatter contact patch on in cornering, so more
grip in the corners.  It's also very useful with certain race tires,
the R1 is one of them (not avaialble anymore).  With a Biased sidewall
design and (iirc) a difference in the compound on the inside vs. the
outside, you end up killing the outside of the tire faster than
anything else.  Dialing in extra negative camber helps to even it all
out.

For thos at putnum, you will probably see me change this a couple
times over the course of the day after each session and seeing where
the tire is hottest.  You want the heat to be as uniform as possible. 
Too much heat outside means add negative camber (generally) and too
much heat inside means take some out.  Some of the better auto-x'rs I
run with run gobs of negative camber, seriously noticable amounts.

Sorry I digressed, but the note about the spacers is valid, check
those out.  You don't need to remove the strut to put a few washers in
there.  Just mark the mount location as accurately as you can before
you take the strut bolts loose (on the top).  put a long metal bar
against the lower suspension arm and stand on it.  The strut will move
down and you can wiggle some washers into place.  You may have to cut
the factory plates loose if thye have not already been done.  When you
get them all on wiggel the strut back into place and re align it to
your marks on the towers.  tighten it back down and you are all set. 
Little to no cost, just a bit of work.


Z



On 7/13/05, Co-Op <Co-Op@schramminc.com> wrote:
> I would take a look up into the strut tower.  My strut mount had rubbed
> grooves into the metal of the strut tower.  Ford had a recall for this.  The
> solution was to install a plastic ring that spaced the strut downward about
> 1/4".  Even with that, I still get a slight groan.  You could put a couple
> fender washers on each of the strut mount studs between the mount and top of
> the strut tower.
> 
> On the other hand, you might just have gotten water into the strut bearing.
> IIRC, the bearings are cheap from Rock Auto.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Zach Leahy [mailto:leahyz@gmail.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 9:12 AM
> To: Ian Fisher
> Cc: George ask me; shotimes@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: [Shotimes] Steering?
> 
> 
> if it is a scrunchy intermittant noise, it's a strut bearing/mount.
> It's not big deal to just ignore them for a while, just annoying.  If
> it is a screechy noise, it could be the P/S belt slipping.
> 
> Z
> 
> On 7/12/05, Ian Fisher <dataflash@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > My bet is strut bearing. I've gotta ask- (is this a
> > pun?)-what are we supposed to ask you? i.e., is Ask Me
> > part of your name or .. ?  :)
> >
> > Ian
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
> > > [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
> > > On Behalf Of George ask me
> > > Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 4:42 PM
> > > To: shotimes@autox.team.net
> > > Subject: [Shotimes] Steering?
> > >
> > > Hey everybody,
> > >
> > > When I turn my steering wheel sharply to either
> > > direction (for example, when
> > > getting into a parking space or things of that sort)
> > > I hear a squeaking
> > > noise, almost sounds like a belt.  Does anyone have
> > > a clue what this is?
> > >
> > > George
> > > Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam
> > > protection around
> > > http://mail.yahoo.com
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