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A bit of spirited driving today on some B roads my car didnt handle very well infact it was weaving about all over the place.
It is on 17" wheels with quite new Falken tyres. I had these on a previous Subaru and they were fine.
Scoobyclinic fitted Tein flex Z coilovers and set them up, they have only done a couple of thousand miles at the most.
So where do i start to sort this problem ??
Could you explain a bit more mate. What do you mean it was all over the place?
I've had Falkens so wouldn't think it was that. You have suspension thats had good reviews so not that. Perhaps damper adjustment or tie rods if car is going one way and you're turning another way.
Do the basics first. Get the car on a Hunter machine which any decent alignment shop will have, and check the settings. The machine has a database with preset settings for your car and will tell you if anything is out.
front camber negative1 degree 45minutes - 2 degrees (if you haven't got adjustable top mounts, maximise the negative camber). Make sure they know they have to slack the lower bolt BEFORE adjusting the upper camber bolt!
rear camber negative 1 degree 15minutes - 1 degree 30minutes (if you haven't got rear camber plates you can push and pry the struts and use the play in the lower bracket bolt holes to equalise the rear camber). Torquing the rear suspension when in full droop, will minimise the rear negative camber, before further equalising adjustment.
zero front toe
positive rear toe-in 0 degree 03 minutes, per side (or, positive 0.4mm toe in, per side).
Tyre pressures? Try 33psi front 28psi rear.
Wheel centre to metal arch measurements?
The arch measurements and alignments are with a full tank or put 50kg in the boot.
If you have front camber plates: positive front caster 5 degree 30 mins to 6 degrees, per side, would be nice.
he forgot to print them off. i am waiting for him to email me the before and after printouts.
I showed him the set up you sent me ,he said i would need to book it in for a morning
Check for worn and damaged components like bushes and bearings to start off with.
Time and time again when people complain of handling issues on 15-25yo cars the immediate suggestion is that "fast-road" geometry will make it all better. Yes, a static alignment check will reveal if something is way out of alignment but there are plenty of worn out bushes and components that can cause dynamic issues that won't make a hugely obvious change to static geometry, and even then if the geometry is obviously way out just adjusting it back around worn out parts if something is not right is not fixing the issue at all.
I have access to a Hunter machine for free, and it still isn't the first thing I would use to diagnose a handling issue, let alone if it costs you money.
Last edited by RetroPug; 08 April 2022 at 11:26 AM.
100% pay close attention to the bushes when they're doing the alignment, and if anything seems too soft then best stopping there and getting it fixed before proceeding. The rear lateral control arms can give a lot of wobble if they've started to soften, and the rearward front bush (i.e what's replaced in an ALK) can also cause a lot of strange behaviour, especially under braking. I found soft sidewalled tyres can give wayward handling with the car shimmying on tramlined roads but otherwise were tolerable. Bushes on the other hand just make the car feel unpredictable and unpleasant.
100% pay close attention to the bushes when they're doing the alignment, and if anything seems too soft then best stopping there and getting it fixed before proceeding. The rear lateral control arms can give a lot of wobble if they've started to soften, and the rearward front bush (i.e what's replaced in an ALK) can also cause a lot of strange behaviour, especially under braking. I found soft sidewalled tyres can give wayward handling with the car shimmying on tramlined roads but otherwise were tolerable. Bushes on the other hand just make the car feel unpredictable and unpleasant.
it is unpredictable and the backend is weaving from side to side
If the bushes are worn, then the alignment you have set while the car is stationery (static) can be wildly different to when you are driving (dynamic), as the car experiences lateral forces and weight transfers front and rear. For example when you are cornering the wheels could change from toe in to toe out and back again. Or from negative to positive camber.
So ideally get the bushes refreshed along with suspension parts before a full wheel alignment. Or at the very least the operator should be checked for play and advising whether parts need to be replaced before the alignment.
Last edited by TECHNOPUG; 20 April 2022 at 12:52 PM.
They are a couple of hours away from me.
I took the car there just after I bought it.They changed all the fluids and had a good look underneath and said everything looked ok.
Every time you adjust ride height you 'should' slacken the suspension arm bushes* and retighten when vehicle is on the ground so suspension is loaded (via 4 post lift or pit) and bushes are in their working position. Otherwise it strains the bushes causing premature wear (although sometimes they may slip a re-settle on their own accord, or maybe not)
Thing is old cars usually have rear lateral bushes seized solid onto the through-bolt so they'd need replacing anyway.
03 April 2022, 05:54 PM
Suspension or tyres ??
