R33 GTR wanders everywhere..

[dairyboy]

Howdy folks,

Got the engine fiasco sorted but now it's the suspension. The ride is fine but occasionally when there's couple of bumps, it upsets the suspension a bit and it wanders left and right. It feels as if it doesn't want to hold itself still. Another problem I am having right now is I need to point towards the left in order to go straight. Is this simply an alignment issue or it's deeper than that?

(afterall, the coilovers were swapped out during compliance then put it back on so alignment settings may have moved..)

[jezzrrr]

i would definately get an alighnment. re the skipping, i am not expert but some whiteline adjustable sway bars may be the go, I would call whiteline and ask them they give pretty reasonable advice over the phone.

Jeremy

[Merli]

Tramlining.

Welcome to the world of 255/265 front tyres

[Laurence]

3rd gear at about 7,000rpm in a BCNR33 with 345rwkW and stock (non-V) suspension and 245/45R17 A032R tyres the car does a weird feeling that the car was sort of walking around at the rear, almost like it was being rotated on its longitudinal axis. It felt bizarre... I don't know if it was slight wheelspin or what it was... But it was very strange.

[(B1) MR_fanny]

my car does exactly the same thing after putting 7.5s on the front + allignment. they buggered the allignment up shit creek the first time by lettin some young inexperienced guy do it and then supposedly straighnted it out the next day when i brought it back but now it does exactly the same thing as urs does...wanders around on bumpy roads and strays off to the left.

also one time in the wet when turning right at about 70 in a big intersection lost the front end for a split sec and had to catch it...scary stuff

takin it to a specialist tomorrow.....aint goin back to that place again!!

oh yeah..i dont think its the swaybars as i had them on before the allighnment and the car was driving sweet ass before those bastards got their hands on it. they also put a nice deep groove right around the 2 rims when swappin tyres over.........arrrhhhh!!!not happy jan!!

[Duncan]

well if it strays to the left its either a simple alignment or something is bent somewhere

On the other hand the "wandering" is what merli said.....welcome to tramlining!

[EVL R33]

Tramlining seems a fairly standard problem with GTR's, mine does it a bit with 245's all round...

Gojira, my gtr does the same thing you are talking about, driven hard near the top of 3rd or 4th the car will squirm once then track straight again. I'm thinking it's maybe the hicas as it's a weird feeling and only does it under heavy power, ie if I'm doing 120kph cruising no probs, but if I nail it in 3rd doing say 90 it'll squirm...

Weird.. might have to by a hicas lock kit to see if it fixes it..

Brett

[Scooba]

Had/have a similar problem with my 32 gtr, i took it to get an alignment and basically paid money for nothing cause when i drove it it was as bad if not worse than before, got a mechanic to check the whole front end and it turns out i have flogged out inner upper control arm bushes, i'll let you know next week after i fit whitline kits to the front and rear.

[Sydneykid]

Hi guys, I always start at the uper control arm bushes on Skylines (all models). They wear out, it is as simple as that. Adding some positive caster (as much as you can) really helps with the tramlining, a small amount (not too much) of negative camber helps as well.

If it pulls to the left, I add a little positive caster to the left hand front wheel, about 0.5 degrees more than the right usually works a charm. Don't ignore the rear wheel alignment, if it is out, it can have a similar effect.

I would never suggest going to your local tyre service for a suspension check/alignment on a Skyline, it's a waste of time and money. A suspension specialist is the go.

[GTRman1992]

I agree with SydneyKid, my R32 GTR started wandering all over the road and a set of upper control arm bushes did the trick. Amazing the difference, you don't realise how worn out something is until you fix it.

[dairyboy]

Hmm....looks like I gotta spend some money

Ah well, this tramlining thing is driving me nuts particularly the roads I travel on daily are bumpy as a kid's face full of acne's!

