best way to nimbleness on an F body
best way to nimbleness on an F body Whats the best way to get the car to feel as nimble as possbile without totally gutting the thing to where comfort is compromised, or is it hopeless on a chassis this old and this heavy?And is there any way to fix the heavy/numb steering in our cars?
I don't find it heavy or numb. But I have a performance
alignment and a lightweight K-member, good sway bars
and shocks as well as lowered (which lowers CoG and
hence body roll, sway bars aside).
alignment and a lightweight K-member, good sway bars
and shocks as well as lowered (which lowers CoG and
hence body roll, sway bars aside).
On The Tree
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
From: Land O' Lakes, FL
First get good shocks. Then get some good tires, along with an aggressive street alignment. Then add a set of matched swaybars, and remove as much unnecessary weight as you can (rear seats and seatbelts if you don't use them, etc...) and your car should feel much nimbler.
Actually, I also find the F-body steering to be nicely weighted and think it provides decent feedback.
Actually, I also find the F-body steering to be nicely weighted and think it provides decent feedback.
i should be purchasing a set of strano's bars this week, prob an alignment, edlebrock lca's, and UMI sfcs W/ reloc brakets
as far as the alignment goes, whats a decnt street/road course setup that wont rip apart my tires?
as far as the alignment goes, whats a decnt street/road course setup that wont rip apart my tires?
Originally Posted by jimmyblue
I don't find it heavy or numb. But I have a performance
alignment and a lightweight K-member, good sway bars
and shocks as well as lowered (which lowers CoG and
hence body roll, sway bars aside).
alignment and a lightweight K-member, good sway bars
and shocks as well as lowered (which lowers CoG and
hence body roll, sway bars aside).
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TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 740
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by qwikz28
jimmy- all the talk about the lightweight k-members being prone to failure doesnt trouble you?
I'm not saying they don't break, but I wonder just how often they really do, and under what conditions.
That said, it looks like UMI has finally cracked that nut anyway.
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A good performance front end alignment will go a long ways in at least making the steering feel more responsive and less numb. The primary factor in how it feels is the Toe. Toe-in gives the car more of a tendency to track straight, and can result in that numb feeling, where the car doesn't really want to turn when you turn the steering wheel. Toe-out will make the car easier to turn, but can result in twitchy steering at higher speeds. A little bit of Toe-out is usually what's needed to give a good steering response feeling. No more than about 1/16" though, 1/32" is probably best for a vehicle that sees mostly street driving, or you'll get that twitchiness at higher speeds (and abnormal tire wear as well)
Camber and Caster can usually be maxed out on an otherwise stock vehicle. Even lowered vehicles aren't going to be able to go much more than about -1.5º Camber or about 5º of Caster. Those settings aren't going to cause any noticably abnormal tire wear, and if you drive even moderately aggressive, these settings will be ideal. Up to -1.0º of Camber is still going to be fine for a car that's driven fairly easily (though if you're driving easily, why the concern over handling anyways?)
I'm running around on -0.9º Camber (most I could evenly get on my car), and I still see too much wear on the outside of the tires. Lowering springs should get me a bit more Camber, but I don't know if it's still going to be enough. I'm a pretty aggressive driver though.
Camber and Caster can usually be maxed out on an otherwise stock vehicle. Even lowered vehicles aren't going to be able to go much more than about -1.5º Camber or about 5º of Caster. Those settings aren't going to cause any noticably abnormal tire wear, and if you drive even moderately aggressive, these settings will be ideal. Up to -1.0º of Camber is still going to be fine for a car that's driven fairly easily (though if you're driving easily, why the concern over handling anyways?)
I'm running around on -0.9º Camber (most I could evenly get on my car), and I still see too much wear on the outside of the tires. Lowering springs should get me a bit more Camber, but I don't know if it's still going to be enough. I'm a pretty aggressive driver though.
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 158
Likes: 1
From: Buffalo, NY
Originally Posted by niteriyder
Whats the best way to get the car to feel as nimble as possbile without totally gutting the thing to where comfort is compromised, or is it hopeless on a chassis this old and this heavy?And is there any way to fix the heavy/numb steering in our cars?
I haven't got to the sway bars yet, but will when I get the $$. Just my $.02. 
My 01 Z felt good both on the street and while I was Auto Xing. I had different shocks, sways, DD SFC, STD, LCA's, Adj PHR, Adj Tq Arm, and a good set of sticky tires. Believe it or not, one of the things that is forgotten the most that I feel is very important is tires. A good set of tires alone will make your car feel different.
Teching In
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
From: USA
Originally Posted by niteriyder
Whats the best way to get the car to feel as nimble as possbile without totally gutting the thing to where comfort is compromised, or is it hopeless on a chassis this old and this heavy?And is there any way to fix the heavy/numb steering in our cars?
Originally Posted by jimmyblue
Yeah, but it went in before all the bad news had
started coming out. Too hard to mess with it now,
unless I see it starting to crack.
started coming out. Too hard to mess with it now,
unless I see it starting to crack.
Launching!
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 200
Likes: 1
From: CA
Originally Posted by Viper
Slap a set of Nitto RII's on all 4 corners and realize the difference. Tires help a TON!
How do you go about getting this "performance alignment"? You cant just walk in Dobbs and ask for one so how do you guys do this? I ask because I am possibily getting Koni SA shocks and lowering springs.