Poor Straight Line Tracking

**79Firebird_99TA** · 08-22-2012, 02:05 PM

I find myself twitching the steering wheel back and forth constantly when driving a straight line on the highway. New parts are in the sig.

I need some ideas on what other parts could be causing this. Front control arm bushings are still the originals.

TIA

Strano/Billsteins - lowered/ Stillen Strut tower brace/ Founders LCA relocation brackets and LCAs/ Founder dual adjustable panhard bar/ RPM transmission with Vigilante stall converter/ Tuned by Frost. 240k and still going strong!

**az gt eater** · 08-22-2012, 05:47 PM

Tires?

**79Firebird_99TA** · 08-23-2012, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by az gt eater

Tires?

I suppose it could be. I have Firestone Indy Wide Ovals ..... and not overly thrilled with them. If I run anything less than 35 psi .... it feels too loose.

**2002ssslp** · 08-23-2012, 04:22 PM

Put it up on an alignment rack and make sure everything is in line.

**Smittro** · 08-23-2012, 04:50 PM

Typical of these cars, especially when running a wide performance tire with a stiff side wall.

**az gt eater** · 08-23-2012, 05:17 PM

Tires can cause a lot of headaches. Starting to follow lines in the road? THat is a sign of bad tires. I had an eclipse, put 18's on it, and it drove horrible. Put the factory tires back on it, drove perfect. An alignment check can prob be had for free. Easy place to start. If you put new tires on it, you will want to get it aligned right after the installation. Tires go hand in hand with the alignment. Getting an alignment done on bad tires is throwing good money after bad.

**Smittro** · 08-24-2012, 02:14 AM

I put brand new auto-x tires on my 01 Camaro with zero suspension issues, and it would follow any rut in worn pavement.

I am talking about race rated tires not meant for the street, with side walls so stiff the tire machine had a hard time with them.

Car was everywhere, on a 45 sidewall. As soon as you got off poorly paved roads it handled extremely well.

These tires were non-wet, and only had tread depth "new" in the 32nds',, also far more sticky than shelf performance tires.

They only lasted 3 months..XD

The touring tires I had before that had no such issues.

The other things that can effect how it behaves, is width of the tire, and the degree of, or how much stagger.

Moral of the story is tires do in fact play a huge roll in how these cars react to various road conditions.

**Smittro** · 08-24-2012, 02:24 AM

**Naaman** · 08-29-2012, 11:56 AM

Lowering the car automatically messes with the alignment, so that could be a contributing factor, as well.

**79Firebird_99TA** · 08-29-2012, 06:34 PM

I think I failed to mention that I did have it aligned. I even took it back to Firestone and he double checked everything. Next time I need tires, I'm going to bump my rims up to at least 17s so that I have more of a selection than the Firehawks and the G-Force sports. I have never had a set better than the Goodyear Eagles that were on it when I bought it at 50k.

**Naaman** · 08-30-2012, 12:42 AM

My car came with goodyear eagle f1s. They were low on tread, though. So I noticed a significant improvement when I switched to my Michelin pilots sports a/s plus. The nice thing about my current tires is that they feel just as stable on the wat as on the dry (it was a Washington car when I bought the all seasons).

**79Firebird_99TA** · 09-08-2012, 11:44 AM

Well this morning I swapped out all 4 of my end links (they were shot) ... stockers at 235k. While at it and on a whim .... I checked the torque on my outer tie rod ends .... and they were at 20ft lbs (I swapped them out when I put my rack on recently. I torqued them to 30 ft/lbs. I drove it in to work today and on the highway the straight like tracking is spot on.

While at it, I put my Founders rear LCAs back on. I'm still on the fence about the poly. I can feel the difference and not for the better - but that is another thread.

**SuperSSguy** · 09-08-2012, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by Smittro

I put brand new auto-x tires on my 01 Camaro with zero suspension issues, and it would follow any rut in worn pavement.

I am talking about race rated tires not meant for the street, with side walls so stiff the tire machine had a hard time with them.

Car was everywhere, on a 45 sidewall. As soon as you got off poorly paved roads it handled extremely well.

These tires were non-wet, and only had tread depth "new" in the 32nds',, also far more sticky than shelf performance tires.

They only lasted 3 months..XD

The touring tires I had before that had no such issues.

The other things that can effect how it behaves, is width of the tire, and the degree of, or how much stagger.

Moral of the story is tires do in fact play a huge roll in how these cars react to various road conditions.

Yeah the rut following issue along with tracking issues is IN the owners manual...it explains that because of the wide foot path of the tires that this can sometimes lead to ''wandering'' on a bad or grooved or uneven roadway..Granted certain tires will respond differently and tire brand sometimes will have a different feel..of course the more worn they are the less theyll grab.

**SuperSSguy** · 09-08-2012, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by 79Firebird_99TA

I think I failed to mention that I did have it aligned. I even took it back to Firestone and he double checked everything. Next time I need tires, I'm going to bump my rims up to at least 17s so that I have more of a selection than the Firehawks and the G-Force sports. I have never had a set better than the Goodyear Eagles that were on it when I bought it at 50k.

So far the best set of tires ive had/and still have on are Goodyear Eagle F-1 GSD3..275/40 ZR-17`s....Vtred. They are amazingly grippy/sticky on dry pavement and very good on wet.Only drawback is for you guys that live in -32 degrees .they arent recommended. Even act as a kind of slick for the track. The other drawback is the cost when i bought them a couple years ago @ $225.00 ea. that was bad enough..now they go for $ 325.00 + but I could feel a BIG difference in all areas of tire performance way better then the GY Eagle stockers from factory!.They make a few different model Eagle F-1 but the GS-D3 is the best imo...Now i know there are loads of tires out there that may be better But this is what i know..My second pair and i love the grip!!

**79Firebird_99TA** · 09-08-2012, 01:39 PM

Yeah ... I had the F1 GS-D3s and yes they are a great tire. Back then, I think I paid under $200.00 ea.... they were sticky as all get out. I'm sure that with all of the suspension work that I've done recently - it would be amazing. I just don't like that they'll only last around 20k and are - as you said, SuperSSguy, over $325.00 ea.

**Smittro** · 09-08-2012, 03:59 PM

My v700's were so sticky I broke my front and rear sway bar end links.

Changed up to the Moog HD end link pieces with the blue bushings and all was good..

Only thing I hated about them is they would pick up every little piece of dirt/rock because of how "gooey" they were..

I knew they would only last a short time,, one summer..lol