Unstable steering above 55mph... seems like rear is very loose

[mitsugsx95]

First off, the title may be misleading. My steering is fine... nothing wrong with that.

The problem is anything over around 55mph, i can feel the rear get somewhat light/loose when i say, change lanes or shimmy the steering wheel from left to right a bit (nothing fast though).

I have had this problem before, but thought it was my rear toe since it was out of spec, but thats been fixed, and i still have it.

My alignment settings are:

Front- zero toe -2deg camber for both.
rear- RL: -1deg camber RR: almost 0 camber, both have as close to zero toe as it can get.

Is there any way that the rear camber could be causing the car to be unstable, or anyway that the rear ride height can cause this?

Also, Ive read that some people always quote the toe-in toe-out differently. To my knowledge, toe-in refers to the front of the tire going in (like someone that's pigeon toed). Then, the front of the tire out, or away from the other tire, is toe-out.


Thanks

 

[BoostinIT]

as far as the rear camber making the car unstable, doesn't sound like that would affect anything. I have suspension with no camber kit, my rear tires have so much neg camber, and the car handles like crazy on the highway!!! My guess on the car being unstable; worn out/broke bushings?? if the control arm has a lot of play or anything else for that matter on the suspension, you'll get that unstable/wandering feeling?? id say lift the back tires up together and grab the tires and see if there is any movement. Thats my best guess... lemme know what happens!

.mark.

 

[mitsugsx95]

I did check the rear suspension, and everything is fine. I lowered the rear a bit also (was kind of high from the last time I adjusted the ride height). I got it a little closer to what the front gap/height is.

Took it out for a spin, and it does seem a bit better, but I can still tell its a little loose.

I am going to fix the RR camber to match the RL this fri, so I will see if that helps any as well.

 

[ryu]

my friend had the same problem. but he has a fwd jetta so i have no idea if it can apply at all...but his steering nuckle or something was broken. anyways the only way (before he could figure out the problem) he could keep it stable in high speeds was to pull up the ebrake! the reason was because that was the only thing keeping the hub or something on the car!!! his simptoms got worse and worse and his back end would fly out in high speed turns!!! drifting w/fwd!

 

[Nanan]

Welcome to my last week heh.

Your rear toe should be set to -0.12 toe IN for best stability and minimal tire wear.

Our best alignment specs for good handling and tire wear is as follows. This is a daily driver spec set, if you want Auto-X specs then go do a search.

Front:
Toe: 0.0 deg
Camber -2.0 deg

Rear:
Toe: -0.12 deg
Camber: -1.5 deg

With that being said, if you still have problems with your car feeling like the ass is all loose on the road then your toe is still jacked due to your bushings being shot. If the shop gave you the car back with your camber still jacked then Id suggest going back and bitching about it, uneven specs can destroy tires and make the car unstable.

 

[mitsugsx95]

With that being said, if you still have problems with your car feeling like the ass is all loose on the road then your toe is still jacked due to your bushings being shot. If the shop gave you the car back with your camber still jacked then Id suggest going back and bitching about it, uneven specs can destroy tires and make the car unstable.

As I said, my bushings are fine. Nothing is broken or torn in the rear suspension. As for the shop not fixing the camber; I am going to take out some washers myself and then take it back to the alignment place. I don't need them to charge me labor for doing something i can do in about an hr.

Another thing that did come to mind was the rear swaybar. It is stock, but when it was on the align rack, my friend that was doing it noticed that it had about a 1/2 inch of side to side play. Nothing to the effect of coming away from the body, but just sliding a bit in the bushing. Is that normal, or would that cause uneven weight transfer during slalom type turning?

 

[Nanan]

When you say close to 0 toe in the rear what are the actual numbers? Any degree of toe out will cause the ass to act loose at high speeds.

You have a 95... your bushings are gona be soft/cracked unless the car was kept in a temporal stasis chamber for the first few years.... They may look fine at rest but I am sure under load you will be able to see the radial splits.

The swaybar should be able to move a little but not to much, just enough to not bind. Again that has to do with the bushings that hold your swaybar, those too are likely old and not in so hot a shape.


The shop you had do your alignment should of been able to shim the rear to get your camber corrected, if they didn't then they prob don't know what they are doing. Read shop tech gibbon.

 

[94Jettameowpsst]

My car did the same thing, actually the exact same thing, feels like the ass end of the car is all over the road. ....well i just read more indepth and i have no idea what it could be if nothing is worn on ur suspension, but id still say check your upper tower mounts/bearings/bushings or whatever they are