heavy steering

[redsprinter]

Car - ae86

motor - 4age

use - daily / track

problem - heavy steering

occurs/started when - not sure

personal situation - might have girly arms ..

so any ways was drving my mate 86 the other night and his steering is sooo much lighter then mine . have no ide a why .

supension in comparsion :

mine :
-ma70 (or something) strut type coilover + brake
-unknown spring rates
-15x7.5 (unsure of offset but in the negative range )
-195/50/r15
-non standard (longer) lca
-non RCA

alignment
-2 camber
caster i belive is maxed out on stock ae86 caster arms
+1 toe out on each side

mates :
-s13 coil over supension +brake
-unkown spring rate ( would say its heavier, since its intended use is for a heavier car)
-15x7 ( offset is no where near as negative as mine)
- 195/50/r15

alignment
-1 camber
caster - im not sure
toe - im not sure

ATTN: EVIL86 update the suspension details if i wrong .

[.ady]

im pretty sure if u start increaseing your castor it gets harder to steer. so maybe your mate has less castor then you do hence feeling slightly lighter

[ae86]

prob due to more camber and more toe.
edit: can also depend on tyres even, each time i buy a fresh pair of re001's my steering feels much better, dno why but thats just how it feels

[lolwat]

get bigger arms

[Touge Boy]

Easy answer...




Serious answer... Id also say it's down to the alignment, although tyre pressures, the actual tyres and some other things will all make a difference....

[hachi_dk]

yep tyre pressures make a big difference.
the next place to check would be the difference in castor.
as ".ady" said...

[redsprinter]

ok might try the tyre pressure . currently i run 32psi from memory . should i go up ?

have also heard caster can make it heavier might have play with it after the 28/11 (track day) since its so to speak drift ready .

[keiichi]

+ toe is toe in so that'll make it feel tighter, while you're moving only though. maxed out castor will make it feel tighter and heavier when stationary or doing u-turns etc. 32psi is pretty low - try put in 36 or even 38 (prob 36 to be safe). have a good look at ground level from the front of your tyre make sure not too much if any tread is off the ground on the outside.

heavier isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as your components are in good nick and the setup suits your driving.

[FAST EDDIE]

witht he s13 sus he will be running less castor as its harder to wind on, its definaltely lighter, does he have s13 rack that would also make a difference, my ae86 with s13 sus and 86 xmember is a million times harder to turn than my ke with s13 entire front end, yes i do have ps on the ke but even with the engine not running

[redsprinter]

Eddie - mates setup only consist of the S13 coilvers and brake. Castor arms are Ae86 rose jointed one i believe. and the rack is ae86.

update: went to the servo last night and met up with a couple of mates with their sprinters .

and i compared each car steering.

this was all done at low speed ( car park speeds) where it counts =),

results :

stock ae86 + stock suspension setting - running 15x7.5 re001 bridgestone .
-steering was light as a feather . almost felt like a jdm power steering ae86 .

ae86 + s13 suspension . - running the above s13 setup + above rims
-steering was slightly heavier then stock. nothing to complain about tho .

mine - was alot heavier then the above, worked out to be the tyre pressure was at a all time low of 30psi all round ... so i bumped it up to 38psi and feels alot better. lighter, little more responsive , all round good. not as light as the above 2 cars but hey i didnt buy a sprinter to cruise around in ..

thanks all .

and a Special thanks for boys who let me drive their cars last night.