My MY94 follows all the grooves in the road when it wears its 215/17/45 tyres (Toyo T1's), however it its wearing its stock 205/55/16 rubber when I don't have any problems.

I just put it down to "it does that"...

 

I havent had my MY99 for that long but im sure my car is not suppose to handle like it does. The car follows every groove in the road, the slightest fault in the road my car drags inro it, i dare not let go of the steering wheel. I have checked my tyre pressures but i cannot think what else it can be. Is this how they are. I know feedback through the steering wheel is good but surely i shouldnt be experiencing this much??


Dom

 

Dom,

I've had my MY00 for about 4 months now and I have got exactly the same steering characteristics as you are experiencing. It is especially noticable in the parallel troughs left by lorries on the motorway. I have learnt to live with this and it doesn't bother me anymore. I think that there was some mention of curing this by removal of the bump steer but I'm not exactly sure what this means. There will be some threads in the archives if you do a search under 'bump steer removal' which might explain.

I don't think anything is wrong with your car, I think it is just the way they are set up from the factory.

Sean

 

Dom,

Have you ever had the geometry changed to the Prodrive settings - if it isn't done properly it can leave a mismatch between left and right which can exaggerate the cars natural tendancy to tramline.

The cars geometry can be out even on a brand new car so I would suggest that you take the car to a garage where they have the correct experience and laser alignment kit to ensure correct gemoetry alignment.

What kind of tyres are you using - some tend to tramline more than others eg Yokohama A520's in my experience.

CW.

 

This is a good thing chaps! (assuming there is no setup problem).

The more the car fidgets on the road then the more fun and responsive it will be in a corner.

However, you should get it checked out as I believe that there can be a big difference in feel if the car is not setup to even the standard geometry.

Get it checked out.

 

Dom,

See my post under wheels/tyres from last week about Eagle F1s. I used to hate this and thought it was the worst aspect of the car. I bet that you are still using RE010 tyres, I have changed to Eagle F1s and 90% of this has gone, there is also loads more wet grip and less understeer. Even if you have loads of tread left get rid of the RE010s it will be such a relief.

Brendan

 

Yup, mine does it too and geometry recently reset when new ball joints fitted.

Funnily enough, was better when I swapped tyres front/rear.

On OE tyres, "they all do that" seems to be correct.

D

 

Check out this thread which I started:

 

Thanks Guys

I still have standard rubber on the wheels which are practically bald anyway so maybe a tyre change. Can local subaru garage check the geometry? I agree it certainly makes it fun but bloody scary. anyway ill check out the info on Bump steer.

Dom

 

Increasing the front tyre pressures will reduce tramlining.Its surprising how different the car feels with different pressures so its worth experimenting to see what you like best.I like 30 psi on the back and 35 psi on the front.

Worn out tyres also tramline far more than fresh rubber of the same make and model.

The prodrive settings almost stopped it at first on my car but as the tyres wore to their new settings it came back but was reduced.

Tramlining used to bug me at first but I don't notice it now.

Having the bump-steer removed will not reduce tramlining under part throttle but may when hard on the brakes or under full throttle.

PS before everybody that has been to Powerstation for the bump-steer mod jumps down my neck if you have noticed less tramlining under part throttle this is more than likely due to the change in geometry settings not the bump-steer removal itself.

Andy

 

Andy,

Agreed. The geometry setting will correct the tram lining not the bumpsteer assuming the struts are not compressing or expanding.

Bumpsteer only matters when the front suspension is moving which then makes the car toe change.

My car had toe in before the settings. I am sure Joe Blow garage can try and set the car correctly. But then again PowerStations Sun laser alignment kit is accurate to 1 second I was told. If am to pay anyone to set the geometry I want it right and for 100+VAT the settings are well worth having.

jon

 

And i was getting paranoid thinking it was only my my00 that did that??!!!!
i just put it down to a characteristic but was going to get it checked out when it goes in for her next service at 7.5k

 

For me a strut brace made all the difference.. Much calmer car now.

/Øyvind
MY00

 

I have a MY00 which tramlines terribly - my old MY98 never did and the only difference seems to be 16" wheels as opposed to the old 15". I also have a STI ver 4 which has no problem at all - so do I add a strut brace, get geometry changed or change tyres (all tyres I have ever had have been REO10 ?

 

I have had my MY00 for about 6 months.
I have also noticed this.
I previously had a MY94 which did not seem
to suffer from this.
Shane (Australia)
MY00 (Australian Limited Edition - Club Spec Evo 4)

 

this always seems to happen on cars once you get to about 16-17" rims

I think its caused by the tyre not seating properly in the truck grooves, causing the tyre to pull itself across the road.

Stick to the fast lane in bad bits, usually works for me

robski

 

When I first got the Scoob (MY00 - Jan 2000) it tramlined summat aweful, especially at low road speeds.

But either its gone away, or I've gotten used to it.

I don't notice it now and it certainly is not a problem anymore.

JD

 

Brendan's right. It's "tramlining". The OEM tyres were originally designed for trams on the Isle of Man.

Since fitting Goodyear F1 Eagles to the front my MY00 don't do it no more. They cost me the same as the OEM tyres would have done.