steering issues

gumbyssfakee · December 19th, 2008, 11:34 PM

I recently put some 2 inch drop spindles on my 71 cutlass and it has become kind of difficult to control through turns. When on a winding freeway and I'm turning with the lane sometimes the car feels as if it wants to dart completely in the direction of the turn I almost want to call it over responsive steering. Any ideas on why this may be. The rear is stock height, the suspension is stock except for the spindles and for tires i have 275-60-15 and 195-60-15.

joe_padavano · December 20th, 2008, 06:56 AM

The obvious first question is, which dropped spindles did you use? Next, how was the car aligned?

The fundamental problem is that changing the location of the wheel centerline on the spindle also changes the scrub radius of the suspension, unless the lowering spindles were very carefully designed and took this into account. Different wheel offsets can further change the scrub radius. You can somewhat compensate for this by altering the alignment settings, but you need a shop that understands what they are doing.

gumbyssfakee · December 20th, 2008, 10:05 AM

I used the ssbc drop spindles, but now that you mention it i haven't had an alignment done on the car since I've had it so that could very well be the problem.

thanks

spindles:
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

hsckris · December 20th, 2008, 08:45 PM

I'd recommend considering upgrading the steering box too.

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tec...box/index.html

CPP should have a kit to work on the Cutlass too.

joe_padavano · December 21st, 2008, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gumbyssfakee

I used the ssbc drop spindles, but now that you mention it i haven't had an alignment done on the car since I've had it so that could very well be the problem.

I think the term you're looking for is "DOH"!

gumbyssfakee · December 21st, 2008, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe_padavano

I think the term you're looking for is "DOH"!

yea exactly. I was to busy talking about how mean the car looks now. thanks for the help.

December 19th, 2008, 11:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
gumbyssfakee Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: NY, New York Posts: 37	steering issues I recently put some 2 inch drop spindles on my 71 cutlass and it has become kind of difficult to control through turns. When on a winding freeway and I'm turning with the lane sometimes the car feels as if it wants to dart completely in the direction of the turn I almost want to call it over responsive steering. Any ideas on why this may be. The rear is stock height, the suspension is stock except for the spindles and for tires i have 275-60-15 and 195-60-15.

December 20th, 2008, 06:56 AM	#2 (permalink)
joe_padavano Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,396	The obvious first question is, which dropped spindles did you use? Next, how was the car aligned? The fundamental problem is that changing the location of the wheel centerline on the spindle also changes the scrub radius of the suspension, unless the lowering spindles were very carefully designed and took this into account. Different wheel offsets can further change the scrub radius. You can somewhat compensate for this by altering the alignment settings, but you need a shop that understands what they are doing. __________________ Joe Padavano 64 Jetstar 88 Conv 66 442 L-69 Conv 68 W-30 69 H/O 69 442 70 W-30 72 442 84 Custom Cruiser 86 Caprice wagon (w/307 Olds)

December 20th, 2008, 08:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
hsckris Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: NC Posts: 20	I'd recommend considering upgrading the steering box too. http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tec...box/index.html CPP should have a kit to work on the Cutlass too. __________________ 70 Cutlass (project) 06 Nissan Frontier KC SE 4x4 03 Ford Focus ZX3

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December 20th, 2008, 10:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
gumbyssfakee Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: NY, New York Posts: 37	I used the ssbc drop spindles, but now that you mention it i haven't had an alignment done on the car since I've had it so that could very well be the problem. thanks spindles: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku