View Poll Results: Does your SC have crappy handling?
Yes
210
47.30%
No
234
52.70%
Voters: 444. You may not vote on this poll
Does your SC have crappy handling?
I agree that it may have been due to lots of toe to make the car track straight--
Shame on that guy for screwing up $300 worth of brand new tires--
It sure feels better after switching the rears to the front and I wonder what brand new tires up front would do for the better---
Those guys at the new place didn't even agree with me being in the car for the setup-- The freakin manager wanted to charge me like $140 for a $59 alignment-- I went apeSChit-- Told him he was nuts-- Why the hell can't a shop accept that my lex just isn't a Dodge truck that takes 20 minutes to setup.... They should accept the fact that some cars are just more intensive to setup and they shouldn't try to gouge the customer if their car happens to take a little longer than a freakin Neon--
Shame on that guy for screwing up $300 worth of brand new tires--
It sure feels better after switching the rears to the front and I wonder what brand new tires up front would do for the better---
Those guys at the new place didn't even agree with me being in the car for the setup-- The freakin manager wanted to charge me like $140 for a $59 alignment-- I went apeSChit-- Told him he was nuts-- Why the hell can't a shop accept that my lex just isn't a Dodge truck that takes 20 minutes to setup.... They should accept the fact that some cars are just more intensive to setup and they shouldn't try to gouge the customer if their car happens to take a little longer than a freakin Neon--
For some reason, my caster settings are bottomed out at 4.1~ with me in the car-- no way possible to get it to the factory spec 2.8 --
As far as the .023 camber spec, we just set it to zero camber, and it helped drastically (when I finally took it to another shop after the first one tried 3 different times to get it to drive right)...
Those guys were just making up specs-- The second shop got it nearly exact the very first try-- I really pushed them to try to get the specs exact -- which they were reluctant to do without prodding-- I had too much trouble with the first guys to settle for a 90% accurate setup --
So now I'm finally somewhat satisfied with the way it's acting-- but the caster after a short drive showed up to be about 4.2 on one side and 4.5 on the other -- camber is steady at zero though-
With 1 degree of neg. camber from the previous incorrect alignment, the front tires had worn enough to cause considerable tracking problems under driving cornering and braking-- a switch from the front tires to the back and the backs to the front helped this tremendously--
I believe a previous accident the car was in may be responsible for the issues with the caster--
I just wonder if going from 4.1 to 2.8 will actually make that much of a difference in tracking ---
It's definitely an improvement with switching the evenly worn tires to the front--
I really just want the car to drive perfect--
I have an idea on how to make both of my upper control arms adjustable enough to compensate for the difference and may just do that --
If I could get both of them to 3.0 caster I'd be happy -- I can mill a sleeve for my daizen bushings that will allow a drastic adjustment of the upper arm-- I actually did this on the pass. side with positive results-- so a larger slotted sleeve should give the extra adjustment I need---
As far as the .023 camber spec, we just set it to zero camber, and it helped drastically (when I finally took it to another shop after the first one tried 3 different times to get it to drive right)...
Those guys were just making up specs-- The second shop got it nearly exact the very first try-- I really pushed them to try to get the specs exact -- which they were reluctant to do without prodding-- I had too much trouble with the first guys to settle for a 90% accurate setup --
So now I'm finally somewhat satisfied with the way it's acting-- but the caster after a short drive showed up to be about 4.2 on one side and 4.5 on the other -- camber is steady at zero though-
With 1 degree of neg. camber from the previous incorrect alignment, the front tires had worn enough to cause considerable tracking problems under driving cornering and braking-- a switch from the front tires to the back and the backs to the front helped this tremendously--
I believe a previous accident the car was in may be responsible for the issues with the caster--
I just wonder if going from 4.1 to 2.8 will actually make that much of a difference in tracking ---
It's definitely an improvement with switching the evenly worn tires to the front--
I really just want the car to drive perfect--
I have an idea on how to make both of my upper control arms adjustable enough to compensate for the difference and may just do that --
If I could get both of them to 3.0 caster I'd be happy -- I can mill a sleeve for my daizen bushings that will allow a drastic adjustment of the upper arm-- I actually did this on the pass. side with positive results-- so a larger slotted sleeve should give the extra adjustment I need---
How are you milling out a sleeve in your daizen bushings? I'm very interested in doing this my self. Whats all required? Are you drummeling out an oval shap e in the upper bushings? You won't have any picts of what your doing do you?
Pole Position
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 201
Likes: 0
From: OK
Actually...
The handling on my SC300 is fairly good considering how smooth the ride is. My only complaint really is that the damping is too soft, so the body-roll is pretty severe. I'm betting once I throw in some EDFC controolled Tein CS coilovers, it'll handle like a champ.
Ok need some guidance here Mitsuguy ...in another thread I mentioned that went to get my car aligned and the camber was a bit off FD-1.21 FP .70 ..RD -1.46 RP -1.68
Before the alignment the car tracked straight the only issue was when going over sharp bumps at high speed it would cause the rear to step out or shift.
When I left the shop all was well it did not shift anymore and tracked straight.
Here comes the problem....
couple days later I go and replace the rear tires because my existing ones where bald.. Same size 295 35 18 different brand.
Now upon leaving with the new tires the car does not track straight at high speeds ?? It will wander left or right.
The only thing done at the tire shop was jack the car up in the rear and remove/reinstall the wheels.. I double checked th lugs and they are all tight.
Any ideas as to what it can be ?
Before the alignment the car tracked straight the only issue was when going over sharp bumps at high speed it would cause the rear to step out or shift.
When I left the shop all was well it did not shift anymore and tracked straight.
