SPEED_NYC

iTrader: (3)

ok, im an idiot when it comes to suspension set-up. first off my car is primarily street driven, the only type of track driving it sees in the drag strip.

i run koni yellows with i believe h&r springs(the springs are labeled neuspeed)
the car has 265/40/17 fronts with 285/40/17 rears if that helps

heres my issue. the car feels as though the rear end is 'steering' to the right causing the car to pull left when i accelerate hard when running high boost (600 rwhp) on the track, also at any boost level (350whp) on the street the car consistantly pulls to the left if i abruptly let off the gas after hard acceleration. its to the point where the car is getting dangerious to drive. at highway speeds if i boost through a gear and let off at the top of the gear the car will change 1 lane to the left.

i've changed trailing arms and toe links to pettit racing units, i also have pettit upgraded rear diff bushings. i have not replaced the rear pillowballs yet but i know they are bad (clunking) im not sure if the pillowballs can cause such a severe problem though.

i did notice about a year ago that one of my koni yellows left front to be exact had fluid at the top of the shaft. i checked again recently and see no fluid(mabye it all leaked out?) im thinking that i may have a blown rear shock as well? what do you guys think is causing this problem, and does anyone have any experience with rebuilding koni yellows?
if i get them rebuilt/revalved is there any particular valving i should opt for that would help me in a drag/street set up?

thanks for any input guys..
Roan

njstreetrx7

roan get coilovers...lol
ii dnt know much about suspension
i wanna see new pics of the car painted

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Roan,

Are the rear tires the same brand/model? Same tread depth? I had a similar problem in one of my old TIIs when I was running a slightly different model tire (same brand) on the rear.

When is the last time you had a good accurate alignment? That kind of stuff also manifests itself with symptoms as you described. Considering your size, you definitely want to get the car aligned when you are sitting in it. I'm 180 lbs and when I sit on my car on the alignment rack the camber changes by .2 degrees and toe also changed. I know a couple of good places that will let you sit in the car while its getting aligned if you need a place. Some of my racing buddies recommended them.

When you installed the trailing arms are you sure that you set them up at the same length compared to the stock trailing arms? I know when I was tightening up mine, the body of the trailing arm started to unscrew from the side that mounted to the chassis. Might want to check that.

If the shock was blown, it would be kinda oily around the top where the piston sticks out.

I'm running Konis with H&R springs and don't have any problems as you described. I'm only running about 320 or so RWHP at low boost but car is extremely stable.

I'll be in town the weekend of 4/12 if you want to meet up.

SPEED_NYC

iTrader: (3)

i wish i could afford coilovers...

thanks for the help al, i had 2 wheel alognments in one week. one was done before the toe links and the second right after
my car sits very low and the alignment guy said that the rear camber (i think) was as far as he could get it but slightly out of spec. (im not sure which measurement it was, but the tops of the rear tires were pointed in) my car has always been at this ride height and i never had this problem in the past.

i run diffrent tires front and rear. kuhmo 712's in front and firestone firehawks in rear(they were free and brand new when i got em)

i didnt think about sitting in the car for the alignment, yeah al, i'd like to check out some of the places your familliar with for another alignment. call me when you're in town. if you dont mind, take the car for a drive and tell me whjat you think.

zenofspeed

iTrader: (1)

I have the same issue...

Under hard acceleration or letting off acceleration, the car pulls left. If feels like the rear is steering. Almost like I only have one rear wheel accelerating the car. OR as if my left front wheel is lifting.

Car is only 305 RWHP. Ground control coilovers with tokico struts and custom springs. I don't know about trailing links etc, since I recently bought the car. But everything seems tight and I know the struts are newish. Tires are new and car is aligned.

I'm going to set an appointment with my suspension tuner after I get my new wheels/tires. He will dial it in and corner balance the car (using weights to simulate the driver). If he and I can solve the problem, I'll post up our solution.

Subscribing...

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

This is the place that a lot of the local Miata and BMW autocrossers used:

Goodyear (Goodyear Auto Service Centers)
336 N Broadway
Jericho, NY 11753
(516) 433-7730

The guy that did the alignments for the autox guys was John. You'll need to call and speak with him directly to discuss the car and setup an appt. Bring the specs you want to use and he'll let you sit in the car while it gets dialed in. Note that its been 2 years since I've been there so I'm not sure if he is still there.

Given that you already had 2 alignments, makes me wonder if something else is wrong though....

I know another place in Mineola but not sure if he can do it with the driver to be in the car....

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Kinda random, but make sure your rear strut tower bar is tightened down.

aznpoopy

caliper could be partially seized

zenofspeed

iTrader: (1)

Not to hijack, but since I'm having a very similar issue, I'll respond to the last two posts.

Calipers are freshly rebuilt and working perfectly. Problem was there before and after. There is not extra heat on any rotor after a drive.

Strut tower brace is aftermarket and on tight, no change in the problem even if the brace is off vs. on.

SPEED_NYC

iTrader: (3)

my strut tower brace is tight
i havent checked calipers, these are actually the same pads and rotors on the car since i bought it 8 years ago.
i should also mention that the car has never been hit, no chance of chassis damage.
for the guys who have changed the rear pillowballs, do you guys think work pillowballs could be causing this?

