"bump Steer"

[Grizzly]

Hi All,

Firstly, I had a good time at Newark. It was great to see all the Hoodies and the turn-out was excellent! Sorry to all of you who I didn't get around to introducing myself to - I was pretty busy buying stuff!!!

Secondly, I spoke to Tim Norman and amongst other things proudly told him about my efforts in tilting the Steering Rack rearwards in order to eliminate the notchiness when turning the wheel from lock to lock. Tim, you scared the life out of me when you advised that this was NOT a wise thing to do. In your opinion, this action can result in the phenomenon of 'Bump Steer'.

I quote from: longtech3.htm

"Bump Steer is when your wheels steer themselves without input from the steering wheel. The undesirable steering is caused by bumps in the track interacting with improper length or angle of your suspension and steering linkages.

Most car builders design their cars so that the effects of bump steer are minimal. However, you must still take care to bolt on your suspension carefully so as not to create unwanted bump steer. Make sure that you are always using the correct components for a particular car. Bump steer must be designed into the car and cannot be adjusted out if improper parts are used or if pivot points are moved without considering bump steer design principles".

There are other websites who talk about this too.

My question is: I was under the impression that tilting the Steering Rack was an OK thing to do and that some Hoodies had done this already? If so, has anyone experienced any problems?

Finally, if tilting the rack is not an option, I read in this commiunity that someone ground off the edges of the UJ - Would this be an acceptable alternative?

[Guest Battery Bill]

Steve

 

We have done it on ours and don't have any problems

 

Tim, you scared the life out of me when you advised that this was NOT a wise thing to do. In your opinion, this action can result in the phenomenon of

 

Remember thats just Tims opinion

[Guest Guy]

If you draw a line between the two pivot points of the wishbones (where they bolt to the chassis) then your track rod pivot point (where it joins to the rest of the rack) should fall somewhere on this line when the wheels are pointing forwards. Also, the track rod should be horizontal as should the wishbones when the car is at rest. If either of these are not correct then you could get bump steer.

 

If you have simply twisted the rack backwards and not raised or lowered it then I reckon it should still be okay.

[Guest Tim Norman]

Sorry mate I misunderstood. I thought you had actually lifted the rack, tilting it should have much if any effect. sorry again for the scare