Here comes the problem....
couple days later I go and replace the rear tires because my existing ones where bald.. Same size 295 35 18 different brand.
Now upon leaving with the new tires the car does not track straight at high speeds ?? It will wander left or right.
The only thing done at the tire shop was jack the car up in the rear and remove/reinstall the wheels.. I double checked th lugs and they are all tight.
Any ideas as to what it can be ?
Pole Position
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 201
Likes: 0
From: OK
I retract my previous post.
Two days ago I almost died coming up the on-ramp from I35-N to 240 in OKC. I wanted to pass the slow ******* in front of me, so I waited for him to get ahead and then I accelerated onto the highway. Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize the road actually changes to a negative slope right at the end of the ramp, and when my back tires broke loose, I was doing around 60-65mph. I'm fairly used to sliding around, but never in my life have I dealt with such uncontrollable transitional oversteer and body roll. The first part of the slide took me to ~80 degrees where I was facing the concrete bridge rail. Then my chassis snapped me the other way until I was facing the people in the lane on my left (who were still going 60mph at the time). I finally got back to center, after slowing to around 20, and luckily nobody hit me. But I'm definately going to consider sway bars for my first investment, if not coilovers.
Now I've got to get my alignment done again
Two days ago I almost died coming up the on-ramp from I35-N to 240 in OKC. I wanted to pass the slow ******* in front of me, so I waited for him to get ahead and then I accelerated onto the highway. Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize the road actually changes to a negative slope right at the end of the ramp, and when my back tires broke loose, I was doing around 60-65mph. I'm fairly used to sliding around, but never in my life have I dealt with such uncontrollable transitional oversteer and body roll. The first part of the slide took me to ~80 degrees where I was facing the concrete bridge rail. Then my chassis snapped me the other way until I was facing the people in the lane on my left (who were still going 60mph at the time). I finally got back to center, after slowing to around 20, and luckily nobody hit me. But I'm definately going to consider sway bars for my first investment, if not coilovers.
Now I've got to get my alignment done again
just replaced the steering rack bushings, front & rear control arm bushings, and front and rear sway bar bushings with daizens.. wow! incredible difference in handling and straight driving, but i feel every little thing on the road now 
Rookie
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 78
Likes: 0
From: CA
Sorry to hear that. You should have searched on the Daizen bushings before you use them. I had them before but had to take them out due to the harshness. However, I really recommend them for the tracks.
true
my tires are by Fierce.. i guess the tuner side of Goodyear?
well all i can say is.. they are cheap and they are NICE
went to the canyons last sat.. and they performed SUPER well with ALL stock suspension..
took corners around 60-65.. while my Z buddies took it aroudn 80
but yea REALLY good tires for the best price
my tires are by Fierce.. i guess the tuner side of Goodyear?
well all i can say is.. they are cheap and they are NICE
went to the canyons last sat.. and they performed SUPER well with ALL stock suspension..
took corners around 60-65.. while my Z buddies took it aroudn 80
but yea REALLY good tires for the best price
true
my tires are by Fierce.. i guess the tuner side of Goodyear?
well all i can say is.. they are cheap and they are NICE
went to the canyons last sat.. and they performed SUPER well with ALL stock suspension..
took corners around 60-65.. while my Z buddies took it aroudn 80
but yea REALLY good tires for the best price
my tires are by Fierce.. i guess the tuner side of Goodyear?
well all i can say is.. they are cheap and they are NICE
went to the canyons last sat.. and they performed SUPER well with ALL stock suspension..
took corners around 60-65.. while my Z buddies took it aroudn 80
but yea REALLY good tires for the best price
You might be surprised what a real performance tire would do on your car...
I don't know about current quality, but second only to General, Kelly Springfield was our second most replaced tire due to defects...
lots of caster isn't necessarily a bad thing... IMO, it's awesome for high speed stability... When I went from the stock to almost 5 degrees caster, I could definitely feel a difference, for the better...
Caster should always be a little less on the left than the right to account for the road crown in North America... Your exact location will change the amount of difference that you should use... Typically .2 is correct. It's called Cross Caster, and the alignment machine should give you a reading of how much of a difference your car was designed for (or that the manufacturer calls for) Cross Camber is the same thing, Camber on the driver side should be .1 or .2 less than the passenger side - this also affects how the car tracks...
your tires were not worn out from having -1 degree camber, I run -2.1 front, -2.7 rear, and mine are nicely worn, maybe 1/32 more worn on the inside vs the outside and they've been on the car over 20k miles... Improper toe settings cause 90% of tire wear like you describe...
Honestly, if anything, I'd like to get more caster out of the car, some Mercedes (and others) run in excess of 10 degrees of caster...
Caster should always be a little less on the left than the right to account for the road crown in North America... Your exact location will change the amount of difference that you should use... Typically .2 is correct. It's called Cross Caster, and the alignment machine should give you a reading of how much of a difference your car was designed for (or that the manufacturer calls for) Cross Camber is the same thing, Camber on the driver side should be .1 or .2 less than the passenger side - this also affects how the car tracks...
your tires were not worn out from having -1 degree camber, I run -2.1 front, -2.7 rear, and mine are nicely worn, maybe 1/32 more worn on the inside vs the outside and they've been on the car over 20k miles... Improper toe settings cause 90% of tire wear like you describe...
Honestly, if anything, I'd like to get more caster out of the car, some Mercedes (and others) run in excess of 10 degrees of caster...
I'm running -1.5 f camber, +4.0L and +4.2R caster, zero toe front, -1.5 camber and 1mm toe in rear. It works very nicely for street and wears out tires very evenly with my driving style.
It's really strange to me the SCs have so many issues and the Supras do not.