So, while at Buttonwillow, I find my car has an uncomfortable "wag" while making left-hand turns at speed and/or heavy braking. This was SCARY while entering Bus Stop. The movement is exacerbated while off and on the throttle, even during freeway onramps.
Now....my car DOES have 113K miles (and still going strong). Struts seem fine over bumps. Cruises great. All suspension is stock. I'm thinking a bad control arm bushing?
My time to get under the car is very limited, so I'm collecting as much info and opinion as I can before getting under. I don't see anything wrong while looking while the car is on the ground.
I'm hoping someone will chime in with a "I had the same problem! It was ....."

Any ideas, guys?

 

what tires and pressures? alignment specs?

 

Do you still have your spoiler on? Are you running the same pads on all four corners? Have you added any areo modifications to the front of the car?

 

tires are Nitto 555s. street tires. psi was.. around 37ish? i forget, to be honest. i started kinda high and dropped pressure until i was properly hitting the shoulder of each tire. alignment is OEM spec.
OEM spoiler is still attached. the car is 100% stock other than 18" wheels and tires. no aero mods. front pads were DTC 60 and rears were PB 01.

keep in mind, the car does the same thing while on a long onramp when i get on/off the gas. when i let off, i can feel the rear of the car move out just a bit. i don't notice it doing the same on right hand turns (though it would make sense that it does).

 

What is the exact alignment? "Stock spec" is a large range.

 

Check toe and camber bolts on the rear..it'll do that if the bolts are stripped or they're out of specs.

 

Also check ur front end for any play anywhere..

 

i'd have to find the sheet to be sure. i don't remember the tolerances being large enough to throw a whole car off balance, though. not with any of the settings i've ever used, anyway.

if i remember.. we followed this:

Front:
Toe: 0.00*
Camber: -1* (per side, non-adjustable)
Caster: 4* (non-adjustable).

Rear:
Toe: 0
Camber: -1* (per side)

 

possibly. thanks. i'll add that to the list. like i said: i get one shot to put this car up on a lift (until who knows when), so i'd like to make a list of things to check so i don't forget anything.


i am not the first owner of this car. i can't vouch for the re-install of the stock suspension (assuming it was swapped back before the sale).

thanks!

 

Front camber is adjustable to some extent. The camber bolt should be flipped 180 degrees to put you closer to 2 degrees of camber.

And given your current issues, I'd recommend having a different shop do your next alignment just to be safe. Ask them to check for play in the suspension bushings while they're at it.

 

I'll get an alignment from someone else.....

 

coilovers or springs are going on this weekend. a new alignment will be done then.

 

This stock bushing is your problem, been there done that. It's on the rear of front control arm and allows the front wheels to move more than 1/4" backward under hard braking.

 

It also moves while on a sweeper when I get on/off the gas. I'm assuming that would be another symptom?

 

any car will move around some in a turn if you modulate the throttle.