How Do I Get The T To Handle Better?

[seventytwo]

My understanding is that stiffening the rear swaybars in a ute would make it even more tail happy.

In a sedan go 27mm front and 22mm on the rears, good for all round handling.

[doublek]

are the tiens a better set up than what dingah mentioned about the king sl springs and bilstein shocks set up.

any comments?

[EXIT]

are the tiens a better set up than what dingah mentioned about the king sl springs and bilstein shocks set up.

any comments?

DoubleK , after alot of research ( I used to work in the suspension game so I know who to ask) I fitted Bilstein struts, Kings 20mm lowered coils and Super Pro camber adjustable, polyurethane front lower inner control arm bushes to mine. The difference is enormous. The car handles superbly and rides nicely too.

I chose Bilsteins because they are a German engineered mono tube design shock which means they have a much larger piston area than most shocks which are twin tube. This gives excellent damping control without small bump harshness so the ride quality is better than the standard suspension even though the shocks are stiffer. Which is why they are used in most Mercedes, Bmw's, some Ferraris etc.

I have not driven a T with Teins in it so I can't comment on them.

The lower inners are important firstly because they give extra camber adjustment which allows the wheel aligner to get the correct setup as the stock car ofter has insufficient adjustment range. Secondly the stock lower inner is a large soft bushing that allows the wheel alignment to change significantly under cornering and braking loads. The poly bushs fix this. Super Pro are the best engineered poly bushes by far.

With the increased spring rate of the King's coils I have found no need for a stiffer swaybar. In my opinion sway bars are rarely required on a road car if the spring and damping rates are correct and usually just result in excessive understeer (or oversteer on the back) and tramlining on uneven roads.

Also remember that possibly the most important part of the suspension is the tyres. Good tyres make a huge difference. And find a good wheel aligner ( most suspension specialists) as most wheel aligners just use the settings in the book without much understanding of the underlying principles of dynamic wheel alignment. It is quite possible to align a car to within the recommended specs and have it steering poorly or wearing tyres. A good tip in this regard is if the guy who does the alignment doesn't test drive the car after he's finished then he probably hasn't a clue.

[doublek]

thanx for that informative reply. much appreciated

Edited 29/09/07 10:47 AM by Dagabond

[kraig]

Exit, that's the sort of info I've been chasing.

I see that you're from Brisbane; which suspension shop/s would you recommend? My issue with a lot of places is that they're happy to sell you whatever they stock, but very few seem to have done any back-to-back testing to prove which combinations are most effective. (understandable enough - who could afford to?)

[bjcrown]

Anyone know a good wheel aligment place in Melbourne Eastern / South Eastern suburbs?

[mikeBF2TLS]

Hi, I have a shudder in my steering as well. Starts at around 80kmh and is most noticeable on dead flat freeway driving. My car has only 16,000kms on the clock and has had the problem since new (ford no cost option) and has been into Ford 3 times now with last booking including driveshaft balance , however its still there. Tyres etc have been checked etc etc . Its now to go back again with strict instructions-fix it, regardless of what!

[EZ2CME]

My car has this too. When I got a wheel alignment and balance done it reduced it a bit but its still slightly there. If you find out what it is please let me know.

[EXIT]

Exit, that's the sort of info I've been chasing.

I see that you're from Brisbane; which suspension shop/s would you recommend? My issue with a lot of places is that they're happy to sell you whatever they stock, but very few seem to have done any back-to-back testing to prove which combinations are most effective. (understandable enough - who could afford to?)

I had mine done at Fulcrum Suspensions. I have found them to be excellent and they stock most brands. They have been around a long time under the same owner so must be doing something right.

[EXIT]

Hi, I have a shudder in my steering as well. Starts at around 80kmh and is most noticeable on dead flat freeway driving. My car has only 16,000kms on the clock and has had the problem since new (ford no cost option) and has been into Ford 3 times now with last booking including driveshaft balance , however its still there. Tyres etc have been checked etc etc . Its now to go back again with strict instructions-fix it, regardless of what!

It definitely sounds like a wheel balance problem. If the tyres run true IE when you spin them on a balancer there is no noticable eccentricity in the tyre then it is almost certainly a balance problem.

I have seen examples of people replacing components, tyres, wheels etc only to find out that it was a balance problem after all. If it feels like a wheel balance problem it usually is. Sometimes the machine they are using needs calibration or is set wrong.

There can be issues with worn suspension bushes or steering components causing it but not at such low kms.

Get the front wheels balanced at a good tyre or suspension place. It will cost $20- $30 and probably fix the prob- at least eliminate the most likely cause.