these bumpsteer kits are scary as $hit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I build offroad suspension and have fabricated alot of suspension and steering components for my bronco turning 38's... and wow that is scary...
I understand that its a street driven mustang not a rockcrawling 4x4 but jeez! I cant believe they get away with this..
Heres what im looking at. The TRE(tie rod end) is replaced with a heim joint. The heim can do all of the turning and twisting that the TRE did becuse of the ball.. A heim is used because it needs to be lowered and you just cant use a TRE anymore…
The bumpsteer is caused by the upward angle of the Tie rod when the car is lowered(TRE stays in same place, rack gets lower). The angle that the TRE and the rack must work in causes bumpsteer. Steering components have a very strict range (angle) that they can work in effectively and without bumpsteer. The shorter the tie rod the more that angle is affected by subtle changes.
They remedy that by dropping the mounting location of the TRE to level out the tie rod, thus reducing bumpsteer.
heres my problem:
For one the TRE is much betterdesigned to handle every day stresses of road bumps and such. They have a rubber or plastic liner in them that absorbs the numerous shocks incurred during driving. The heim joint is not geasable, nor is it anything but very strong steel. Its definatley prone to wearing out MUCH faster so keep an eye on them. As far as big lifted trucks, I used the strongest TRE’s built for a vehicle, Heims are almost exclusive to the off road only world. It is highly recommended that any vehicle that will spend more than 50% of its time on the road use TRE’s and not heims.
Second, and most importantly, the mouning location is lowered to level out the tie rod (the whole point). But its done so in a very scary way. The bolt that drops the heim is single shear, meaning all of the load is only supported by one end (the top). All of the load is further leveraged by the length of the bolt. Plus where the bolt goes through the spindle is not 3/4" if its tapered, its much thinner. And if the kit requires you to drill the knuckle, your now relying on thinner wall CAST steel that is prone to cracking way before bending.
Often times, in the offroad world when a vehicle is lifted, either the steering box mounting point is lowered (drop pitman arm) or the axle mounting point for the tie road is raised with high steer arms. But never, ever have I seen a bolt contraption like that used..
Granted, im going to most likely be sourcing a set of bumpsteer rod ends for my 2004 gt when I lower it. But the way they have designed it is horrible if you ask me. I understand that tons of you have them and probably have never had a problem, but that’s just scary to me. The single shear is bound to wobble the hole in the knuckle out over time. Causing loose steering and potential failure. Guaranteed. And an impact could cause failure..
The proper fix is to raise the steering rack. Now im not under my car right now. So im not sure what all is in the way. I have a feeling that it was thought of and they encountered too many problems with the steering shaft because it looks like the clearance is available under the car.
Either way, just want you people to consider this when installing these and be considerate of the possibilities. Check these everytime you do an oil change. Heims should be tight and most importantly, check for wobble where the bolt mounts to the factory knuckle..
Thanks guys
I build offroad suspension and have fabricated alot of suspension and steering components for my bronco turning 38's... and wow that is scary...
I understand that its a street driven mustang not a rockcrawling 4x4 but jeez! I cant believe they get away with this..
Heres what im looking at. The TRE(tie rod end) is replaced with a heim joint. The heim can do all of the turning and twisting that the TRE did becuse of the ball.. A heim is used because it needs to be lowered and you just cant use a TRE anymore…
The bumpsteer is caused by the upward angle of the Tie rod when the car is lowered(TRE stays in same place, rack gets lower). The angle that the TRE and the rack must work in causes bumpsteer. Steering components have a very strict range (angle) that they can work in effectively and without bumpsteer. The shorter the tie rod the more that angle is affected by subtle changes.
They remedy that by dropping the mounting location of the TRE to level out the tie rod, thus reducing bumpsteer.
heres my problem:
For one the TRE is much betterdesigned to handle every day stresses of road bumps and such. They have a rubber or plastic liner in them that absorbs the numerous shocks incurred during driving. The heim joint is not geasable, nor is it anything but very strong steel. Its definatley prone to wearing out MUCH faster so keep an eye on them. As far as big lifted trucks, I used the strongest TRE’s built for a vehicle, Heims are almost exclusive to the off road only world. It is highly recommended that any vehicle that will spend more than 50% of its time on the road use TRE’s and not heims.
Second, and most importantly, the mouning location is lowered to level out the tie rod (the whole point). But its done so in a very scary way. The bolt that drops the heim is single shear, meaning all of the load is only supported by one end (the top). All of the load is further leveraged by the length of the bolt. Plus where the bolt goes through the spindle is not 3/4" if its tapered, its much thinner. And if the kit requires you to drill the knuckle, your now relying on thinner wall CAST steel that is prone to cracking way before bending.
Often times, in the offroad world when a vehicle is lifted, either the steering box mounting point is lowered (drop pitman arm) or the axle mounting point for the tie road is raised with high steer arms. But never, ever have I seen a bolt contraption like that used..
Granted, im going to most likely be sourcing a set of bumpsteer rod ends for my 2004 gt when I lower it. But the way they have designed it is horrible if you ask me. I understand that tons of you have them and probably have never had a problem, but that’s just scary to me. The single shear is bound to wobble the hole in the knuckle out over time. Causing loose steering and potential failure. Guaranteed. And an impact could cause failure..
The proper fix is to raise the steering rack. Now im not under my car right now. So im not sure what all is in the way. I have a feeling that it was thought of and they encountered too many problems with the steering shaft because it looks like the clearance is available under the car.
Either way, just want you people to consider this when installing these and be considerate of the possibilities. Check these everytime you do an oil change. Heims should be tight and most importantly, check for wobble where the bolt mounts to the factory knuckle..
Thanks guys
