Traction Problem

[Morel]

I think i'm in dire need of an alignment..

The problem is my car wants to go in random directions, it gets 100 times worse when it's slick, the tires will get traction and want to jerk to the left or right (not hard, but totally annoying and unsafe)

The tires are a bit worn (235/45/17) but not overly so.. And I have pretty bad camber in the back since I lowered it.

I'm going to get a 4 wheel alignment done this week. But Just wanted to ask if anyone has any other ideas..

Thanks!

 

[Morel]

nobody has any ideas?

 

[chico904]

Well depending on how much you lowered it, you might need a camber kit (generally over 2 inches) And yes, get an alignment, and if that doesn't help, try getting your wheels balanced.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Two things to definitely do: 1.) Fix your camber problem. Kits to fix this are inexpensive and easy to install. 2.) Get the alignment. Always get your car aligned after you do any sort of suspension work.

The camber shouldn't make too much of a difference as far as steering goes; but it will kill your tires sooner or later.

 

[Morel]

Ya, I went to do this a few weeks ago, and after 2 of the bolts ripped right out I decided to wait till a warmer day to do the rest...

 

[chico904]

What bolts are you talking about?

 

[MyTGSX]

Mine was doing this and it was the Drivers side Outer Tie rod end, mine was busted all up.

Got one from Autozone, ($24) and rented a puller, 20 mins later, good to go.

The test is jack up one side and pull and push on the wheel, (Left to right, then up and down) it shouldn't move very much, Mine moved almost 1/2 inch or more.

Check that, also if they are really bad you can look at them and see how busted they are.

 

[dewdew]

Alignment is probably your main problem. When you lower a car both camber and toe will change. Excessive camber may cause some tire wear, but won't cause a wandering issue. Usually excessive toe out is the problem. This will cause a lot of inner edge wear as well as a bad wandering problem. Think of it as your left wheel is slightly turned left and your right wheel is slightly turned right as you're driving straight down the road, each side is trying to go either way. Your tires are basically plowing down the road. Camber kits aren't that important unless you slammed your car, you may get a little inside edge wear, but it will help with handling as well.

 

[dewdew]

By the way, to check parts: side to side play is usually a tie rod (inner or outer), if it has side to side as well as up to down, that usually means bearing, and if it is only up and down it usually means lower ball joint (make sure you raise the vehicle by the frame to check ball joints, if you jack by suspension the ball joint will stay loaded and you will neve get play out of it)

 

[Morel]

Thanks a ton, Hopefully it fixes it. It's driving my crazy and I hate worrying

 

[madmader]

i would imagine your caster angle will change to that you lowred your car. So it will pull more to the roads angle. And your rack and pinion just change from lowering it, i mean the toe.


Even with that lowering camber kit you won't have the same drivability characteristic as stock hight.