My Civic has pretty significant bump-steer issues given the amount that it is
lowered. I'm now looking to fix those issues. A simple fix that would go a
long way towards getting the tie rods back to parallel with the LCA would be
to simply flip the tie rod from the top of the steering knuckle's steering arm
to the bottom of it. Simply ream the hole from the bottom, flip the tie rod,
align the car, and I'm done. This is what the production class road racers do
to fix the problem. I may still do this, but I'm also considering something
more radical...
If I were to change the effective length of the steering arm by relocating the
tie rod hole closer to the steering axis, I could see the benefit of quicker
steering. This would be nice. I've got plenty of upper body strength, and I
find myself having to turn the wheel quite a bit in the tight stuff. So a
shorter steering arm should give me:
1) Quicker steering - good
2) Less steering precision - bad
3) More steering effort - inconsequential I think.
One concern is that shortening the steering arm will screw up the Ackerman
geometry. I don't think it will, as I think that it is the angle of the
steering arm, not the length, that defines said geometry. I have not 100%
convinced myself of this yet though, so I wanted to get some input. Also, if
anybody sees some obvious disadvantage that I'm missing, I'd appreciate you
pointing it out.
BTW - this is a SM car, so legality isn't a concern.
Dave Hardy
89 SM
DILYSI Motorsports - Drive It Like You Stole It!
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