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Offset steering rack bushings necessary on a lowered car?

  • Thread starter Thread starter STREETFIGHTER50
  • Start date Start date Jan 30, 2008
S

STREETFIGHTER50

20+ Year Stangneter
Nov 15, 2004
191
0
17
"Da land of d fog" South SF
Jan 30, 2008
#1
  • Jan 30, 2008
  • #1
Is this true or hype?
 

powertrax91

Founding Member
Mar 13, 2002
598
0
17
New York
Jan 30, 2008
#2
  • Jan 30, 2008
  • #2
a bump steer kit may be the better way to go... I have the off set rack bushings, but i still suffer from bump steer
 
9

91notchbk

Member
Nov 20, 2006
163
1
18
Jackson Michigan
Jan 30, 2008
#3
  • Jan 30, 2008
  • #3
Offset rack bushing actually increase the chance of bumpsteer. Maximum Motorsports has discovered that it is best to use non-offset bushings. I would confirm you actually have bumpsteer. Does it change direction when you hit a bump? If not then you may not have bumpsteer. Does it wander? Another words does the vehicle tend to wander and do you have to constantly make steering corrections? If so then you may need to increase your positive caster with a set of caster camber plates. Increased caster will increase directinal stability and stop steering wander. I have found many people get confused with bumpsteer and steering wander.

This is from Maximum Motorsports

BUMPSTEER
Bumpsteer is the term for the toe setting of a wheel
changing as the suspension moves up and down
over bumps, or with body roll while cornering.
There is a widespread myth that the tie-rod should
be kept parallel to the ground to avoid bumpsteer.
THIS IS NOT TRUE! What IS required is for the tierod
to be kept parallel to the lower control arm. That
way, as the suspension moves, the arc of the ball
joint and the arc of the tie-rod end do not transfer
any steering input to the spindle. As the car is lowered,
the tie-rod end and the lower control arm move
together, staying parallel. If offset steering rack
bushings are installed on a stock-geometry Kmember,
the tie rod end and the lower control arm
will no longer be parallel. Installing offset rack bushings
will INCREASE the amount of bumpsteer.
Ford engineers have actually done a very good job at
minimizing bumpsteer for a typical street-driven car.
Specifically, the bumpsteer was designed to cause
the front wheels to toe out during bump. This is a roll
understeer condition; the outside loaded tire will turn
to the outside of a corner as the body rolls. A car that
has a basic tendency towards understeer is more
stable and predictable. That predictability makes for
a safer street car.
Competition cars using stock K-member geometry
can benefit by fine-tuning the amount of bumpsteer
with an adjustable tie rod end kit. The MM Adjustable
Tie-rod End Kits provide an assortment of spacers,
in .015" increments, to help position the-rod end at
exactly the correct height. Adjusting bumpsteer on a
particular Mustang also allows correcting for individual
differences in suspension geometry caused
by production tolerances.
Offset rack bushings DO have a use, and are
beneficial if the inner control arm pivots have been
moved from the stock location. On MM K-members
the pivots have been moved upwards from the stock
height. In this case, raising the steering rack will help
match the geometry of the raised inner control arm
pivots, and reduce the required height of the
bumpsteer spacer stack at the spindle.
If offset steering rack bushings are used, they
should be made of aluminum. Polyurethane offset
bushings do not work. The urethane has too much
“give”, making it impossible to get the rack mounting
bolts tight enough to prevent the rack bushings from
rotating during hard cornering.
 

pavich91

New Member
Jan 11, 2008
18
0
0
Jan 31, 2008
#4
  • Jan 31, 2008
  • #4
I put them in my car and didn't feel any difference. Kinda wish I didnt now after hearing all this bad stuff about them.
 
P

PJC Racing

New Member
Nov 21, 2007
199
0
0
Jan 31, 2008
#5
  • Jan 31, 2008
  • #5
No they are not necessary. They can help with realigning the tie-rods when a bumpsteer kit is used on lowered cars. But most bumpsteer kits have adequate adjustment to get the tie-rods back to the correct horizontal position.
 
S

STREETFIGHTER50

20+ Year Stangneter
Nov 15, 2004
191
0
17
"Da land of d fog" South SF
Jan 31, 2008
#6
  • Jan 31, 2008
  • #6
K, I won't use the offset bushings. I'm pretty sure MaximumMotorsports knows their **** very well! I'm in the process of installing an AJE K-member, D&D A-arms, MMR ccoil overs, Maximum CC plates, & Strange struts.
 

4G-KDMP

10 Year Member
Jul 23, 2005
935
19
39
CA
Jan 31, 2008
#7
  • Jan 31, 2008
  • #7
PJC Racing said:
No they are not necessary. They can help with realigning the tie-rods when a bumpsteer kit is used on lowered cars. But most bumpsteer kits have adequate adjustment to get the tie-rods back to the correct horizontal position.
Click to expand...

X2
 
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