Ryan Krokosinski wrote:
>
> Any of you lowering guys happen to know how the R/T was lowered from the
> factory.
> I want to lower mine but I want the straight goods on what's going on down
> there already.
>
> Ryan K
> '99 R/T RC
>
> Gary Pinkley wrote:
>
> > The Western chassis dropped A-Arm does not correct
> > bump steer.
> >
> > Dakotas have bad bump steer when lowered beyond
> > 2". This is caused by the angle of the steering tie rods
> > with respect to the rack. The factory designs steering
> > geometry to cause slight understeer. In this condition,
> > the tie rods point slighly downward from the rack at ride
> > height. This allows the wheels to point slightly outward
> > during cornering. Subjective testing by automakers has
> > shown that normal drivers feel more comfortable with
> > slight understeer versus oversteer. Slight understeer can
> > be corrected by simply lifting off the throttle on a rear wheel
> > drive vehicle. This is a natural reaction when your car is
> > pushing towards a guard rail. Lowering beyond 2" on a Dak
> > angles the tie rod upwards. This gives oversteer, i.e. the
> > truck's steering seems to be overly sensitive and twitchy
> > when cornering. Also if you encounter a bump during that
> > corner, the truck will seem to dart to the inside, seeming
> > to change lanes without warning.
> >
> > As I stated above, the dropped A-Arm DOES NOT correct
> > bump steer. The only way to correct bump steer on a lowered
> > Dak is to change the angle of the steering tie rod. The dropped
> > a-arm only lowers the spring pocket, changing the pre-load on
> > the spring, allowing the vehicle to sit lower. Only by relocating
> > either the rack (can't be done without major surgery to the Dak)
> > or by lowering the outer tie rod ball joint can you return your Dak
> > to the factory geometry. Changing the outer tie rod location can
> > be accomplished in several ways, all of which require increasing
> > the rim diameter above the factory 15" size. You can cast a new
> > spindle which has it's steering arm lower than stock, you can try
> > to put spacers between the tie rod and the spindle, or install a new
> > tie rod end that has a longer stud. Looking at the factory spindle
> > with 15" rims, you will see that there is no room to play with the
> > vertical height of the ball joint.
> >
> > Gary Pinkley
> > 97 Reg Cab V-6 5 spd
> > lowered monochrome red
> > 255/50-17 BFG Comp T/A ZR4
> > Budnik 17x8 wheels
Gary, Any pictures of your truck up yet? Thanks for the bump steer info.
Bob Nichols
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:11:00 EDT