[(B1) MR_fanny]

well....just came back from Traction tyres (recommened by sydkid....legend:D) as its closer to me and they confirmed that my castors abit out on the front left...my right rear is toed in abit more than the left rear but nothing to major. diagnosis is to change the castor bushes to adjustable ones to straighten things out and get rid of the tramlining. very pleased with the quality of service and advice...also helps to see 2 race cars being worked on too...hehe.

i can now sleep easier knowing nothings bent:D

[(B1) MR_fanny]

question......i was pondering just buying new aftermarket adjustable castor rods instead of replacing the bushes cause i plan it to take it to the tracks. one of the guys at TT raised issues about some actually being weaker than originals and break depending on their designs. is it worth it or should i just make do with the adjustable bushes?? and which brands should i be lookin if i do??

cheers

[jlnewton]

I have replaced nearly everything there is to replace with adjustable stuff on the suspension on my 33 GTR and added a little more caster and sorted the camber front and rear. With 265s all round I have yet to experience any noticeable tramlining, it now drives nicer than any other car I have experienced. The mini tramlines heaps more with its big 165s all round!

[dairyboy]

jlnewton: just a question, when you mean "replaced nearly everything there is to replace" do you really mean every single tid bit of the suspension or just a selected few? I'm sorta looking at the Whiteline handling pack to go with my Arogosta (sp?) coilovers with the Eibach springs.

[jlnewton]

I put these in a month or so ago now:-

APEXi T-max coilovers - Reconditioned

Replaced springs with king spring items (F - 400lbs, R - 225lbs)

Cusco Adj caster rod

Cusco adj rear upper camber arm

Whiteline front adj camber bush.

Whiteline Pineapples.

Whiteline adj sway bars should be in, in about 2 weeks. And also may try differnt spring rates (F - 450lbs, R - 300lbs) just to see the effect it has. Trying to find the best compromise on the road/track, comfort/handling front.

Height is 355mm from centre of wheel to arch all round

FR :- camber = -1.5deg caster = +5.0/5.5deg Toe = 0.0mm

R :- camber = -1.0deg Toe = +1.5mm total

Basically the whiteline suggest touring settings.

Rides real nice at the moment on soft, absorbs all the bumps but still firm. Turn the knob to hard and it shakes your teeth out. I am real happy with the result so far. The GTST started to tramline real bad when the tyres where approaching the replacement stage, so I expect the GTR to do the same. At the moment its fine though on the new 265 Yoko ES100s.

[old_man_silvia]

Dairyboy,

I know its only a long shot, but have you checked the height setting of each coilover. I remember reading an article in a zoom mag a while ago where they actually weighed each corner to get the correct height. I recall they were quite surprised by the differences in each corner. But it might be nothing to do with your problem.

[BNR32]

RE: the orignal thread, has the car been damaged?

It is amazing after an accident what will happen to the suspension. Something that looks arrow striaght could be really far out of alignment, even after a small gutter hit.

Get the car on a proper laser alignment machine that measures castor, camber & toe and you should be able to work out the problem.

From there it is a matter of replacing the damaged component or replacing the component needed to get thte desired result i.e not enough castor on D/S front from gutter hit, either replace the bent castor rod (which looks straight) or buy some adjustables and get them dialed in to suit.

A skyline GTR should not tramline heaps if it is setup properly even with 265 tyres all round.

TG

[BNR32]

Alignment will tell if something is out... Its definitely worth it.

Another good idea is to put the car up on a hoist and actually measure distance between suspension components. That way you can tell if you car has bent suspension or even worse bent body components, like chassis rails.

I have even heard of the front cradle that holds the engine can sometimes be out if it has not been bolted in correctly. This directly effects the suspension as the castor rods are directly attached to it. Only a few mm of difference can help here. If the engine has been out then this is a possiblity. Its only a five minute job to loosen the cradle nuts and move the cradle with a bar then re-tighten once aligned.

[400kwgtr]

mines got 255s all around and i cant keep the bugger in my lane. especially on the pacific highway through pymble and chatswood. tramlines like crazy. but ill have to get those control arm bushes looked at. thanks for that.