road wander... MUST DIE!

[C.Palmer]

For the most part, I'm running on stock suspension excluding Monroe Sensi-track struts/shocks. I also have 17x9.5 rims with 245/45's. The rims didn't help any (obviously) but the road wander was really bad before I got the wheels. I replaced the outter tie-rod ends and had the car aligned 3 times now and still heavy darting. tire pressure is fine cause i always keep up on that. my bushings up front are due to be replaced but are they really going to make THAT big of a difference? I don't expect to see road wander dissapear just by replacing bushings and my inner tie-rod ends are fine. it's driving me crazy!! [img]graemlins/crybaby.gif[/img]

[MustangEater8251]

road wander= car pulling ot a side, when you leave the wheel alone?

If it is jack up each wheel, specifically the side the car is veering towards, and try to turn the wheel manually, compare it with the other side. You brakes could be binding, causing the car to pull to one side.

[C.Palmer]

no the car is actually pretty well aligned. It doesn't pull on a FLAT road if I let go of the wheel. The steering isn't quite as tight/ responsive as I would think it should be though. The car "darts" in grooves in the road like you wouldn't believe. my arms get tired :rolleyes:

[Justin96Bird]

my car does the same thing i'm not sure what causes it exactly, i'm sure it's something to do with "the wheel going over a bump" has to travel a greater distance or something like that. [img]smile.gif[/img] but if you find anything out let me know.

[bustacap54]

my camaro does this all the time, i think it's something to do with the tires. wider tires = more wondering on the road. it's just something that we all have to deal with, i don't really mind it, mine does it all the time. even more since i have 255 on there.

[black97cam]

if u dont want road wander....

get an M3 BMW!!!

ive riden/driven "high performance" cars....and the M3 (or M5 for that matter) drives/rides better than ANY camaro EVER will.

(not a flame)

[C.Palmer]

Everyone tells me the exact same thing you've all told me. Then I give them the keys to my car and let them drive it down the road and finally they understand. Trust me... it's more then tire size in my case. I drove a slammed 95 firebird convertable with wider tires then i've got and it hardly shifted at all once it hit the dips in the roads.

and yes I'd take a new M3 anyday [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[Backfire]

If your ball joints or rod ends are worn, there might be some slack/play at the connections. That would allow the wheels to move around slightly even while you hold the wheel dead straght. That could give your car a wandering feeling. How many miles are one your car? Have you ever replaced the ball joints?

[black98V6]

well if we had the old school spindle bearing setup I would say check them.. but I don't necessarily know much about the sealed bearings on the front of our cars.. however.. I like the suggestion someone else gave. jack up the car and see how much slack you have in the linkage and such.. grab the tire.. push, pull, move.. and generally see what you can feel in the ball joint.. bearing and other piecees of moving linkage.. check everything that moves..

[C.Palmer]

now THAT is just the type of constructive feedback I was looking for (not that I don't appriciate other feedback as well! ;) )

Like I have mentioned, the outer tie rod ends have already been replaced not even 3K miles ago. The car itself has 138K on it so that's why I'm almost positive I'm overlooking a worn component. To date: the struts and tie rod ends have been replaced and I keep the car aligned. The new struts helped out due to the fact that they don't react as much to the grooves in the road. The bushings need replaced but I KNOW there's something else I'm missing...

[John_D.]

If you have both sides up at the same time, you won't be able to tell much from shaking the wheel at the sides, because the steering linkage play will let the wheel move, and the other wheel will move a little. The best place to check is the top and bottom of the wheel, see if you can rock the top in and out. If so, try to find what behind the wheel is shifting around, you may need someone to rock it while you crawl underneath. If something is loose, it won't move much, but it doesn't take much for the car to wander around. The front-end shops will also usually stick a bar under the bottom of the tire, and lift up and down on the tire (lightly - you're not trying to knock the car off the jackstands...), looking for play in the ball joints, bushings, etc. If you have a long bar, or a 2x4 or something like that.