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Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

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Old 07-09-2013, 10:55 PM
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Car: 1990 IROC-Z/1980 Firebird
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Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

I have a 90 IROC and my front wheels skip when I have the wheel turned hard-ish. Before I go replacing a bunch of suspension parts, I'd like some input from you guys if you have had a similar issue. Let me know any thoughts, as any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Old 07-09-2013, 11:52 PM
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Re: Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

Yeah they all do.

Pretty normal with these cars; optimized for high-speed handling, AT THE EXPENSE OF grandma parking-lot manners.

Just one of those things we've all had to get used to, since the day these cars hit the dealerships back about Labor Day 1981.
Old 07-10-2013, 01:52 AM
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Re: Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

my car did it with the 15X7 Monte SS wheels and 215/65/15 tires, but doesn't do it with the "rear" GTA's with 245/50/16's that i put on it last week. it's all about the ackerman...
Old 07-10-2013, 07:39 AM
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Re: Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

Thanks for the input. It was pretty bad until I replaced the sway bar links, but after that it got a little better, so I was hoping there was another way to fix it completely. I guess I'll just leave it. As usual, thanks for the help!
Old 07-10-2013, 08:52 AM
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Re: Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

If you really want to fix this, you can correct the scrub radius by installing aftermarket camber bolts and aftermarket strut mounts, and increase camber with the camber bolt, and bring it back in with the strut mount, this will decrease the scrub radius to be more towards the wheel centerline thus reducing this front wheel scrub you are experiencing.
Old 07-10-2013, 03:05 PM
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Re: Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

Originally Posted by hellz_wings
If you really want to fix this, you can correct the scrub radius by installing aftermarket camber bolts and aftermarket strut mounts, and increase camber with the camber bolt, and bring it back in with the strut mount, this will decrease the scrub radius to be more towards the wheel centerline thus reducing this front wheel scrub you are experiencing.
Any suggestions as far as what to buy? I have no experience adjusting the wheel geometry, but will the necessary adjusted camber angle cause uneven wear pattern with the tires? Or do those aftermarket camber bolts adjust the max camber change normally experienced when the wheels are turned that's causing the front wheel scrub I described? Thanks for your help on this. I'd like to perform minor updates to my car but still keep a stock ride, and this sounds like a good option.
Old 07-10-2013, 03:25 PM
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Re: Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

I should have mentioned this earlier, but this is more for the "all out" third gen suspension mods.. It's fairly complex to do even alignment shops will tell you to buzz off or charge an arm and a leg to do this. I pay more and work with the tech to get stuff like this done but that's me.. My car is far from stock and what's another 100$ lol. For more info on this though, you can go here, a bunch of us were having a nice discussion about this sort of thing: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...rub-other.html

And the stock camaro alignment specs suck, and there are countless threads on here asking for good street alignment specs. Negative camber is better, toe in is better than toe out, and more positive caster is generally better.
Old 07-10-2013, 11:02 PM
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Re: Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

Originally Posted by hellz_wings
I should have mentioned this earlier, but this is more for the "all out" third gen suspension mods.. It's fairly complex to do even alignment shops will tell you to buzz off or charge an arm and a leg to do this. I pay more and work with the tech to get stuff like this done but that's me.. My car is far from stock and what's another 100$ lol. For more info on this though, you can go here, a bunch of us were having a nice discussion about this sort of thing: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...rub-other.html

And the stock camaro alignment specs suck, and there are countless threads on here asking for good street alignment specs. Negative camber is better, toe in is better than toe out, and more positive caster is generally better.
Really? toe in is better on third gens? Weird, I've always been taught that toe out handles better.
Old 07-11-2013, 07:07 AM
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Re: Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

Toe-in is better for the street.

Toe-out will EAT the tires so bad you can almost watch em go away. Better for real tight autocross situations and the like, where the tires aren't going to last more than coupla miles ANWAY, and the improvement in the Ackerman angle helps; but DEATH on the street.
Old 07-11-2013, 09:51 PM
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Re: Front Wheels Skip at Low Speed

Originally Posted by sofakingdom
Toe-in is better for the street.

Toe-out will EAT the tires so bad you can almost watch em go away. Better for real tight autocross situations and the like, where the tires aren't going to last more than coupla miles ANWAY, and the improvement in the Ackerman angle helps; but DEATH on the street.
Good to know, although on the subaru in my family, the right rear has some toe-in and that tire formed a bubble. Obviously the more toe in or out you have the more it's going to destroy your tires, but I'm surprised toe-out eats them quicker than toe-in when they're at equal measurements.
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