Symptoms:
Very poor steering response at low speed transitions, slolams, etc.
Heavy memory steer.
Heavy resistance to turning the steering wheel left to right / right to left.

Current set up:
Koni 8211
RB Springs
RB Front Sway
OE Rear Sway
OE Wheels
Toyo R888 245/45/16

Potential Fixes (my thoughts):
Tires?
Steering rack bushings?
Springs w/ higher spring rate, eibachs?

Has any body else had to tackle this issue before? Can you please let me know what to look for? Thanks!

 

If those are Koni yellow's, its probably the racing beat springs. Go with H&R or Eibach.

thewird

 

Alignment settings are?

 

Koni 8211's are 2 way adjustable.

Front Camber -3
Rear Camber -2
Toe 0 (perhaps a little bit toe out in the front, but practically 0)

jdmsuper7 - I think I saw your car at fingerlakes prosolo.

 

The toe was the first thing I thought of, but if its at zero its probably not the culprit.

How about caster? Too little would cause the car to not want to return to center easily.


Yeah... it was my first national event and looked like a total noob because I was so nervous.

 

Caster is about 6 degrees FL and FR.

 

What exactly is your caster? About 6 degrees isn't precise enough. Even 1/2 a degree of caster makes a big difference in steering feel in my experience. I personally would not run higher than 6 degrees. If you autox a lot, you may want to consider running less. I'd search on threads from AMRX7 and DamonB as they are big autox guys.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to remedy this issue? The more I think about it the more I think it is the soft springs and old Koni's (leaking some oil from the top adjustment).

 

Well, the RB springs are basically the same rate as the stock springs, but lower. This will give you less travel with no additional stiffness. If your shocks are leaking, that's the first thing to take care off... After that, you had advice in your last thread about springs:

https://www.rx7club.com/suspension-wheels-tires-brakes-20/stiffest-fd-oem-replacement-spings-spring-rates-non-lowering-minimal-lowering-781665/

 

Eibachs are going on shortly. Hopefully they help.

 

For Auto-x, I'd go for something more aggressive than Eibach. But they will at least be more sporty than the RB springs.

 

Eibachs are in but I am switching to Koni Yellows with 550/450 springs. There is still significant lag in transitions as well as an annoying "memory steer" symptom. On a WRX or STI steering rack bushing are a cheap and easy fix. Your thoughts?

 

Hi S1mpsons,
Some quick thoughts - are you sure the power steering (still has PS, yes?) is working correctly?
The way you describe the problem, it could be lack of flow, a damaged proportioning valve,
bad hose, or some other malfunction. It might not show up as much during less demanding
driving.

For the rack bushings, stand in front of the car with the engine running and hood open (for
gosh sakes don't wear a tie while doing this) and have a friend quickly turn the steering wheel
back and forth. If you see excessive shifting of the rack on its bushings, that's a clue you've
got a problem there.

You've checked all the suspension bushings for slop? No funky wear patterns on the tires?

If the steering and suspension are fine, if you have a couple track friends with comparable (but
different) track tire setups, ask if you guys can do a tire swap for comparison purposes. It may
be the construction of the R888 isn't giving you the "feel" you want, and trying a few other tires
sets may give you some useful feedback.

Hope this might be of help,

David Breslau
Widefoot Racing Co.

 

Update:

I switched suspension/wheel/tires. Now running new Koni Yellows with 600 lbs/in ground controls. The responsiveness is *slightly* better regarding fast turning side-to-side at low traveling speed (like a tight autox slalom). There is still, however, heavy force resistance to turning the opposite direction. This is amplified by a much stickier Hoosier A6 tires (in various wheel sizes and weight).

New alignment
-2.0.....Front Camber
5.6......Front Caster
0.........Front Toe
-1.5.....Rear Camber
0.........Rear Toe
0.........Rear Thrust

I am going to flush the steering fluid (I am not sure what fluid is even in the car) and replace with Mobil1 Synthetic ATF (Dexron compatible). I have my doubts that this will cure the steering issues but its worth a try.

The front bushings (suspensions arms, steering rack, rod ends, etc.) don't have any play and seem to be in good shape (poked, prodded, and shook everything with my hand).

I will also reinspect the power steering lines for issues as raised by David. Good idea.

If anyone else has suggestions, please let me know. This is driving me nuts.

 

While you're testing the power steering, try turning the wheel back and forth while sitting still. It shouldn't be too difficult, and that should help rule out the P/S.

Also, if you jack the front of the car up, is it easy to turn the wheel left and right without the motor running?

Just thinking of detecting if something is binding.

 

Swapped to an 80k mile pump and Mobil1 Syntheic ATF. All better. If I had realize how easy it was to swap pumps and how affordable they are used, I would have done this years ago. Car is reborn.

Thanks guys.