Dilbones

All,

I wanted to share an experience with everyone so that it can potentially help someone in the future who is having similar issues.

Going through corners at high speeds on 100 TW tires and slicks, I would enter the corner with the steering angle I needed and when the car would get to its static cornering position (i.e. it was finished rotating/turning in) it seemed like the steering wheel would slip, and then catch shortly after-- allowing the rear end of the car to come out just a little bit.

Go to 6:24 in this video and watch my hands at the apex. I've been driving FWD cars set up to oversteer for about three years now, and I know what predictable, normal oversteer is like. This was a mechanical issue:


I checked all of the bolts holding my lower control arms to my subframe and chassis, my bolts holding the shocks to the lower control arms, upper camber arms, ball joints, tie rods (inner and outer), axles, and my bearings were recently replaced.

I looked under my car and saw some cracked steering rack bushings-- so I figured that might be it. I did some reading and found that those bushings are very thin and might make a difference. However, upon further reading, I learned that the rack-end bushing can also wear out and cause play in the wheel.

So, with a lack of well-written DIYs I decided to get a cheap AAE rack off of RockAuto (150 dollars next day shipping for a track day) and I compared the feel of this new rack to my old rack.

Firstly, the old rack could be spun with my hand very easily. I was spinning it left and right with the inner tie rods still attached.

Secondly, there was play in between when I would start turning the rack and when the rack would show resistance.

The third thing to note is that the bushings ARE indeed very thin on these EG steering racks. The part of the bushing that actually sits between the metal collar and the casting for the rack itself was NOT worn or cracked..Simply the outside of the bushing was cracked-- so I don't believe that this was causing an issue.

Now, previously when I would hit the gas in second gear or third gear at high rpm while driving straight, the car would pull slightly to one side (I forget which). Everyone said torque steer, everyone said tie rods, everyone said alignment, everyone said loose bolts-- but when I put this new rack in, it fixed the problem.

I know this isn't groundbreaking news, but I hope that this will help someone else in my predicament.

I'll keep you updated on my testing at the track with this setup. My next day isn't for a while, but with my new job and commute, pulling off the amount of track days I did last season is a bit more of a challenge.

Thanks for reading HT.com!