*how to stop this unstable feeling?*
 

do you guys ever get this unstable and shaky feeling at WOT or reaching higher speeds? with my situation when under boost and around 65-70+ I get this really wobbly feeling with the wheel and the car just feels like its floating off the ground. there has got to be a way to help stop this, because frankly it scares the crap out of me! if any of you guys have any ideas on how get this to stop it would be GREATLY appreciated!

You probably have worn suspension components.

any ideas that are more spacific? like toe links, sway bars, strut tower bars?

Probably bushings and such for sway bars, control arms, etc. My car feels stable past 140 for the most part.

Get the car aligned by really good alignment shop and tell them to look for signs of this problem. Ask some locals what the best *performance* alignment shop is and take it there. Those are the folks I think you'd be best served by.

This absolutely should be fixed.

Dave

yeah i was thinking the alignment might be off, but it feels fine. do you know if the bushings are hard to instal? know any where to get a good set?

If your alignment were off, the car would probably pull to one side on the highway at regular speeds, but an alignment shop should know how to check for suspension play. I would look at tie rod ends and ball joints... basically any "hard linkage" that could have play in it in addition to inspecting the rubber bushings. I wonder if the rear pillow balls cause stability issues?

Anyhow... If you have torn boots on any of these, it's a good sign that they are worn or wearing out. You could jack up the front wheels and quickly jerk/rock the wheels on several axes. Sometimes it takes a very strong and hard motion to show slop. Like up down, side to side, and diagonally. If it clunks and moves a little, then there is wear and play somewhere up there.

thanks alot for all the info man! ill try that later tonight when i get home. would you happen to know what parts down there are most common for breaking. ive got about 150k on the car so im sure most of it is worn.

Not really, but there really aren't that many things to break, so you should be able to narrow it down. Your wheel bearings may also be loose after that many miles. Same test for those as it is for the ball joints and rod ends.

+1 for bushings

what size wheels are you rocking? I used to be running 18s on stock suspension and when i went anything over 85 mph the car felt like it was about to take off! Now i'm sitting on a set of much lighter 17s and it feels much more planted, even at 120+

Yep, I was going in that direciton - a good alignment shop will be able to find the bad component. Just any old shop with an alignment rack is not the same value.

However, the overall toe setting can really affect feel at speed, so alignment is not out of hte question.

Dave

Definitely get an alignment as soon as possible. Just tell them what's going on and they'll have a look around under the car. What you should do today is make sure all the lugnuts are tight. You never know, it could be as simple as that.

x3 on alignment


computerized alignment that is.