Why are our cars so squirrely?

ripped camel

ripped camel

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I've been doing a good amount of research via the search engine but wanted to make sure I retained the right information. I notice when I get on it my car likes to get real squirrely. I was watching some vids of people running nitrous with our cars and I saw their car do the same thing.

After research my best guess is we need a trac loc to solve this issue. Is this correct? It has nothing to do with suspension?
 
Breaking the tire lose huh slow it down killa. U have to much power u must have never had that much power before. Or u just have bad tires
 
If you think its squirrley with the open differential wait till you get a posi:D I have meant my rear end numerous times on first to second shift, and god forbid you break them loose on a corner..........
 
lincolnboy said:
Breaking the tire lose huh slow it down killa. U have to much power u must have never had that much power before. Or u just have bad tires
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Look at my sig....my 03 GT would lay waste to my Mark VIII. So I've had WAY more power before. ;)

The tires are brand new (as in about a week old) and stick really well off the launch. I'm talking after I get out of the hole, it seems the faster the car goes (while flooring it) the more the car is going all over the place.

In my stang with the power I had I would annihilate people because I was able to leave out of the hole without barely a squeak of the tires by feathering the clutch properly. I can drive good...I'm just curious what makes this car so unstable.

I've read other threads where people were saying the car is all over the place without a trac-loc, and once they installed that the car would keep straight better...at least that is what I got out of it. This is why I'm posting here I wanted to make sure I understood that right.
 
Generalizations suck. My 97 and my 98 are both well planted off the line, at high speed, WOT runs and hard on the throttle through corners. Not in the least is it squirrly.
 
weight distribution is significant on these at 60/40, they are very nose-heavy=light rear, with the power in the rear you have to tip the throttle instead of flooring it to keep decent 4-wheel grip. Traction control, as it is, is barely effective at all and does not work above 35 mph. Kind of like an older Camaro/TA except for the IRS and more weight.
 
rear alignment has a lot to do as well, expecially in an IRS car

rear squats, tires point in different directions camber changes.. WALA.. squirrely

the more power you make, the more effect you will see if you have worn parts/bushings or a bad alignment
 
ripped camel said:
Look at my sig....my 03 GT would lay waste to my Mark VIII. So I've had WAY more power before. ;)

The tires are brand new (as in about a week old) and stick really well off the launch. I'm talking after I get out of the hole, it seems the faster the car goes (while flooring it) the more the car is going all over the place.

In my stang with the power I had I would annihilate people because I was able to leave out of the hole without barely a squeak of the tires by feathering the clutch properly. I can drive good...I'm just curious what makes this car so unstable.

I've read other threads where people were saying the car is all over the place without a trac-loc, and once they installed that the car would keep straight better...at least that is what I got out of it. This is why I'm posting here I wanted to make sure I understood that right.
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My car is rock solid. Or it was, until I swapped out the air suspension. Then again, I haven't pushed it over 110 yet.
 
LaserSVT said:
Generalizations suck. My 97 and my 98 are both well planted off the line, at high speed, WOT runs and hard on the throttle through corners. Not in the least is it squirrly.
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Yeah but isn't your suspension fully modded? Don't you also have a trac loc? Did it handle the same before the mods?

XLRVIII said:
rear alignment has a lot to do as well, expecially in an IRS car

rear squats, tires point in different directions camber changes.. WALA.. squirrely

the more power you make, the more effect you will see if you have worn parts/bushings or a bad alignment
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This makes sense. My alignment is good, however I could definitely see the suspension being worn (bushings, sway bars etc) since the car has nearly 130k.

Kstills said:
My car is rock solid. Or it was, until I swapped out the air suspension. Then again, I haven't pushed it over 110 yet.
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My car was switched over to a strutmasters setup by the previous owner. I wonder if that's part of my issue....
 
ripped camel said:
My alignment is good.
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sitting still or driving down the road.. it probably IS.

When it ISN'T though is when you have the front end 3-4 inches in the nose up attitude, with the rear end squatting as the car launches.

If you "had air" I'd say.. deflate your rear bags, and jack the front up about 4 inches..THEN check your rear alignment.

goes back to the "fox body" days were there was a "good alignment for a DD car" and a different alignment spec for a drag car.

Same theory applies...here
 
XLRVIII said:
sitting still or driving down the road.. it probably IS.

When it ISN'T though is when you have the front end 3-4 inches in the nose up attitude, with the rear end squatting as the car launches.

If you "had air" I'd say.. deflate your rear bags, and jack the front up about 4 inches..THEN check your rear alignment.

goes back to the "fox body" days were there was a "good alignment for a DD car" and a different alignment spec for a drag car.

Same theory applies...here
Click to expand...

Ah, that makes sense. So should I try to switch back to the air bag setup?

I and my wife noticed when I got my car on the Thruway the other day I would hammer on it (pedal to the floor) from 60mph-95mph and the car would take off like a freaking animal but it would be all over the place.