SPEED_NYC

iTrader: (3)

back from the dead, i just installed a set of cusco zero 2 R coilovers and the car is going straight as an arrow. thanks for all the help gys!

RiceFx306

iTrader: (7)

Wow....I'm kind of wondering about my suspension setup now. I have Eibach Pro/Illuminas that I just put on and it's really uneasy to drive it around. I was thinking it might just be the road, but then I noticed the front swaying in my lane at about 80 mph. It was pretty unnerving and I was going to take it up to Gotham and see what they thought of it. Maybe I fubarred the install, but I'm running two different tires on the rear and one happens to be on the wrong direction. I have a lot of negative camber now and when I had it aligned it had the one tire on backwards that was more worn down than the other and it was on blown struts and R1 springs...Hopefully two new tires for the rears and an alignment will help. I really want to get this camber thing worked out though.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Always re-align after doing suspension work or getting new tires.

Its also a good idea to have the same size and model tire. You get best results that way.

Keep in mind that Speed_NYC is making huge power which is going to load the suspension in ways at a lower power car won't.

magus2222

iTrader: (22)

sometimes alignment isnt the problem. have you checked the tie rod bushings as well as the ball joints? its called torque steer and brake steer. an alignment would be the main cause, but i would also check the steering rack as well. inner and outer tie rods, ball joints, check the bushings in the control arms as well. i know it might seem as though there would be no connection, but you never know.
check the ball joints on the tie rods by putting 25 lbs of pressure pulling down, if they move at all, replace.

Lloyd

zx3focus

I had that problem but my bushing were shot.

RiceFx306

iTrader: (7)

Ok just making sure it wasn't just me.
Here's my list of what's been replaced.

1 OEM Stabilizer End Link, Pass Side
1 OEM Stabilizer End Link, Driver's Side
1 Bracket, Radiator/Swap Bar,Passger
1 Bracket radiator/sway bar, driver
1 Gotham Racing Urethane Motor Mounts for FD3S
1 Gotham Racing Toe links for FD3S blue
1 BALL,PILLO

Then I guess a couple new tires and alignment will hopefully do the trick. I'll get it aligned at Gotham and see if I can pick Steve's brain for some ideas.

Drifter288

iTrader: (3)

If you feel the the rear is steering you it might possible be your rear toe. This is only a suggestion as you see if the rear toe is off it will create a thrust line (where your rear wheels are pointed) that is not parallel to your centerline ((literally cut your car in half). Best to have it aligned to see the difference since it might cause you to be dog tracking.

If thats not the case also look at your camber settings as this will surely make the car pull. But if you do have it done ask the alignment tech to look over bushings and run a "Vehical Symetrical / Set back" (only if they have hunter alignment systems) This will tell you if there is any problems with frame damage as well as knowing if the axles meet up perfectly front and rear. Not a lot of alignment techs will do it but I'm training to be one so I do hope this helps.

magus2222

iTrader: (22)

^^^ someone go to wyotech or uti much?
anyways, yes, dog tracking, but alot of the time you cant adjust **** in the back. on ours, you can, just enough, but what you missed is that he didnt say it was walking one direction, then rear toe might be to blame. if it constantly wonders, then its up front.

Lloyd

Drifter288

iTrader: (3)

What on the front would cause wander? Would it be a combination of factors?

seanfd3s

If it's only when you let off you check your brakes? If its rear toe the car will pull on or off the gas with the steering wheel straight. Tires, bad shocks, bad bushings can cause your front to wander; front toe possibly could but the steering wheel would be cocked to a side either on its own or by holding it and would be under or with out accelerating too .

RiceFx306

iTrader: (7)

I'm going to order two new tires for the rear...don't want to take the chance on them being uneven and my fronts have less than 2K on them. I'm going to have them all balanced and then aligned.

The front gets really light feeling at higher speed on bumpy roads. It almost feels as if the shocks are reacting to the roads surfaces differently. I'm going to have the guy at Gotham take a good look at it and try and try to help me out and I'll be sure to report back with my findings. Thanks again...you guys as always are a wealth of information!

RiceFx306

iTrader: (7)

Ok I just realized why they don't do that with my Volks on. I thought the traction of the Volks were probably just providing more grip and I was going to wear the tires out on them but upon further inspection. When I had my dad take it to Firestone a year ago (I was in school in Hawaii) they told him that he needed to replace two. The car came with 245/45/16s in the rear and and 225/50/16s in the front. Well they decided to replace two of the sides and took the remaining front tire and switched it to the rear and that's why I have a directional on backwards. They then replaced the fronts with 225/50/16s and I just realized that there is a 245/45/16 with three 225/50/16s. This would explain why I'd have a clunk at times...and I'd hate to see how bad I've been to my diff. So now I have a backwards and worn down 225/50/16 and a pretty new 245/45/16 on correctly. Would it be ok to just buy another 245/45/16 and put it on or should I buy two new 225/50/16s?

Thank god I barely drive this car. I though I had a bunk set of shocks the first time around and throught it was the springs. I'm amazed I over looked that. It does fill the wheel well better though. So any suggestions? I'm seriously dumbfounded and feel completely stupid and a little pissed with Firestone, but the manager there always claims that things didn't happen that way...well tell me what you think as far as the tire size selection. Looks like I'll be running my Volks again. Good to know an alignment and a new tire are all I'll need....at least hopefully.