Car follows the road

[robbbc]

Hey guys. I have a quick question regarding my car following the grooves on the road. I'm not sure whether this is a suspension issue, wheel tire combo issue or both. If i'm cruising through town and the pavement has a line, grooves, or trough in it, the car seems to get a mind of its own. It will sway back and forth like its trying to hunt for the road. In my 68 camaro, I have a ridetech 4link rear with ridetech front uppers & Lowers. Ridetech shocks all around. I do not have their drop spindle. The spindle i have is the CPP c5 spindle. Wheel & tire setup is: Front 17x8-235/45/17 Rear 17x11 315/30/17. All suspension parts were purchased new. New replacement subframe. Not sure if more info is needed but id appreciate some help.

Thanks!

[CSG]

Search tramlining

[79T/Aman]

normal

[stab6902]

It's unusual for a car with that narrow of a front tire to have tramlining issues. My guess is your alignment has room for improvement. Do you know your current settings?

I take as much caster as I can get (usually around 4 degrees on stock type arms) and dial in just a touch of toe-in (1/16" or so). Camber depends on how you use the car, but I like -0.2 degrees or so for a street cruiser.

Some tires are also more likely to tramline than others; BFGs are the worst offenders in my experience. Adding air pressure will help, but the tradeoff is a more jittery ride. What tires and pressure are you running now?

[robbbc]

Thanks. I'll look into tramlining. The tires are probably part of the problem then, as they are toyo proxes R1R for the front and toyo proxes TQ drag radial for the rear. Not sure about my alignment settings because the shop i took it to said their printer was down on the alignment machine when i asked about them. Asked for the specs and all they could tell me was that theyre close to the spec sheet i gave them. (supplied with ridetech A-Arms)

[dontlifttoshift]

To add on to the solid info from Ryan. Loose bearings or steering parts, toe out, lots of camber, soft sidewalls, large amounts of axle end play, and really wide tires will all cause that.

[robbbc]

So, sorta normal. I Appreciate the info guys. Thanks!

[pitts64]

Dude, either make it a trailor queen or get a GM with front steer linkage. You will pour all kinds of money into that old fifties suspension. Trade it for a 1970 up Camaro or Firebird.

The issue you have is due to rear steer linkage and the linkage being under compression as the car goes down the street. Next time your emptying the garbage, try pushing the garbage can then pulling it and you will see the difference.

I tired everything to get those rear steer cars to cruise comfortably. The thing is, they go around corners real nice but straightaway is a nail biter.

I sold my rear steer 64 Pontiac and got a 69 el Camino SS396 and updated the control arms and steering box, it's a dream to drive... The 68-72 el Camino comes with a fully boxed frame and so does the 69-72 Grand Prix. I'm sure there are others. Look under the GM Heritage site. Its the best way to find a good car.

Sad, because those first gen Camaros are really bad a$$ looking..

No wonder those early 60s NASCAR drivers were all drinking beer like crazy while driving those rear steer Pontiacs 150 mph+ for hours..

[kawasakii]

tramlining

[David Pozzi]

Dude, either make it a trailor queen or get a GM with front steer linkage. You will pour all kinds of money into that old fifties suspension. Trade it for a 1970 up Camaro or Firebird.

The issue you have is due to rear steer linkage and the linkage being under compression as the car goes down the street. Next time your emptying the garbage, try pushing the garbage can then pulling it and you will see the difference.

I tired everything to get those rear steer cars to cruise comfortably. The thing is, they go around corners real nice but straightaway is a nail biter.

I sold my rear steer 64 Pontiac and got a 69 el Camino SS396 and updated the control arms and steering box, it's a dream to drive... The 68-72 el Camino comes with a fully boxed frame and so does the 69-72 Grand Prix. I'm sure there are others. Look under the GM Heritage site. Its the best way to find a good car.

Sad, because those first gen Camaros are really bad a$$ looking..

No wonder those early 60s NASCAR drivers were all drinking beer like crazy while driving those rear steer Pontiacs 150 mph+ for hours..

With the linkage to the rear, hitting bumps compresses the linkage which deflects it, usually upwards. It's important to not have any loose or worn parts plus first gen Camaros have lots of bump steer which changes tire direction slightly if the front ride height changes at all.
With a bump steer corrected rear steer layout we have driven 150 mph with great stability but everything has to be right.

[MonzaRacer]

So one thing is have alignment tech add 0.05 more positive on right front, and use ALL positive camber possible (again 0.5 more positive on right side)
Wiggle tie rods till centered, not tilted and use channel locks to test for internal clearance, anything more than you feel it or barely see the up down movement needs replaced. It's serviceable, BUT internal tolerances are too loose. And try to maybe add a couple hundredths on each side and make sure they bounce car after every adjustment.

[CSG]

So one thing is have alignment tech add 0.05 more positive on right front, and use ALL positive camber possible (again 0.5 more positive on right side)
Wiggle tie rods till centered, not tilted and use channel locks to test for internal clearance, anything more than you feel it or barely see the up down movement needs replaced. It's serviceable, BUT internal tolerances are too loose. And try to maybe add a couple hundredths on each side and make sure they bounce car after every adjustment.

Did you mean to put "castor"?