From a dead stop she's straight and perfect till about 50mph then she starts to "float". I can't say it feels like the back end is kicking out persay because it seems as if the car as a whole is floating over 50mph when accelerating hard.

My mechanic says it's because of aerodynamics...ie the stock setup drops the car at 55mph to improve stability and aerodynamics. By switching to the coil/spring setup the car isn't dropping down at speed which causes instability at higher speeds. He said the only way to really fix this is to switch back to the air ride or lower the car.

Thoughts on that?
 
ripped camel said:
Ah, that makes sense. So should I try to switch back to the air bag setup?

I and my wife noticed when I got my car on the Thruway the other day I would hammer on it (pedal to the floor) from 60mph-95mph and the car would take off like a freaking animal but it would be all over the place.

From a dead stop she's straight and perfect till about 50mph then she starts to "float". I can't say it feels like the back end is kicking out persay because it seems as if the car as a whole is floating over 50mph when accelerating hard.

My mechanic says it's because of aerodynamics...ie the stock setup drops the car at 55mph to improve stability and aerodynamics. By switching to the coil/spring setup the car isn't dropping down at speed which causes instability at higher speeds. He said the only way to really fix this is to switch back to the air ride or lower the car.

Thoughts on that?
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I'm not sure that the aerodynamics are off enough to make a huge difference, but the struts will not give the same performance that the air bags did. At least that is my experience. My leaky bags were better at all speeds then the struts, and the car will float so much now that my daughter notices. :rolleyes:

My car still corners well, but if I hit a dip in the road, the entire front end will start bounding. Less at higher speeds, but it's a unique feeling for me. On the other hand, I can drive over rough roads and not feel the same amount of vibration through the steering wheel.
 
My coil conversioned 97 didnt exhibit any of that even when it was stock with only colis done. But that car had all new front end stuff so IDK, that may have helped. Sapperfires coil converted 93 shook its ass all over but with new shocks that problem went away but its nose still wonders at WOT and high speeds. I think why I dont have it is the braces up front. The SCP braces really do make a HUGE difference.
 
Oh yeah, an Addco rear sway bar helps tons too. My 97 was much much nicer with that simple addition. I am told the rear LCA brace works wonders too and mine just showed up but I need the exhaust shop to correct something before I can install it.
 
ripped camel said:
My mechanic says it's because of aerodynamics...ie the stock setup drops the car at 55mph to improve stability and aerodynamics. By switching to the coil/spring setup the car isn't dropping down at speed which causes instability at higher speeds. He said the only way to really fix this is to switch back to the air ride or lower the car.

Thoughts on that?
Click to expand...

Kstills said:
I'm not sure that the aerodynamics are off enough to make a huge difference, but the struts will not give the same performance that the air bags did. At least that is my experience. My leaky bags were better at all speeds then the struts, and the car will float so much now that my daughter notices. :rolleyes:

My car still corners well, but if I hit a dip in the road, the entire front end will start bounding. Less at higher speeds, but it's a unique feeling for me. On the other hand, I can drive over rough roads and not feel the same amount of vibration through the steering wheel.
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Air or springs, you need quality shocks. Most shocks sold for the MN-12/FN-10 platform aren't performance oriented.

Thunderbirds, even SC's, are also very "floaty" in the front end, because the stock suspension is tuned for ride, not handling. My solution was Koni's all around on my SC. I can now tune the suspension any way I want.

On my LSC, completely new front end components along with Delrin bushings and Koni shocks in the rear have almost completely transformed the car. I also have 1 1/4" bars F&R.

Now I have to decide to either ditch the air ride, or figure out a way to integrate Koni shocks into the front suspension.
 
I am going to politely suggest that if your car is handling "squirrely" there is something wrong with the suspension. My wife finds driving my car annoying because it is planted so well (she says it feels like it is glued to the road, she is used to the way the Continental drives) and I have a stack of timeslips with 1.71 60' times and photographs of light showing under my right front wheel during a launch, and with that it runs so true that once when I videotaped it from the inside I caught all kinds of crap because I was driving one handed.

Trust me, your 275 RWHP '03 GT isn't even in the same bracket as my car.

Trac-Lock isn't your answer and I suspect will only make your issues worse.
 
my car won't spin off the line unless it's wet or slick

it will however take freeway transitions nicely at 90 :)
 
if you want squirelly i'll take you for a ride in my car on the street and let you see what happens when the car breaks loose shifting into 2nd with a trac-loc and gears, i love it, but it still scares me everytime i do it!!!
 
THEMOJOMAN said:
She doesn't look like she's enjoying whatever SUPER MARIO is doing to her.
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Mojoman... your a strange cat lol

My 125000mile DD goes straight as an arrow from 45 to 120. It's aligned. Put that thing on a lift and make sure everything is tight, sounds like your got worn out junk. The difference between the air springs and coils is negatable, they wouldnt have put them on a T-Bird if they werent safe.
 
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