Hi, I have an '02 pontiac sunfire that I race at a local short track. Ive lowered it as far as I could drop it. In fact I actually had to raise the motor to keep the half shaft from hitting the timing cover lol. So naturally this affects bump steer. I was wondering if there was a special spindle I could buy to reverse these effects, or some type of tie rod that I could buy that’s adjustable. Ive thought about moving the steering rack but its not naturally placed on the fire wall in a sunfire. And before anyone gives me a hard time about safety just remember I’m in a “race car” with a full roll cage, a racing seat and, im strapped in by a 5 point seat belt. Any ideas or products would be helpful.
I've seen something on here that actually raised the point that the tie rod bolted to the knuckle, but I don't remember who had them.
- Your not-so-local, untrained, uncertified, backyard mechanic. But my @!#$ runs
Oedwards wrote:I've seen something on here that actually raised the point that the tie rod bolted to the knuckle, but I don't remember who had them.
OEM or Driving Force Fabrication. Im not positive if hes still producing these but it doesnt hurt to ask. Contact Mark or Jeffie. They should be able to help you out.
There are quite a few parts available from Speedway or Afco, etc that will do it. I've even seen tie rod flip kits for Jeeps that can be used. All you need is the machined sleeve, a rod end, and a bolt.
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We do have a bump steer kit, Works great. we have a specialty machined sleeve that fits into the existing knuckle so no modifying is needed. Here are some pics. We might be running a GB on these here in the next month or two.
mark
http://www.overkillengineeringmotorsports.com/
What's the taper on the sleeve? How much for a pair of them?
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i have this kit, but dont recommed installing it in the reversed position.
here is the kit installed on the bottom of the knuckle. after two alignment shops and a very scary highway drive to an indianapolis show i found the underneath position to be very undesirable. Amplified my toe issues and made the car very twitchy, a pronounced bridge joint pulled me across three lanes of traffic, thankfully the lanes were open. Granted that my car is adjustable and will created toe issues in itself, these mounted in that position casued the tires to squeel while driving in a straight line even with minimal changes to ride height.
however , these installed in the factory position makes for a wonderful product. i have had these a couple years now. and once on the top again the alignment issuse went away and they work perfectly for their intended purpose.
What purpose does it serve to mount it below the knuckle vs factory position?
When you lower your car you will noticed that the steering knuckle goes up as well. What these do is allow you to mount the tie rod ( heim Joint) back to a factory position to cancel any bump steer out.
Mark
http://www.overkillengineeringmotorsports.com/
What kind of a drop are these good for? I'm not slammed on the ground but I am about 1.6" lower than stock in the front. Would these be overkill (heh, no pun intended) or do you think they would actually help me out?
"In Oldskool we trust"
That’s another problem every car is lowered to different ride heights, can I order a custom pair? And can I get them in something more durable than aluminum? Does anyone on this website know how to use a bump steer gauge?
Sam Braun wrote:That’s another problem every car is lowered to different ride heights, can I order a custom pair? And can I get them in something more durable than aluminum? Does anyone on this website know how to use a bump steer gauge?
Is that a rhetorical question? Because theres a homemade bumpsteer gauge in JuicedZ4s thread in P&M.
mine from OEM arent aluminum.
Not taking anything away from the product in and of itself, here is where bumpsteer is a problem:
The tie rod should remain as parallel to the control arm, and axle shaft as possible throughout the range of movement. In the picture Spencer posted, you can see that this is not the case. This is why he had more issues with it flipped underneath.
Where is makes sense to flip this is if you use a ball joint extender to level your control arms at the same time. The flip moves it too much otherwise.
Mr. Quick wrote:Not taking anything away from the product in and of itself, here is where bumpsteer is a problem:
The tie rod should remain as parallel to the control arm, and axle shaft as possible throughout the range of movement. In the picture Spencer posted, you can see that this is not the case. This is why he had more issues with it flipped underneath.
Where is makes sense to flip this is if you use a ball joint extender to level your control arms at the same time. The flip moves it too much otherwise.
This is because its on jack stands. Once he lowered the car the tie rods should have straightened out.
Mark
http://www.overkillengineeringmotorsports.com/
so i dont understand... if the point of mounting them on the lower section of the knuckle is to take care of bump steer, why did spencer's have issues? and whats the point of doing it if all you are going to do is mount them on top again anyway? besides the obvious weight savings of them being aluminum anyways...
now, i already have aluminum heim jointed tie rods, just dont have this fancy kit to mount them differently... which again, seems to make no sense to me as to why.
M45/OS crank/2.4 snout. It's nice to be injected but I love being blown!
